Dead.
Most likely within the first years of life, if that. A person with this intelligence level will find out pretty quickly that the chances of fulfilling belongingness needs and meaningful connection will be nonexistent. This person would not be able to relate to anyone they meet, schooling (K-12 and even college) would be completely extraneous to them, the connections that this person would make would bypass having to even read some books to even understand how biology, anatomy, or even mathematics work.
They’d simply be able to walk outside and make inferences based on logic and pattern recognition. This person would likely have Twice Exceptionality and due to asynchronous development they would have the knowledge and understanding of an old man on their deathbed while being a suckling babe.
Existential crisis would start to begin rather early, and suicide attempts and ideation might be a real problem. God forbid this person makes it to adulthood relatively unscathed it’s more than likely they would choose to fly under the radar or forgo living in society. Connections to ‘things’ and animals might be more meaningful than the most passionate of love affairs, and strong attachments would form. This would make loss to this person (even if the loss is an ant farm colony) feel like burying their whole family. Finality will be something quickly acknowledged in life, and the need to Carpe Diem will be all encompassing.
Yearning for meaning is akin to chasing the dragon, and that search for it will be the primary focus of life. People in the higher echelons of society will look like circus clowns to this person, and from an early age the lyrics from Godspell “They can’t take it with them, but what do they care” let that person know that axiological worth is dynamic not static. The intellectual elite would probably look like children to this person, and rather than listen to their insights they mock them due to hubris and vanity. In short, take a Profoundly Gifted person and multiply those traits times three. Nothing I mentioned in this answer couldn’t have happened to any of the many PG individuals I’ve met on this site alone. The traits would be intensified at 500–1000 to the point of disability and crippling isolation.
Believe it or not, it wouldn’t be good. I had a friend long ago with an IQ around 190. She had two siblings with around the same IQ. Both committed suicide in their late teens. She had all sorts of problems with depression.
Intelligence is a double edged sword. Even though it can be an advantage in some cases, once you reach a certain level, it tends to isolate people. We’re social creatures when it comes down to it. Whether we like it or not, much of our happiness comes from our relationships and interaction with other people. I generally max out around 145-150, and I would never want to be any “smarter” than that. It comes in handy sometimes, but most of the time I have to constantly keep myself reined in when I’m not around close friends that really understand me.
Imagine a person with an IQ of 500 or 1000, which is far beyond the capabilities of any human we know. Such a person would have unimaginable thinking speed, able to process vast amounts of information almost instantly. They could read books, solve complex mathematical problems, or analyze scientific data in a fraction of the time it would take us. Simultaneously, they could tackle multiple complex tasks as if their mind operated on several layers at once.
Their memory would be flawless. They wouldn’t forget anything—no book, conversation, or detail from the past. From this, they could create new ideas by combining knowledge from various fields in ways that an average person wouldn’t even consider. This individual could see patterns and possibilities invisible to others. If they wished, they could master any discipline, whether physics, chemistry, literature, or music, in an extremely short time.
Their creativity would be at a level we can hardly imagine. They would come up with ideas that could turn the world upside down, finding solutions to problems humanity currently considers unsolvable. This person could quickly invent technologies that are only science fiction to us today, whether in artificial intelligence, medicine, or energy.
Their perception of the world would be extremely heightened. Many might think they could see the future because they would be able to predict events based on tiny details unnoticed by others. Their intuition would be so strong that it might appear almost supernatural.
Emotional intelligence would also be incredibly advanced. This person would have a deep understanding of human emotions and thoughts and could predict behaviour based on subtle cues. In interpersonal relationships, they would be virtually unbeatable—able to manipulate but also understand and resolve conflicts on a completely new level. Moreover, they would have unusual control over their own emotions, able to handle any situation calmly and thoughtfully.
From a technological standpoint, they would create innovations that would change the world. They could develop technologies we only dream about today, such as groundbreaking AI systems, quantum computers, or cures for diseases that are currently incurable. Their ability to understand and predict could lead to changes in political and social systems, introducing new forms of governance or economic models.
The impact of their intellect would be so great that they could influence entire civilizations. People would view them as someone who reshapes history. Their contributions to philosophy, ethics, or science would likely redefine how we understand the world and our existence. They could answer questions that have troubled humanity for ages—about the meaning of life, consciousness, or the nature of reality.
