IQ tests work well in a stable situation when living conditions remain unchanged. In
times of global life change mental functions as derivatives of the cultural environment
may change. Analyzing the direct and reversed Flynn eff ects the authors come to the
conclusion that the structure of intelligence is currently changing, and off er their own
"geometric" model of understanding intelligence as the "area of a triangle" with angles
representing diff erent types of mind (Polymath, Thinker, Inventor). The larger the area of
the triangle, the smarter the person. The shape of the triangle determines the intellectual
emploi of a person – by the largest angle.
Polymath is a historically important person, a bearer of knowledge. However, the value of
P-intelligence has steadily declined with the invention of writing, printing, and media. In
the era of mobile Internet, P-devaluation has become rapid. Inventor is hardly noticeable
in stable times of civilizational development. The value of I-intelligence increases during
periods of knowledge crisis: a successful inventor changes the world. The need for
T-intelligence also grows in times of change. The element of the Thinker is the search for
explanations. He pays tribute to the facts, but above all appreciates theories, being the
link between old and new knowledge.
The fl uctuations in IQ level revealed over the past decades refl ect the dynamics of
structural components of intelligence: the Flynn eff ect refl ects an increase in P, the
reverse eff ect of Flynn – its reduction. Measuring P-intelligence (gradually losing its role
as a key characteristic of the mind) is well standardized, while there are no reliable tools
for assessing T- and I-intelligence. Our time with its general crisis of understanding, is
inexorably changing the shape of the intellectual triangle, expanding I and narrowing P:
the value of facts is falling while the value of their understanding is growing.