Conversation with Iakovos Koukas on Personal and Family History, Work, Genius, and Views: President & Founder, GENIUS High IQ Network (1)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/02/01

Abstract

Iakovos Koukas is the President and Founder of THIS High IQ Society, 4G High IQ Society, BRAIN High IQ Society, ELITE High IQ Society, 6N High IQ Society, NOUS High IQ Society, 6G High IQ Society, NOUS200 High IQ Society, GIFTED High IQ Network, GENIUS High IQ Network, GENIUS Initiative, GENIUS Journal, IQ GENIUS platform, and Test My IQ platform. He is the author of the GIFT High Range IQ Test series, the GENE High Range IQ Test series, the VAST IQ Test series, and the VICE IQ Test series. He discusses: growing up; a sense of an extended self; the family background; the experience with peers and schoolmates; some professional certifications; the purpose of intelligence tests; high intelligence discovered; the extreme reactions to and treatment of geniuses; the greatest geniuses in history; a genius from a profoundly intelligent person; profound intelligence necessary for genius; work experiences and jobs; particular job path; the gifted and geniuses; God; science; the tests taken and scores earned (with standard deviations); the range of the scores; ethical philosophy; social philosophy; economic philosophy; political philosophy; metaphysics; philosophical system; meaning in life; meaning externally derived, or internally generated; an afterlife; the mystery and transience of life; and love.

Keywords: Christian Orthodox, Christianity, family, genius, GENIUS High IQ Network, God, Greek, Iakovos Koukas, intelligence, IQ, metaphysics, Mykonian, philosophy, religion, science.

Conversation with Iakovos Koukas on Personal and Family History, Work, Genius, and Views: President & Founder, GENIUS High IQ Network (1)

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citation style listing after the interview.*

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were growing up, what were some prominent family stories being told over time?

Iakovos Koukas[1],[2]*: I grew up during the 80s and 90s. I am the fourth child of a Mykonian Greek family. My parents met each other and fell in love when they were still in their teens. My father went to serve the Greek Army as soon as he was eligible for military service, which is mandatory in Greece. He served after the Greek Civil War, during a very tense period of Greek history. His military service lasted for three years, and he had no way of contacting his family, so his family, friends, and my mother thought he was dead. After his military service was over, he showed up one day on the doorstep of my mother’s house. She was so surprised and relieved to see him. My parents had three kids before me (I have one sister and two brothers), and I was born 14 years after the birth of my older brother when my parents were already middle-aged and weren’t expecting another child. Another story was that of my grandfather from my father’s side. He was an immigrant to the United States of America in the first quarter of the twentieth century. He lived and worked for more than 20 years in the city of Joliet, Illinois. He became a very successful and rich landowner but decided to sell everything in the USA so he could return to his home island, Mykonos, and get married to a Greek girl who had stolen his heart: my grandmother.

Jacobsen: Have these stories helped provide a sense of an extended self or an understanding of the family legacy?

Koukas: Of course, they did. The story I mentioned, among other ones, helped me develop a strong self-identity and a deep understanding of my family roots and purpose in life.

Jacobsen: What was the family background, e.g., geography, culture, language, and religion or lack thereof?

Koukas: Both my parents were born, raised, and fell in love with each other on the Greek island of Mykonos. All my grandparents were Mykonians as well. They only spoke Greek, but my grandfather was quite educated and spoke English and several other languages as well. All the members of my family are Orthodox Christians.

Jacobsen: How were the experience with peers and schoolmates as a child and as an adolescent?

Koukas: I had quite bad experiences with my peers and schoolmates during my childhood and adolescence. I had very few friends. Due to my giftedness, I had almost nothing in common with the other kids. I used to spend time writing fiction novels and philosophical essays or building complex electronic circuits for use in automation and robotics when other kids were out playing or going to parties, having fun, etc. I was a victim of social isolation and school bullying. All those bad experiences gave me an even greater inner strength, a stronger will, and a sense of purpose in life.

Jacobsen: What have been some professional certifications, qualifications, and training earned by you?

Koukas: I have work experience in several different jobs. As a senior banking officer, I hold certifications in banking services for the shipping industry, investment banking, insurance-based banking products, merchant acquiring services. As an author, I hold certifications in the history and philosophy of science. I have also attended several seminars in cognitive psychology and psychometrics.

