I get these questions every now and then, but I have no simple answer.
Since I am such a professor,
I decided to take an IQ test
to find out.
This is not to say that IQ is the only prerequisite, there are other skills
such as EQ, creativity, persistence, and social skills that are also important.
I was recommended a well-known Danish test that had been calibrated using answers from more than 250,000 people, so I took it.
I thought I should confirm the result with another test
published by the Swedish magazine Illustrerad Vetenskap (Illustrated Science),
but that test was only able to measure IQ levels up to 145.
Thus, it was not a great verification test since even the highest result
"Your IQ is higher than 145"
could only partly verify the result of the test above.
Since these kinds of tests are quite boring,
I decided not to take any more tests.
There is actually one more question I get, and it is much easier to answer: Is it cool to be a professor in Computer and Systems Sciences?
The answer: It is extremely cool!