Conversation with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Adolescence and Quirks of Historical Figures: 2019 Genius of the Year – Europe, World Genius Directory (7)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

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

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/05/01

Abstract

Tor Arne Jørgensen is a member of 50+ high IQ societies, including World Genius Directory, NOUS High IQ Society, 6N High IQ Society just to name a few. He has several IQ scores above 160+ sd15 among high range tests like Gift/Gene Verbal, Gift/Gene Numerical of Iakovos Koukas and Lexiq of Soulios. Tor Arne was also in 2019, nominated for the World Genius Directory 2019 Genius of the Year – Europe. He is the only Norwegian to ever have achieved this honor. He has also been a contributor to the Genius Journal Logicon, in addition to being the creater of toriqtests.com, where he is the designer of now eleven HR-tests of both verbal/numerical variant. His further interests are related to intelligence, creativity, education developing regarding gifted students. Tor Arne has an bachelor`s degree in history and a degree in Practical education, he works as a teacher within the following subjects: History, Religion, and Social Studies. He discusses: Bill Sidis; streetcar transfers; The Animate and the Inanimate; Newton; the Church Fathers; big discoveries in their mid-20s; earliest memory; earlier indications of a high-I.Q.; academic record; the education of the next generation; the extracurricular activities; the bullying; Ulysses; a healthy culture of keeping a gifted student from getting a big head; certain extremes; James Maxwell; Willard Gibbs; brown horse; interests different than the other kid; the competition with the smart girl in class; behavioural signs of talent; strident stories of violence; Ulysses appeal; the law of Jante; fuel; and theories.

Keywords: bullying, genius, Gibbs, intelligence, Leonardo Da Vinci, Maxwell, Newton, Sidis, Tor Arne Jørgensen.

 Conversation with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Adolescence and Quirks of Historical Figures: 2019 Genius of the Year – Europe, World Genius Directory (7)

*Please see the references, footnotes, and citations, after the interview, respectively.*

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Let’s continue with a small addendum on some high functioning people in history, and some who appeared to fizzle out, but simply worked in, more or less, solitude: Bill Sidis, or William James Sidis, is referenced a lot, by a lot of people, in the high-I.Q. communities. What are your first impressions about him – surface level stuff?

Tor Arne Jørgensen[1],[2]*: Incredible brilliant person, put in a system that does not “get” him and thereby does not understand his dire needs for acceptance in a far to cruel world. Exploited and give a burden that shorted his lifespan, by the very people his but his trust in and for what, or for who one might ask? Alone, fleeing form the shackles of society and it`s presumptions.

Jacobsen: What seemed to be the fascination with streetcar transfers for Bill?

Jørgensen: We all have our quirky little precious gems; this was his to collect and to enjoy.

Jacobsen: How does his perspective on the cosmos in The Animate and the Inanimate seem to you?

Jørgensen: I have not read all his work, but from what I know about him and his work, a man far ahead of his time. Sidis work at a young age made him even more so an enigmatic study for our understanding of the cosmos. Sidis can be viewed upon as a beacon, that directs us toward an even more clear comprehension of what to grasp of the cosmological spectrum.

Jacobsen: Newton, apparently, was a notorious asshole in his time. A vindictive person against enemies, unsure if real or perceived as I am not a subject matter expert on his life. Also, a purported lifelong virgin, undisputed mathematical genius, and ‘plugged into the universe,’ according to famous smart person and science popularizer with a specialization in astrophysics, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. What do you think of Newton?

Jørgensen: As you and me both, of what understanding I may hold of him, that the despitefulness and cruel intentions towards his surrounding can be understood in so far as to being left with the feeling of the “misunderstood genius.” The desperate notion of contentment be fulfilled through ones work as in an attempt of despair to be accepted among one’s general population. Engrossed in one’s work can further be understood, whereby the time spent at anything that does not produce a hint of common sense to a brilliant genius is to be avoided at all costs, a clean mental health and physical outlook is to behold as the standard for excellence.

Jacobsen: Why was Newton able to spend more time on the Church Fathers than on mathematics and still able to mathematically map the middle world of space and time as we know it, Cartesian coordinate system stuff?

Jørgensen: I feel the need for enlightenment at this point, mostly due to the lack of knowledge at this point. Can only guess as to why, but his brilliant mind was preconstructed in the pursuit of knowledge within both the laws of cosmos through his understanding of both physics and math.

