Recently, a long-time friend of mine mentioned to me that he has a high IQ. This reminded me of when the President mentioned his alleged high IQ-score on multiple occasions (according to CNN at least 22 times).
Neither my long-time friend nor the President provided any details about their score. They did not specify details such as the score itself, nor the name of the institution where they took the test. All we have is that their claim of a high IQ-score. If someone makes a claim but does not provide evidence nor details such as date and place, then we should take it with a grain of salt, especially when the claim is self-serving.
We can evaluate a claim to be true, plausible, uncertain, unlikely, or false depending on the amount of direct and circumstantial evidence, as well as logic.
But how do we evaluate this? How do we arrive at this qualification?
I know my friend, let’s call him Freddy, personally (obviously) and I have a good idea of how he speaks and how he thinks. I know about his studies, his academic- and professional accomplishments. I also have a good idea about his comprehension of complex issues and how he arrives at his conclusions. I don’t know the President, Trump, personally but I hear and read what he says publicly and I know of some of his successes and failures. I can be…
