The Alien IQ Test

by Clifford A. Pickover

Here is an irresistibly addictive book for anyone whose juices flow when presented with a baffling puzzle. This fiendishly clever book pits readers' wits and deductive powers against a dizzying array of word problems, questions, riddles, and graphic brainteasers, all devised (if you dare to believe) by aliens who have arrived to assess our intelligence in such far-flung areas of the human mind as abstract reasoning, mathematics, religion, morality, and humanity's concepts of beauty.

Genres: Puzzles

105 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1997

About the author

Clifford Alan Pickover is an American author, editor, and columnist in the fields of science, mathematics, science fiction, innovation, and creativity. For many years, he was employed at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York, where he was editor-in-chief of the IBM Journal of Research and Development. He has been granted more than 700 U.S. patents, is an elected Fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and is author of more than 50 books, translated into more than a dozen languages.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disregarding the Earth encountering a planet-busting meteor, the most traumatic event that the human race could experience is to learn of the existence of an extra-terrestrial intelligence. Humans are more sensitive about the perceptions of their intelligence than any other characteristic. Which would make the knowledge of a species of superior intelligence the cause of an outbreak of planet-wide paranoia.
Pickover uses this as a premise to present a series of puzzles and create a little intellectual paranoia in his readers. Most of these puzzles are hard, although he does take pity and provide detailed solutions. Hopefully any alien in the same position will be as tolerant. And he also raises some very serious points of debate. What is the proper gift for an emissary from another planet? A human body part or a priceless Van Gogh? What one message would provide the most information to a human society attempting to rebuild a civilization? Which is more important, belief in God or the existence of God?
Once again, Pickover demonstrates his exceptional ability to pose unusual and challenging questions. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in the premise to the book.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission and this review appears on Amazon

[Ayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting problems and thought provoking, some of the questions could have used more descriptive clues, some were up to the whimsy of the person who made them. I found it okay, and it left me with some new ways to solve problems I hadn't thought about.