Jacobsen: Most smart people make their big discoveries in their mid-20s, I believe, or most mathematical geniuses, e.g., physicists, and the like, then never make another big discovery. Newton was making breakthroughs throughout his life, including into old age. Why?

Jørgensen:  Look at Leonardo Da Vinci, his was productive until he died at age of 67, the intelligence is solving down by age, but is the same true of creativity?

Jacobsen: You wanted to talk about early life for you, too. So, a quick side step, what is your earliest memory?

Jørgensen: My time at a place called Bråstad which is located about 3 miles inland from the town of Arendal. This was back in 1977, remembering a brown horse that we would go riding on with my father, happy times.

Jacobsen: Were there earlier indications of a high-I.Q. for you? Or was this something simply not noticed by parents and surrounding community?

Jørgensen: No there was not, I just felt a bit outside, a stranger to my elements. I did not like what the other kids liked. Remembered that I was curious of my surroundings a lot more then the other kids, I could find myself asking why is about most things, the reply back was always do not worry yourself about these things it is what it is, leave it alone. Sadly, I did.

Jacobsen: How was your academic record in elementary school and high school?

Jørgensen: As I was a late bloomer, and I had no one to support me in academics at an early stage, I was an average kid with average grades. It was not until later in high school that I excelled, but as to records, it was not popular to be clever, amongst my classmates. But there was one test I did, this was fun as we had a clever girl in our class that was looked upon as smart. The test was a 60minutes test, and to make the story short, I used 15minutes and aced the test as the only one in my class. The second best was the girl, and she used the whole 60minutes.

Jacobsen: What do you try to impart to students at your work? How do you try to mentor and educate your children in a similar manner, if so? The education of the next generation of Norwegians is a huge responsibility, and probably hugely underpaid, so thank you for dedicating your talents and taking a likely income hit in the process.

Jørgensen: Well firstly thanks, and yes, we as teachers is vastly underpaid compared to the work, we put in. In my everyday job I try my best to unlock the students inhered creative abilities in the hope of creating a base for self-development and structured direction of how to get where you can realize your most potent potential for academic success.

Jacobsen: What were some of the extracurricular activities, if any, to stimulate mental activity and satisfy personal curiosity?

Jørgensen: Meditation, done as reason to develop an awareness as to maximize your physical/mental capabilities.

Jacobsen: Were you bullied? If so, how? If yes, or not in fact, how would you advise younger bullied students to deal with the bullying?

Jørgensen: Yes, bigtime! To school and back home again, there was a gang that was hounding me and my brother a lot through many years. We back the got into bodybuilding and fought back, it then stopped. This is not a good solution as violence is never a solution, but it is what it is. Now I say to my students, try to walk away, or to confront through dialog. Most important is to stay strong mentally, believe in yourself, it always wins through in the end.

Jacobsen: What was your favourite book to read while young? One of the books that you re-read a lot.

Jørgensen: Mostly I watch movies, all I could get my hands on, books came later in life in high school. Then it was directed towards history, religion, politics, but if I would pick one, James Joyce “Ulysses.”

Jacobsen: How does Norway have a healthy culture of keeping a gifted student from getting a big head about having a more effective cognitive ability than others?

Jørgensen: In short: The law of Jante, keeps us in check.

Jacobsen: Albert Einstein famously was very unkempt. Bill Sidis had a real sweet tooth. Isaac Newton died a virgin. Is this a trend among the people noted as, at least, accomplished or directing their mental energy in a successful direction? A tendency towards certain extremes, e.g., Glenn Gould was a major hypochondriac and used all sorts of prescriptions to reduce anxiety and the like, probably against better medical judgment of experts.

Jørgensen: Did not know about Bill Sidis sweet tooth, funny, I cannot get enough of sweets, I eat as much as I can get every day, not good for my health, try to compensate with more training, I know I am just kidding myself with a healthy output with all the crap that I put into my system, but I can not help myself.

All I know is that time is not on my side, would love if I could live for 200 years, I would then have better time to get around to all I feel I need to do in my life, so for me short meals is an absolute, I do not see food as an enjoyment to be savored, but purely as fuel to keep me going.

