Much interesting email on my speculations about Obama’s IQ and Big Five scores.

Wellnigh everyone takes issue with my having pegged the President-elect’s IQ as “maybe over 140,” which would put him in the 99.62 percentile. (To put it another way, it would mean that he was in the top 1.14 million of Americans by IQ.) This is all guesswork, of course, but I was going by:

(1) His academic record, even after discounting for affirmative action.(2) The fact that he won’t release his test scores. There are two possible reasons why he would refuse: (a) they are embarrasingly low (dolt!), or (b) they are embarrasingly high (elitist!). I’m going with (b) because of (1).(3) Heritability of IQ, a well-established fact, with current estimates 40-80 percent heritable. Barack Obama senior, though cursed with a self-destructive personality, was a very smart guy indeed. Econometrics ain’t tic-tac-toe. His Mom I’m not so sure about, but she completed a Ph.D., which is more than I managed.

On the Big Five, I’m being told my guesses are off. All right: way off. Here’s a reader who really knows his Big Five … and should: he’s a professor of psychology.

Openness to Experience: As commonly measured, this factor is driven substantially by “liberal” values such as tolerance. Persons higher in O also can be daydreamy and idealistic (versus hard headed and realistic). They also sound to most people like they know what they are talking about. Successful homicide investigators are very low in O — they deal with facts and don’t go around dreaming up fantastical alternative scenarios (e.g. Columbian drug dealers killing a famous athlete’s ex-wife).Conscientiousness: The higher Conscientiousness, as you suggest, is a given; I doubt anyone ever graduated from Harvard Law without the advantage of high Conscientiousness (people low in Conscientiousness are satisfied with St. John’s Law, and the Harvard application was too long, anyway). He dresses high C. And Conscientiousness correlates with IQ.Extroversion: The higher Extroversion reflects Obama’s desire to be in the spotlight and his taste for leadership. High extroverts make a good first impression. They are affable — but that doesn’t mean they think much of you.Agreeableness: Here’s the juicy part — very low Agreeableness. He is guarded and reluctant to trust others. He is competitive, even ruthless. Other people are just pawns in his game. He often feels superior to others. He is cynical about others’ motives, because he knows that his own motives are impure. He cannot tolerate disagreement.Neuroticism: Finally, … high Neuroticism. He is more sensitive than others to the pain that is life. Having Dad abandon you at age 2 will do that, as will having Mom abandon you at age 10. His tobacco use is a sign of high N — smoking calms the nerves (expect ex-President Obama to develop cancer like U.S. Grant?) And so, paradoxically, is his compulsive fitness — there is a weak, self-indulgent fat man inside of Mr. Obama struggling to be unleashed, and who is flagellated daily in the gym. I suspect that there is deep unhappiness beneath the flawless exterior.

[Me] Wow. Stuff to watch out for there. My own Big Five (there are tests you can take on the internet, just google “big five”) come out as:

Openness to Experience: Average, “indicating you enjoy tradition but are willing to try new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual.”Conscientiousness: Low, “indicating you like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. Your work tends to be careless and disorganized.”Extraversion: Low. I am an introvert, “reserved, and quiet. You enjoy solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends.”Agreeableness: Low, “indicating less concern with others’ needs than with your own. People see you as tough, critical, and uncompromising.”Neuroticism: High, “indicating that you are easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be sensitive and emotional.”

Which I guess makes me a disagreeable, disorganized, neurotic, un-intellectual introvert. Yeah, sounds right. Gnothi seauton.