The Solvay conference was founded by the Belgian industrialist Ernest Solvay in 1912.

Located in Brussel the conference discussed open questions on Physics and Chemistry. This
picture was taken in 1927, the 5th and the most famous Solvay conference, with the world’s
leading scientists such as Elbert Einstein gathering to discuss about electrons and photons; It
has been often described as “The most intelligent photo ever taken”. With almost no
hesitation, this picture is “intelligent”, as it includes many outstanding physicists - however,
this essay strongly disagrees with the word “most” used in the statement. Does this picture
really represent the pinnacle of human intelligence?

The word “most” alludes to the greatest, the extreme.

What does the statement mean by “intelligence”?

This essay is going to express the author’s interpretation of the word “intelligent” used in
the statement, and whether it is wrong to use the words “most intelligent.”

Interpretation 1: Intelligence quotient

According to the Cambridge dictionary, intelligence is defined as ‘the ability to learn,

understand, and make judgements or have opinions that are based on reason’. While there
are numerous ways in measuring intelligence, the most frequently used metric is the
Intelligence Quotient (IQ), which has an original formula of:

mentalage × 100
chronological age

An IQ test consists of taking various tests to measure intelligence which can include spatial
recognition, short-term memory, mathematical ability, and analytical thinking. However,
these does not accurately predict how “smart” a human can be; a musical genius might have
weaker mathematical abilities, likewise, a person who scores highly in the IQ test might not
have artistic skills. Therefore, IQ may not be the best way to measure and value human
intelligence and capability, as human thinking and logic are extremely complex. However, it
does provide a scale to compare and evaluate intelligence between two or more individuals.

Using a numerical method in terms of IQ, this picture isn’t the pinnacle of human
intelligence. Indeed, nowhere nearby. An example being Sir Albert Einstein, one of the
smartest humans ever existed who has an estimated IQ of 160. Subsequently, scientists in
this picture are also likely to have an IQ around a similar margin, such as Marie Curie. Hence,
the total IQ of the picture can be approximated as: 160 x 29 = 4640. Consequently, an
average human is estimated to have an IQ of around 100. If a same picture is taken, but
instead with 50 average people, the total IQ would be 100*50= 5000. The sum of IQ for the
new photo will be significantly higher; a difference of 360.

On the other hand, if we were to speak in terms of IQ individually, is there any possibilities
for a human being to reach such a high IQ in the future? The answer is not likely. Without a
doubt, all these physicists invited to the conference were all turning points of the physics
world, and so their IQ are all extremely high. The Flynn effect is a phenomenon in which
human intelligence pattern changes in the 20th century, however this trend has either
reversed or weakened. Fig. 1 shows the world IQ over time, IQ worldwide is experiencing a
steady decline – implying that no human would be smarter than those in the past, excluding
some unexpected anomalies as the IQ is only the average worldwide.

Fig.1, World IQ over time

From another perspective, this “pinnacle” of human intelligence might never exist. The
human brain is a constant evolving, adapting biological machine. There is better, but not best.
Following this, the argument above using time and current data as parameters might not hold.
However, it’s important to consider some limitations of this assumption. The previous
paragraph explained a likely future using real numbers and statistics, while the latter consists
of predictions backed by biological theory.

Interpretation 2: Contribution to the field

With a focus on electrons and photons, the Fifth Solvay International

Conference, extremely notable and achievable physicists, such as Albert Einstein
and Niels Bohr met to discuss the quantum theory of electromagnetic radiation
newly formulated by physicist Heisenberg.

During the 20th century, two major transformations of physics theories took
place simultaneously. The first being Albert Einstein's General Theory of
Relativity, which proposed that the observed gravitational effect between masses
results from their warping of spacetime. The second was Quantum Theory, proposed
and developed by Max Plank and Niels Bohr (known as the two founding fathers
of quantum theory and both won a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on quanta), that
energy exists and transmits as discrete packets, so called a "quantum." This new
branch of discovery enabled physicists to describe the interaction between
energy and matter down to a subatomic level. Furthermore, phenomena which
could not previously be explained by the wave theory of light (energy), such as
the photoelectric effects, found their coherent explanations.

