Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publisher: In-Sight Publishing

Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014

Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com 

Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Journal Founding: August 2, 2012

Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year

Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed

Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access

Fees: None (Free)

Volume Numbering: 11

Issue Numbering: 3

Section: A

Theme Type: Idea

Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”

Theme Part: 28

Formal Sub-Theme: None.

Individual Publication Date: July 15, 2023

Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2023

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Word Count: 

Image Credit: Petros Gkionis

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*

Abstract

Petros studied Philosophy at KU Leuven and plans to become a Professor. He wants to contribute academically in Philosophy, Theology and Biblical Studies. Beyond that, in the spirit of homo universalis, he wants to produce a large set of works of art across different domains, such as compositions, paintings, poems and short stories. He enjoys abstract thinking and creativity, and thinks using both is key to excelling in philosophy, science and art. He has also scored extremely high on some serious IQ tests. Most importantly, he is a Christian and wants to live according to God’s will and spread the good news of the Gospel. He is currently a full member of some High IQ Societies such as: Mensa Greece, Elite member (>=160 IQ sd 15) of the Grand IQ Society, Myriad High IQ Society, ISI-Society, Catholiq High IQ Society, Nebula High IQ Society, Prudentia High IQ Society, Atlantiq High IQ Society. He is also the President and Founder of Quasar Quorum, a new High IQ society for >=150 IQ sd 15. (https://sites.google.com/view/quasarquorum) Gkionis discusses: growing up; extended self; family background; youth with friends; education; purpose of intelligence tests; high intelligence; extreme reactions to geniuses; greatest geniuses; genius and a profoundly gifted person; necessities for genius or the definition of genius; work experiences and jobs held; job path; myths of the gifted; God; science; tests taken and scores earned; range of the scores; ethical philosophy; political philosophy; metaphysics; worldview; meaning in life; source of meaning; afterlife; life; and love.

Keywords: Bible, Christian, Christianity, Corinthians, Greek, Jesus Christ, New Earth, New Heaven, Petros Gkionis, Quasar Quorum, Systematic Theology, The Gospel, William Lane Craig, WW2.

Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1)

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

Petros Gkionis: Lots of WW2 or early post WW2 struggle stories. All four of my grandparents were born into large families, none of whom were wealthy. Two of them were even adopted for a few years because of their families’ financial situation. So, stories about my great grandpa immigrating and their family selling their possessions to buy food or my grandpa from the other side starting to work when he was 12. One side of the family was also too left leaning for the “regime of the colonels” that governed for about 7 years, so there were stories about that era also. There were also random stories about “crazy” stuff that the extended family did, but nothing super interesting.

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

Gkionis: Not really. When I think of myself, I don’t think of which groups am I a member of, including my family. I am part of them objectively, I just don’t base my behaviour or personality on stuff like that. I am a bit more individualistic and try to base my sense of self on thoughts and ideas I or others produce. Christianity and being a philosopher are big parts of my identity though.

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

Gkionis: 2 Greek parents, both born in Athens, but they come from 3 different islands total, we occasionally visit 2 of them in the summer. They are culturally Orthodox, although not as religious as I am (although I’m a Protestant, not Orthodox). They are also first-generation university graduates, although not as interested in more intellectual stuff like philosophy or theology as I am either. My interest in philosophy came from spending hours as a kid thinking about stuff, I was basically doing philosophy, without knowing that it was philosophy, I remember wondering about stuff like if time is real or what could exist, or if I existed before I was born, or even stuff like if what I was experiencing was an illusion. Maybe if people told me that this was philosophy that would have helped because I would have had more sources, but I still ended up fine in my philosophical ability anyway.

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

Gkionis: When I was super young it was more ok, because we had similar interests like playing Pokemon and using our imagination to create worlds that we co-experienced. But around my teenager or preteenager years it was hard for me to relate to others, Greece not having classes for gifted students and not letting you skip grades didn’t help either. People with an IQ like mine in the United States have graduated at 14 from high school, but I had to go through it and be taught stuff that didn’t interest me or challenge me that much. I was kinda living in my own head thinking about stuff all the time or drawing my desk, so of course some of my schoolmates didn’t like that.

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

Gkionis:  I have a BA in Philosophy from KU Leuven, and I’m also currently finishing their MA program. I also wanna obtain a MA in Theology and 2 PhDs, one in each of those fields.

I also have a bunch of membership certificates from high IQ societies, whatever they are worth.

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

Gkionis: I’m not sure if there is a single purpose, I guess mainly to discover how intelligent one is, they could also be used for stuff like entertainment or epistemology or for other studies I suppose, but that’s secondary.