Jacobsen: James Maxwell was known to have a huge productive output in a short period of time. How did he do it? History is your expertise, so I’m focusing there. You simply would know more.

Jørgensen: Well, I would hope so, as you say history is my field, but sadly not James Maxwell, I know of him, but not in the extent to say anything that is not already known about him I general. But I understand as to what you mentioned as high periods of output, as this is the case for myself as well. I have these periods where all I do is work on what ever it takes in days end. Do not why this is though.

Jacobsen: Willard Gibbs’ footnotes are said to have been the inspiration for several major discoveries in the lifetime research of the next generation of researchers. It has a semblance of Newton; his crumbs are others’ lifetimes. Is this mythological more than fact, or is there something of a truth here?

Jørgensen: I think that It at least should be noted as such.

Jacobsen: Do you remember the name of the brown horse riding with your father in 1977?

Jørgensen: No sadly I do not, he had 7 horses in total at one point, but do not remember any of their names as I was from the age of 2-5 years old during the time when he had them. We had at that time a small farm where we kept chicken, was breeding dogs, kept rabbits, and had an angry bull as I recall.

Jacobsen: How were your interests different than the other kids?

Jørgensen: We all did the same things as I use to tag a long, but it gave me little pleasure, especial when it came to ride mopeds, cars, I remembered that my brother and his friends use to talk about rims, tire size, sound system, and machine size, my mind was not tuned in, there was nothing special that I can remember thinking about, just that this was boring to listen to.

Jacobsen: Ah, the competition with the smart girl in class. It’s like an old rom-com early life story. Do you know what she ended up doing in later life?

Jørgensen: I think it was within engineering but am not sure as last time I talked to her was about 28 years ago, and I remembered just hearing about it.

Jacobsen: How do you notice behavioural signs of talent in students who may be struggling academically, as this is uncommon, because talent is uncommon, and a hunk of the talented can be spotted in their academic prowess?

Jørgensen: Like myself, one usually sees that something stands out in their behavior pattern that may indicate an inherent talent. It can be so much as to what those who possess this talent usually seek out their field as they then are experts in far beyond what is normal for their age group, and further give indications that they feel that other professional groups are boring, or that they get easily irritating as to their surroundings through the lack of understanding of their own role within a normal school setting.

Jacobsen: Were there any particularly strident stories of violence in the midst of the bullying?

Jørgensen: Yes, but that is a bit hurtful to rip up into now.

Jacobsen: What stood out about Ulysses to you?

Jørgensen: Summed up: The way the characters of the story are portrayed is exposed in all its emotional wonder.

Jacobsen: I recall the law of Jante in prior interviews with other Norwegians, and you. This was mentioned in the Deus Vult interview with Domagoj Kutle, too. He may have indirectly referenced In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal in the opening letter or editorial, in fact, to one issue of the newsletter, in a highly amusing manner. Something about the Catholic Church being under attack – alright then, cool. Also, how did the law of Jante form? Because I have no idea.

Jørgensen: Janteloven is a text written by the author Aksel Sandemose in 1933 and was first presented in the work A refugee crosses his trail. This text gives a good picture of “human beings’ inherent evil and ability to oppress one another”, as Aksel Sandemose believed to characterize human beings from their first interaction.

Jacobsen: Other than sweets, what foods are the fuel to keep you going?

Jørgensen: Incredibly simple diet, consisting of crispbread, plain bread, cereals of varied variety. I’m not a chef, and anything that can be made in under 2 minutes is great, will not waste my time on unnecessary tasks in order to fill my stomach with nutrients.

Jacobsen: Do you have any theories about history, about the cosmos, etc., in development or developed?

Jørgensen: As far as history is concerned, it only repeats itself in newer editions, like an onion where more layers are added as time progresses, only to be peeled away at each major historical event, when the whole process starts all over again. When it comes to the cosmos, where an outer unit should be behind everything and we on earth are considered the center. What, then, is the point of creating a universe that is constantly changing, as well as expanding, where the distances are so great that we will never be able to understand its vast content nor for that matter its sublime substance. What was then the intention of basing such a meaningless existence on such a degree, I find myself constantly asking…

Footnotes

[1] Tor Arne Jørgensen is a member of 50+ high IQ societies.

[2] Individual Publication Date: May 1, 2022: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/jorgensen-7; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2022: https://in-sightpublishing.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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