CBC’s Canada’s Smartest Person television show was won by Braden Lauer, a 22-year-old law student at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
The show, which is in its second season, measures contestants’ intelligence in six areas: visual, logical, musical, linguistic, physical, and social intelligences, according to CBC’s website. When asked which areas were his strongest, Lauer said the easiest ones for him were logical, linguistic, and social.
“Those are sort of the three that encompass a law student business type background,” he explained.
The show’s intelligence testing is based on the multiple intelligences theory, which was developed by Harvard University professor and psychologist, Howard Gardner. The theory includes more than the six types focused on in the show.
The theory suggests it is difficult to test intelligences through standardized tests because they are often limited to “calculations entailing paper and pencil, or computer keyboards, and don’t take into account a range of intelligences,” according to CBC’s website.
“They are basically trying to have a diverse kind of people on the show and really sort of showcase people from different walks of life,” Lauer said.
The show tests intelligences through different games that reflect real life instances. One challenge on the show involves a crosswalk scenario with pedestrians in a variety of abnormal attire.
As the pedestrians walk by, the contests are expected to analyze their appearances and then answer questions based on what the pedestrians looked like. However, they are not told which characteristics to remember. This tests visual intelligence.
On the show, Lauer describes himself as an “Einstein meets Sherlock.” When asked what inspired the title, he said he considers himself a smart but frazzled guy, the “messy desk learner.”
Lauer said his favourite subject in school was math.
“I always really liked logical thinking,” he said.
In high school, Lauer taught himself grade 12 calculus so he could write the advanced placement exam.
Lauer said “you can’t effectively prepare for every aspect of the show because you don’t know how you’re going to be challenged . . . for linguistic, I tried to brush up on my Boggle and Scrabble.”
As a child in Kamloops, B.C., Lauer said he played Boggle with his family, which helps with the kind of testing that goes on in the show. When asked if preparing for his law school admission test (LSAT) helped in preparing for the show Lauer said, “it’s a situation where you’re preparing for a way of thinking more than you are for specific material . . . You have to be able to think quick and adapt a strategy to a situation and you have to be able to act and excel under pressure.”
Lauer said he plans to continue he career in law while enjoying the title of Canada’s smartest person and being an ambassador for the show.