Jacobsen: When was high intelligence discovered for you?

Gkionis: I knew I was smart since I was a kid by comparing my thoughts with those of others around me or with those of the “great thinkers”. In terms of IQ tests I did my first test at Mensa when I was 18, in the final year of high school and got the highest possible score, I did it because my parents didn’t believe me when I told them I was smart, which may seem like a ridiculous reason in a sense, but if they had me do this test when I was younger and had me join some program for gifted children I could have benefited, and maybe others would have as well. So, at the time I was pissed off, later I realized it’s not a big deal.

Jacobsen: When you think of the ways in which 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.

Gkionis: Geniuses think very differently from the majority of the population, they are both way smarter, creative and original than the society around them. Those who differ in general get ostracized, but if that difference also makes them better than others in some domains these others somewhat value then sometimes the same others can’t handle it. A lot of the time though others don’t even understand what geniuses are thinking about or they don’t value the same things. These two contribute among other things to the negative treatment. Of course, to some extend it could also be the fault of the genius if they have something like a bad personality, but that’s not always the case. Geniuses in certain domains like the physical sciences or arts get praised sometimes, sometimes after their death, sometimes before, if their achievement gets connected to an effect society cares about, like for example how people connect Einstein with the end of WW2 based on the atomic bomb or if they win prizes from certain institutions (regardless of whether they accept them) that usually seems to help. Although being a genius doesn’t depend on the praise one gets, it doesn’t even depend on having great discoveries, it just depends on how they think. 

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

Gkionis: Let’s start with “Jesus Christ”, just to piss people off, hahaha. Some of the greatest philosophers, polymaths or composers should be on that list, maybe some unknown ones as well that others stole ideas from or some that lived in strange circumstances that didn’t make them known.

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

Gkionis: Geniuses are also super creative and original. One can be smart without having that and I would say that implies they are not a genius. Although words can be defined in all kinds of different ways. 

Jacobsen: Is profound intelligence necessary for genius?

Gkionis: Yeah. In the way I usually define “genius” at least. I wouldn’t call a super creative dumb person a genius, although they certainly would be talented. There are edge cases though, like a super creative super original thinker who is somewhat smart but not super super smart, are they a genius? I think the thing I said previously about definitions solves this.

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

Gkionis: I’m still in grad school, so that’s not really work. In the future I wanna be a Professor.

I also recently founded Quasar Quorum which is a High IQ Society for >= 150 IQ sd 15, but I don’t make any money from that, so it’s not a job either. 

Jacobsen: Why pursue this particular job path?

Gkionis: I really like philosophy, and after becoming a Christian again I started to really like theology and biblical studies also. If I become a professor in these fields, I will be able to think, produce papers and have lectures for a living, which seems way better than most jobs. The idea that I should do a random 9 to 5 instead and just do a little bit of philosophy on the side, seems insane to me, it seemed like a waste of my life in a way when I was younger so I never tried to go that route, and I will try to risk it rather than taking the easy road, since academia is pretty hard in securing a job. If that doesn’t work, I may still try to get something philosophy or theology related, maybe online. 

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

Gkionis: Intelligence, creativity and originality are probably the main things when it comes to genius. When it comes to gifted, the way some people define it, it may only be about intelligence. I don’t like the idea that some people have that there are no geniuses because knowledge or discoveries or whatever are supposedly based on previous or collective knowledge. I don’t think being a genius relies on recognition or achievements, it just relies on the kind of mind one has, maybe some people put too much emphasis on them when they explain the past and maybe they over attribute stuff to them, kinda like the great man view of history, but that doesn’t mean that geniuses don’t exist. Those stories you’ve heard about extremely smart and creative individuals with a great passion for some domains, they can be true and they have been sometimes.

Jacobsen: Any thoughts on the God concept or gods idea and philosophy, theology, and religion?

Gkionis: I am a Trinitarian. I don’t like the idea that the Trinity is a “mystery” that can’t be explained, I think we can explain it through metaphysics and logic. Latin Trinitarianism seems kinda unbiblical to me also hahaha.

