An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One)
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Numbering: Issue 22.A, Idea: Outliers & Outsiders (Part Eighteen)
Place of Publication: Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Title: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightjournal.com
Individual Publication Date: March 22, 2020
Issue Publication Date: May 22, 2020
Name of Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Frequency: Three Times Per Year
Words: 2,021
ISSN 2369-6885
Abstract
Tor Arne Jørgensen is a member of 50+ high IQ societies, including World Genius Directory, NOUS High IQ Society, 6N High IQ Society just to name a few. He has several IQ scores above 160+ sd15 among high range tests like Gift/Gene Verbal, Gift/Gene Numerical of Iakovos Koukas and Lexiq of Soulios. His further interests are related to intelligence, creativity, education developing regarding gifted students, and his love for history in general, mainly around the time period of the 19th century to the 20th century. Tor Arne works as a teacher at high school level with subjects as; History, Religion, and Social Studies. He discusses: family background; facets of the larger self; prescient moments in early formation; guardians and mentors of import; significant books and authors to him; pivotal educational moments; postsecondary education; HRT scores; participating in a like ability community; and main areas of intellectual interest.
Keywords: Arbeider parties, E.H. Carr, HRT, Mark Mazower, Peter Singer, Tor Arne Jørgensen, Winston Churchill, WWII.
An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One)[1],[2]*
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citation style listing after the interview.*
1. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is family background or lineage, e.g., surname(s) etymology (etymologies), geography, culture, language, religion/non-religion, political suasion, social outlook, scientific training, and the like?
Tor Arne Jørgensen: As my family background goes, my parents are from a small town further south from where I live today, called Lillesand a town in the south of Norway, my own hometown is called Grimstad. These small towns are very busy during the summer months, but very quiet during the winter months. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and was very caring. My father was active during WWII, and was awarded several medals for his bravery during the last part of the pacific war where he shot down two kamikaze pilots. As education goes, they were not highly educated, just primary school education. As religion goes none of my family is especially religious, even though we come from the so-called “bible belt” in the south of Norway. To the question of politics, then yes I was active in my younger days within AUF, the youth party of the Norwegian workers’ party (Arbeider partiet) short for Ap. I am no longer as active as I use to be, but I am still politically updated for my own personal interest and the fact that I teach within the fields of history and social studies at the high school level. In general, I keep myself very busy with first and foremost regards to my family, then my studies, work, and fitness, intelligence and more. The future endeavours for me are to finish my education and keep moving forward within the social structures of high intelligence. Also with the intent to further educate people about giftedness, and to address equality for all pupils and students alike of both sides of the intelligence scale.
2. Jacobsen: With all these facets of the larger self, how did these become the familial ecosystem to form identity and a sense of a self extended through time?
Jørgensen: As forming my self extended, I found that serving the people around me to be an intent in the degree of the further foundation for a greater purpose in life. My childhood has shaped me to focus about what does now matter most for me in regards to helping others in achieving their goals in their lives. As to identity of self-awareness, I had a tough childhood that forced me into making adult decisions at an early age regards to the choices that I had to make for myself and that have guided me ever since.
3. Jacobsen: Of those aforementioned influences, what ones seem the most prescient for early formation?
Jørgensen: The ability to see past my own boundaries, thus shaping the surrounding elements in early childhood. This has always been and still is my foremost ability as the ground of early formation regards to past, present, and future.
4. Jacobsen: What adults, mentors, or guardians became, in hindsight, the most influential on you?
Jørgensen: The role models in my life are not many, I like to look at myself as my own role model. I set the standards very high for myself and have always done so. The people around me have that, in some way looked to me for guidance. But there is one person I will bring forward and this person is Winston Churchill, the reason for this is his efforts in bringing about the perceptions about mental determination in regards to the war efforts during WWII. He has by that fact set the standard for the mental mindset to be followed by others myself included.
5. Jacobsen: As a young reader, in childhood and adolescence, what authors and books were significant, meaningful, to worldview formation?
Jørgensen: Books that have been a big influence in my life is mostly based on facts, I was never a big lover of books about fiction but rather books about facts caught my attention. I started reading at an early age on my own around age 7 and upwards, but I never had a fixed focus I just read everything I could get my hands on at that time. I now read books like; Mark Mazower – Governing The World: The history of an idea, E.H. Carr – The Twenty Years Crises 1919 – 1939, Peter Singer – Practical Ethics, just to name a few. I now would like to dive into world politics, global history, educational systems in a national/global sense, and the world beyond!
