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At the age of 8 Anakin Skywalker built his own Podracer as well as a Protocol Droid.

Is there any way to determine that, had he lived on Earth he would be tested to have a 'genius level IQ' (e.g. an IQ of 160 or more)?

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closed as primarily opinion-based by SSumner, neilfein, Jimmy Shelter, Ward, James Sheridan Mar 28 '14 at 0:50


I don't think there is any way to say for certain. He's certainly smart, but I've never seen anything that compares geniuses in the SW universe to ours. –  SSumner Mar 27 '14 at 20:13
IQ is by its nature a measurable phenomenon, and there are multiple methods of testing. Therefor, this isn't a matter of opinion and shouldn't be closed as such. No VTC from me. –  John O Mar 27 '14 at 20:41

2 Answers 2

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I think it's unfair to use a model of IQ that we use currently for somebody in a fictional universe such as Star Wars. In Star Wars robotics and complicated systems far beyond our own capabilities are commonplace, so just because he was able to build and repair stuff at a young age doesn't necessarily mean he is a genius.

Yes Anakin was smart for his age, but whether or not he has a Genius IQ of 160 in our world is really kind of indeterminable.

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Agreed. Building a robot in the Star Wars setting could be as simple as Lego Mindstorm today. –  Greenstone Walker Mar 27 '14 at 20:52

The novelisation of Phantom Menace suggests that Anakin does possess a slightly higher than average intelligence as well as solid level of low cunning, largely as a result of his Jedi skills and status as slave to Watto;

  • Watto trusts him to barter on his behalf for parts with the Jawas

  • When negotiating with the Jawas, he secretly records their conversations so that C3P0 can catch their "unguarded remarks".

  • Watto recognises Anakin's "gift for taking things apart and putting them back together and making them work better than they had before"

  • Anakin himself realises that if he puts a casing on C3P0 it will become obvious that it's in working order and Watto will confiscate it

  • Anakin builds a podracer out of scrap parts and, again keeps it a secret "smart enough to realise" that it will get taken by his master.

That said, nothing he does in any of the films or novels would suggest that he has a genius level IQ. Having an affinity for building machines doesn't by definition make you a genius, any more than constantly making ill-advised decisions makes you an idiot.

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Excellently put. He is mechanically excellent and an outstanding pilot (the latter is probably due to his extremely high force affinity), an incredible swordsman (also due to the force), and a good friend and leader. However, none of these relate to intelligence –  SSumner Mar 27 '14 at 20:16
@SSumner's definition of "good friend": will try to chop off your head after murdering a templeful of younglings you helped raise; and being instrumental in fully destroying the entire world order you devoted your entire (celibate!) life to. –  DVK Mar 28 '14 at 0:44
Well...not what I meant. But good spin on my comment ;) –  SSumner Mar 28 '14 at 0:52