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

Gkionis: I am an anti-realist about science, similar to Paul Feyerabend, although I have some criticisms for him also. I recognize the value of science, and base some of my decisions on it, but I also understand it’s limits. I don’t take it as seriously as other people, in the sense that I realize that what it produces doesn’t have to be true. I have a larger problem with scientism though, rather than science itself, science itself its not that big of problem, it even solves some problems. It’s the way people treat it that may suck. I think Alvin Plantinga said that some theologians don’t criticize science because they are afraid that people will think they critise it just because of “dogma”. But I don’t think we Christians have to be like that, I can have serious epistemological criticisms about whatever I want and I couldn’t care less if others think I do this because of dogmatism, chances are they don’t even grasp epistemology or philosophy of science that well, cause if they did they probably wouldn’t be realists hahaha. The idea that if you are smart you have to spend your time with telescopes looking at the sky or just memorize as many random “facts” about the physical world as possible, rather than having a relationship with God or do philosophy or whatever is a dumb person’s idea of what a smart person is. It’s also common in pop culture.

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

Gkionis: I scored the highest possible score on Mensa’s FRT. Years after that when I did some tests again, I scored in the 150s and 160s sd 15 in some serious high range IQ tests.

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

Gkionis: In terms of normative ethics I’m a deontologist, consequentialism seems like a joke to me. Virtue ethics might be more ok, there are exegeses of the New Testament that argue for them.

In terms of metaethics, Modified Divine Command Theory in the style of William Lane Craig, although there could be some adjustments in terms of what is based on God’s essence and what on God’s commandments. It avoids Euthyphro’s Dilemma. When I was not a Christian, I was an Error theorist, I didn’t buy into non-cognitivism because it seemed to me that moral propositions are real propositions and therefore have truth values, they would just be false.

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

Gkionis: Maybe a combo of postmodernism and premodernism, I don’t like the Enlightenment style modernism that much, although their polymath ideal is not bad.

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

Gkionis: I’m a Christian anarchist, in a more religious sense than Tolstoy though. I would like a classless, stateless, moneyless, Christian society with an emphasis on Christian values. No abortions also haha. Maybe AI can automate some stuff and make some decisions depending on the technological level. Is this a political philosophy? I guess it’s some of the views within political philosophy that I have.

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

Gkionis: Not materialism, haha. I’m ok with either dualism or subjective Idealism, maybe even neutral monism. Which of these 3 is correct I can’t really say I know.

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

Gkionis: It’s probably already answered from my previous answers, but yeah I would say Christianity. The Systematic Philosophical Theology that William Lane Craig is currently working on will probably be pretty close to reality.

Jacobsen: What provides meaning in life for you?

Gkionis:  God. When I was agnostic in my teenage years, or even earlier when I was an atheist, I was kind of an extreme nihilist, I didn’t buy into the whole “create your own meaning” stuff, that didn’t seem like objective meaning to me, it seemed to me like people were just creating a “shopping list” of personal meanings and they were just happy God wouldn’t judge them or whatever.

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

Gkionis: Depends on what meaning you are talking about. The objective meaning, purpose and significance of life or existence comes from God I would say, there some personal human small tier meanings also which are internally derived to some extent, but they are not as significant.

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

Gkionis: Yeah, I accept what the Bible says about it. There will be a New Heaven and New Earth and those who will get saved will live in New Jerusalem. I’m not sure if aliens who may be persons will end up in New Jerusalem or if they may end up in some other place. Because God could have multiple theophanies in different places in the afterlife, I don’t think I’ve gotten into heretical territory yet hahaha. 

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

Gkionis: I’m not sure if I would call it a mystery, I think God always existed, He then created humans and possibly other persons, and He may resurrect them after their death if He wants.

Jacobsen: What is love to you?

Gkionis: “It’s just chemical reactions, bro” haha. It kinda depends on what you mean with it. There is a difference between the Christian love and the romantic one or the kind of friendship that some ancient philosophers talked about that sometimes gets translated as “love”. I would say the most important is the Christian one. It’s the one God has and the one we are required to have, it’s not just about feeling, it’s also about approach and behavior, to quote 1st Corinthians 13:12 “If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

Bibliography

None

Footnotes

None

Citations

American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Jacobsen S. Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1). July 2023; 11(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1

American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Jacobsen, S. (2023, July 15). Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1). In-Sight Publishing. 11(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1.

Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1). In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 11, n. 3, 2023.

Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2023. “Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 11, no. 3 (Summer). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1.

Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Jacobsen, S “Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 11, no. 3 (July 2023).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1.

Harvard: Jacobsen, S. (2023) ‘Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 11(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1>.

Harvard (Australian): Jacobsen, S 2023, ‘Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 11, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1&gt;.

Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. “Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.11, no. 3, 2023, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1.

Vancouver/ICMJE: Scott J. Conversation with Petros Gkionis: President & Founder, Quasar Quorum (1) [Internet]. 2023 July; 11(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/gkionis-1.

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