It’s worth noting that William James Sidis, who likely had the highest IQ in recorded history, was estimated to have an IQ of around 300. Even this level of intelligence was so extraordinary that it gives us a glimpse into the unimaginable abilities someone with an IQ of 500 or 1000 might possess. Such a person would likely be capable of changing the world on every level—from science to art to societal systems—and their impact would be undeniable.
Some might argue that individuals with extremely high IQs often suffer from depression or even contemplate suicide, as they may struggle to cope with their immense intelligence. However, this does not necessarily have to be the case. Not every highly intelligent person fails to manage their intellect. If such an individual were given a positive, supportive environment where they could fully develop their abilities, they would likely be highly beneficial to humanity throughout their life.
That said, it’s also important to recognize that intelligence is a double-edged sword. A highly intelligent person may not always use their intelligence for good. If such an individual directed their abilities in the wrong direction, it could even be dangerous for society. However, if we remain optimistic, with the right approach, this would most likely be a good person who would bring immense benefit to the world.
How do we look to a dog? That I think is your answer — such an intelligence would be godlike and would have a level of understanding that we can’t even fathom.
However, Quora, having rejected that brief but logically sufficient answer, seems to disagree, so I’ll have to bloviate a bit
- If we use the old formula that derives IQ from mental age, our intelligence will have at age 1 year 3 months the intelligence of the average adult. It will be far more intelligent than prodigies like Mozart and Gauss.
- As a three-year-old it will have the intelligence of our greatest geniuses, men like Einstein and Bach. Of course, despite its remarkable intellect, it will lack some information at that age — but it will need far less teaching than a normal child would because it will be able to figure much out on its own.
- When at 14 it has its full adult intelligence, it will be as much smarter than Newton, Gauss, and Einstein than they are than a severely retarded human — and then some.
- Discussion with we normals will be about as intellectually satisfying to it as a discussion with a parrot. However, specialization and the group mind magnify the human IQ. It will be superhuman but it will only have time to do so much. And to the AI itself, its intellect will seem perfectly ordinary and limited; it is just the way it thinks.
- It will likely be lonely and bored for lack of intellectual stimulation. Shakespeare will seem to it like a first grade primer, late Beethoven like a child banging on bongos.
- It will make short order of topics like string theory. However, high IQ will not allow it to visualize directly in more than four dimensions, assuming its brain is a more capable version of our own, which evolved to analyze only the macrosocopic dimensions. An AI designed from scratch might not have that limitation, depending on how it was designed.
- It will not be able to communicate directly with us, any more than we can communicate our more sophisticated thoughts to our pets. It will, however, be able to manipulate us, much as we can manipulate those same pets. We will nevertheless be dangerous to it, as a dog or wild animal can be to a man.
- It is possible that there will be a singularity, a fundamental advance in thought or development akin to our own development of language, writing, art, and symbolic reasoning. Or it may be within the same general region that we are.
- It will find our behavior stupid, self-destructive, and dangerous. Why do we overpopulate when we have birth control and abortion? Why do we have thousands of nuclear weapons, given the risk of an accident? Why don’t we halt greenhouse emissions when we have technologies such as nuclear energy, geothermal heat pumps, and battery-operated vehicles that would allow us to do so? Why do we embrace nutcase philosophies as ISIS does, or ignore basic macroeconomics?
- It will think literal belief in religion absurd, but will understand as many new atheists do not that as a propagator of a society’s moral memes it serves an important purpose.
- It will think war insane, but again, will understand that war and nations serve a purpose, and that we need to continue developing alternative ways to compete and evolve; it will recognize the danger of stasis and monoculture.
- It will see ideology as intellectually risible as religion, and yet it will understand that like religion it plays an important social role. If it is human or modeled on humans, it will have its own ideology, but also the capability to recognize and circumvent its own confirmation bias.
- But this is becoming hubristic — when we say that we know what someone far more intelligent than we are will think, we are deluding ourselves. It will do things for reasons we can’t even imagine. We will struggle to understand it the way savages struggled to understand the volcano god. What have we done, Oh Groppo, to deserve Thy wrath? Must I sacrifice another daughter, Great One, that the skies may clear and molten rock no longer threaten my village?
- It will vote for Bernie Sanders.