Jacobsen: What is the purpose of intelligence tests to you?

Koukas: Individuals need to know their IQs to evaluate themselves, recognize and improve their strengths, and identify and overcome their weaknesses. IQ scores are predictors of an individual’s school and academic performance, professional career. They are directly related to income and wealth. IQ scores derived from IQ tests are widely used for educational placement, choice of professional career, assessment of one’s intellectual disability, learning disorder, and evaluation of job candidates.

Jacobsen: When was high intelligence discovered for you?

Koukas: I always knew I was intelligent due to my several and diverse intellectual interests, but it never crossed my mind that I might be exceptionally or profoundly gifted. I discovered my high intelligence after receiving the score of my first proctored test (WAIS), where I scored at the fourth standard deviation above average, which was the ceiling of the specific test, and after another two Mensa exams, in which I again achieved ceiling scores.

Jacobsen: When you think of how the geniuses of the past have either been mocked, vilified, and condemned if not killed, or praised, flattered, platformed, and revered, what seems like the reason for the extreme reactions to and treatment of geniuses? Many alive today seem camera shy – many, not all.

Koukas: Geniuses are deviants and belong to a small minority of society. Since the dawn of humanity, human societies have treated all minorities in an entirely different way than the supposedly normal people. In the past but even today, we see geniuses getting mocked and vilified because they are different, and they are only getting praised and flattered after they receive some form of social recognition: a Fields Medal, a Nobel Prize, or any breakthrough which is announced by the media as beneficial to humankind. It’s understandable that most geniuses are introverts and, therefore, shy.

Jacobsen: Who seems like the greatest geniuses in history to you?

Koukas: Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythagoras, Gauss, Riemann, Curie, Hopper, Newton, and Einstein are some of my favorite geniuses.

Jacobsen: What differentiates a genius from a profoundly intelligent person?

Koukas: Social recognition for a breakthrough (discovery or invention) that benefits humankind. Even though many profoundly gifted people can be as creative and as innovative as some of the most well-known geniuses, the difference is that the latter get social recognition for their creations and innovations.

Jacobsen: Is profound intelligence necessary for genius?

Koukas: Profound intelligence is not necessary for genius. Some renowned geniuses, like James Watson and Francis Crick (who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the structure of DNA), had IQs below the second standard deviation above the norm, and they weren’t even considered gifted. Certain artistic geniuses, like Andy Warhol, were even considered below average in terms of intelligence. Although sometimes exceptional giftedness is used as a synonym for genius, I don’t think it should be. Most human beings are gifted with positive intellectual and personality qualities, which, if used and developed in a proper way, could lead many people to genius achievements.

Jacobsen: What have been some work experiences and jobs held by you?

Koukas: I have worked as a banker for 18 years, as an author for 24 years, as a publisher for two years, and as an entrepreneur (IQ testing websites owner) for eight years.

Jacobsen: Why pursue this job path?

Koukas: I always pursue to do professionally the things I love. I cannot stop being creative, and I am constantly setting new goals and creating new projects.

Jacobsen: What are some of the more essential aspects of the idea of the gifted and geniuses? Those myths pervade the cultures of the world. What are those myths? What truths dispel them?

Koukas: Many people think that the gifted and the geniuses are some kinds of superhumans or saviors of the world. They think that geniuses could save human species from extinction by discovering the elixir of immortality, stopping climate change, curing all diseases, or leading the way for humanity’s space colonization. This is not the case. The gifted and the geniuses are just people. They have certain limitations as to what they can do because science itself has limitations. They also don’t have unlimited resources and funding available, even when they are top researchers or even tech billionaires.

Jacobsen: Do you have any thoughts on the God concept or God’s idea and philosophy, theology, and religion?

Koukas: I believe that God exists and that He created the Universe. There are many indications of His existence, but there is no evidence in the scientific sense. This is a long discussion, a topic for a treatise, that would combine aspects of the philosophy of science with aspects of the philosophy of religion. I am a Christian Orthodox.

Jacobsen: How much does science play into the worldview for you?

Koukas: I am a man of science. I always use the scientific method and the philosophy of science whenever I am considering a theory, a hypothesis, an idea, or a concept.

Jacobsen: What have been some of the tests taken and scores earned (with standard deviations) for you?