Albert Einstein, who won the 1921 Nobel prize on quantum Physics, saw
Quantum theory as a medium to describe the nature of energy, but he doubted
that it upheld "a useful basis for the whole of physics." Elstein thought that
reality in physics can only be described and concluded through firm predictions
followed by direct observations of the given hypothesis. However, it is strange
and counter-intuitive that individual quantum interactions cannot be observed
directly. As a result, this left quantum physicists no choice but to predict the
probability that such events will take place. Another famous physicist, Niels
Bohr, championed Quantum Theory to challenge Einstein’s view - argued that
the mere act of indirectly observing the atomic realm could alter the outcome of
quantum interactions. Bohr believed, however, that employing statistical
methodologies to predict quantum interactions based on probability can
describe reality with accuracy. Bohr himself along with the other founding father
of Quantum Theory, Max Plank, are both in the photo and they each received a
Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on quanta.

This debate started at the 1927 Solvay Conference, however, continued for
decades: Einstein along with two other physicists, Podolsk and Rosen published
their paper on The Physical Review (15th May 1935), which claimed to refute
Quantum Theory. As a result, newspapers were quick to share Einstein's
skepticism of the "new physics" with the public; his paper, "Can Quantum-
Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?" prompted
Bohr to write a rebuttal. By most accounts of this public debate, Bohr was the
victor, compounded by the fact that modern experiments have upheld Quantum
Theory despite Einstein's objections. However, both Bohr and Einstein had
played a significant role in accelerating the rate of development of the quantum
physics field. Subsequently, the EPR paper introduced topics that are still
challenging for the modern physicist to solve and explain fully, thus formed the
foundation for much of today's physics research in institutes around the world.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the intelligence level for people in
the photo is world-class and drove the progression of science in the 20th century.

However, apart from the strong scientific reasoning, the fundamental of these
advanced scientific discoveries and progressions is mathematics. For any form
of scientific findings to be established and explicitly explained logically,
mathematics is an absolute necessity. Taking the 1927 Solvay Conference’s topic
of electron and photon as an example, mathematical techniques such as
advanced differtiation and integration were used. These were first invented by
physicist and mathematician, Issaac Newton back in 1665. Although, the
physicists in the 20th century had taken this for granted, what Newton accomplished
at his 24 is simply astonishing. Calculus is now one of the most significant
mathematical tools and is widely used in physics, chemistry, biology, economics, all
branches of engineering, and more. While we appreciate the discoveries completed
by physicists at this conference, it is crucial to recognize that the past discoveries
that have made the current discoveries possible. The 29 scientists in the photo were
not only representing themselves, but also the previous scientists that their
discoveries were built upon.

Subsequently, the 21st-century technological advancement brought the development

and thus people’s standard of living and quality to the next level. This is made
possible by computer scientists. The Hungaarina-American mathematician and
computer scientist, John Von Neumann, invented the Von Neumann Architecture,
where programs can be stored in the memory of a computer and be directly
accessed by the control unit in the CPU through the bi-directional and unidirectional
buses (series of parallel wires used to transmit digital signal and information that are
binary and non-discrete). This built upon the theory of the ‘stored program concept’,
which is the fundamental that allows a computer to be a digital multi-functional
device not a uni-functional machine. The ‘fetch, decode and execute cycle’ lies in the
heart of this architecture, where data is continuously fetched to the CPu and
decoded and executed by the arithmetic and logic unit, with an effect being passed
onto the output device through the external buses. The Von Neumann architecture
forms the basis of modern computers that we use increasingly frequently nowadays.
This not only boosts productivity for firms, workers and the government, but also
enables the cost of production for goods and services produced to be much lower,
thus leading to an increase in the utility of consumers in the economy. If we define
intelligence as the ability to create benefits and social welfare for the society and the
individuals living in it as the primary approach, it is reasonable to say that the
modern scientists - the computer scientists, led by John Von Neumann, Alan Turing
and more – represents the true intelligence.
References:

Figure 1: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2730791/Are-STUPID-Britons-
people-IQ-decline.html

https://www.mathtutordvd.com/public/How-Isaac-Newton-Changed-the-World-with-the-
Invention-of-Calculus.cfm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann_architecture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_general_relativity

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Planck

https://www.newscientist.com/definition/quantum-physics/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z7qqmsg/revision/7