6. Jacobsen: What were pivotal educational – as in, in school or autodidacticism – moments from childhood to young adulthood?
Jørgensen: As to education, the most important learning factor was my intuitive mindset with regards to self-awareness. What does this entail, well my primary school was fine as normal learning curve goes, but what when the school can not provide beyond that fact. Then the self-education comes into play, people with high intelligence can in many ways tap into this self-learning ability in order to compensate for the lack of skills within external learning environments, such as the ordinary school system. This has in many ways been my lifeline as education goes.
7. Jacobsen: For formal postsecondary education, what were the areas of deepest interest? What were some with a passion but not pursued? Why not pursue them?
Jørgensen: As postsecondary education goes, my interest in history and the time period around the founding of our country in 1814, and the start of democracy, has for me been the biggest interest within this particular field. I have since taken a bachelor’s degree in history involved; 1814 and the start of our constitution. I will pursue a master’s degree later on, also directed toward the same topic sometime in the future. As passions not pursued further, I would like to have pursued educational language in a much bigger sense, to be able to learn more about languages has always been of interest, but not followed through educational wise. Why not now then, lack of time, just that lack of time.
8. Jacobsen: What have been some of the intelligence tests taken and the scores earned over time – with standard deviations too, please?
Jørgensen: I have taken many HR-tests; the test scores vary from low 140+ sd15 up to high 172 sd15. I did many mistakes in my past with regards to early tests as I scored low by the fact of rushing these tests and thus hurting my end score. I have found out later I need to take my time and not stress myself with quick response to the tests themselves. I am a deep analyst. Also, I feel I have not peeked yet, I know in time I will score 175+. Here is some of the test I have tried out so far; Asterix of Jason Betts-153 sd15, World IQ Challenge of Brennan Martin-140 sd15, Gift verbal 1-4 of Iakovos Koukas average score around 164+ sd15, and Lexiq of Soulios 172 sd15.
9. Jacobsen: What has been the participation in the high-IQ community for you?
Jørgensen: Get to meet new people that share the same interest as me, and to be able to compete against some of the most brilliant minds in the world to solve HR-tests, also to be able to discuss topics such as education, art, science, math and more…
10. Jacobsen: What are the main areas of intellectual and reading interest for you?
Jørgensen: I will address this last question in the manner of intellectual interest and right of equal education for all.
Last year (2019) I was awarded the WGD – Genius Of The Year – Europe, (GOTY). As an ambassador for the high IQ community, it was a great honour for me to receive this prestigious award. With it, I got to address the Norwegian media about the high IQ community, and I also spoke about the need for equal education for both the gifted pupils as the non-gifted pupils in regards to Norwegian schools and their educational quality thereof. This is for me now the main focus as to my further endeavours, with it I hope to bring about the attention as to what can be done to make sure that the gifted pupils can maximize their true intellectual potential at primary school level and beyond.
[1] Child and Youth Worker.
[2] Individual Publication Date: March 22, 2020: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one; Full Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2020: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.
*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.
Appendix II: Citation Style Listing
American Medical Association (AMA): Jacobsen S. An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One) [Online].March 2020; 22(A). Available from: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
American Psychological Association (APA, 6th Edition, 2010): Jacobsen, S.D. (2020, March 22). An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One). Retrieved from http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One). In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 22.A, March. 2020. <http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one>.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (16th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2020. “An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 22.A. http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
Chicago/Turabian, Humanities (16th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott “An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 22.A (March 2020). http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
Harvard: Jacobsen, S. 2020, ‘An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One)‘, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 22.A. Available from: <http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one>.
Harvard, Australian: Jacobsen, S. 2020, ‘An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One)‘, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 22.A., http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 7th Edition, 2009): Scott D. Jacobsen. “An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 22.A (2020):March. 2020. Web. <http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one>.
Vancouver/ICMJE: Jacobsen S. An Interview with Tor Arne Jørgensen on Background, Identity, Mentors, Education, and Interests (Part One) [Internet]. (2020, March 22(A). Available from: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/jørgensen-one.
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