Koukas: I have taken many IQ tests and earned various IQ scores during the last ten years that I am an active part of the high IQ community. Some of my IQ scores: 164 SD15 on WAIS-III (4.27 SD above the norm, ceiling score of the test), 170 SD15 on Einplex (4.67 SD above the norm, top score globally on the test), 172 SD15 on Hieroglyphica (4.80 SD above the norm, one of the highest scores on the test), 175 SD15 on WARP (5 SD above the norm, top score on the test at the time taken), 180 SD15 on Verbatim (5.33 SD above the norm, top score globally on the test), 208 SD15 on MATRIQ (7.20 SD above the norm, top score globally on the test).

Jacobsen: What ethical philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Koukas: I usually use two approaches to my personal ethical philosophy; the first is utilitarian, and the second is deontological. While I believe that an ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good (or well-being) for the greatest number of people, at the same time, I think that one should act according to this rule: “Do unto others as you would be done by.”

Jacobsen: What social philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Koukas: A social philosophy that would emphasize the need for collaboration between diverse social groups towards the greater good and finding solutions for the problems we are facing in our modern societies. For example, science through prominent scientists and researchers, religion through prominent priests and believers, politics through prominent politicians and voters, and philosophy through prominent philosophers and scholars should collaborate towards a common goal: finding solutions for the challenges all people are facing in modern societies.

Jacobsen: What political philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Koukas: Equality of opportunity and elimination of any discrimination in society is my preferable political philosophy. Positions and posts that grant superior advantages should be open to all people who would be qualified through their individual skills and hard work, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, caste, or status.

Jacobsen: What metaphysics makes some sense to you, even the most workable sense to you?

Koukas: The type of metaphysics that would outline God as the first cause and the last end of the Universe. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the purpose of everything, and we can see indications of His existence in His living and non-living creations.

Jacobsen: What worldview-encompassing philosophical system makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Koukas: Christian philosophy. The whole world of our experience is a challenge, a problem that demands to be resolved, but the solution of the problem lies within a region to which only thought and faith can penetrate. Human beings’ natural trend is towards philosophy and religion. The religious instinct forces most humans to recognize their dependence upon the first cause and last end of all existence. Religion, no less than philosophy and science, calls for the exercise of the reason so that every human can be guided to the knowledge of the existence of the Supreme Being: God.

Jacobsen: What provides meaning in life for you?

Koukas: Helping other people become aware of their cognitive potential so that they can further develop it, spreading the knowledge of what is truly important and meaningful in life, working towards the greater good through certain initiatives of my GENIUS High IQ Network, and becoming a more enlightened human being so that I can improve my life and the lives of the people who love, respect, follow or know me.

Jacobsen: Is meaning externally derived, internally generated, both, or something else?

Koukas: Meaning is mostly internally generated after we receive a necessary amount of knowledge and wisdom from science, religion, philosophy, and theology.

Jacobsen: Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, why, and in what form? If not, why not?

Koukas: I believe in the afterlife because I am a Christian Orthodox, and I have done my research in science as well. We are created in the image of God. Each person has a consciousness/mind, a physical body, and a soul/spirit. Our consciousness and soul will live forever, and our physical body will, too, after the Second Coming of Jesus.

Jacobsen: What do you make of the mystery and transience of life?

Koukas: Nobody has ever explained the mysteries of life. I believe that the meaning of life is to discover love and start spreading it to all beings, including humans and animals. Only the physical form of life is transient. As I already explained above, I believe life continues in another form after the death of our physical bodies, and even our physical bodies will be resurrected after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Jacobsen: What is love to you?

Koukas: Love is like gravity or the electromagnetic force that holds things together; love holds people together. Love is a union between people, and people that are united through love can solve most of the problems that now seem unsolved. True love is selfless and unconditional. You strive for the well-being of the people you truly love, and you expect nothing in return.

Appendix I: Footnotes

[1] President & Founder, THIS High IQ Society, 4G High IQ Society, BRAIN High IQ Society, ELITE High IQ Society, 6N High IQ Society, NOUS High IQ Society, 6G High IQ Society, NOUS200 High IQ Society, GIFTED High IQ Network, GENIUS High IQ Network, GENIUS Initiative, GENIUS Journal, IQ GENIUS platform, and Test My IQ platform.

[2] Individual Publication Date: February 1, 2022: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/koukas-1; Full Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2022: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.

*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.

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