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The problem with commonly using the word "superior" in relation to intelligence, is that the antonym is "inferior." Unfortunately, these terms may be offensive: to the population at large these words may appear to designate the overall status or worth of a person, not be understood in the limited context of
- a gauge of relative intelligence,
- as measured by a specific test instrument,
- providing a snapshot at a specific point in time.
The term "superior" may also appear to wrongly convey to the general population that an intelligence profile is uniformly even, implying that a person's very high brain function in one area indicates very high brain function in all other areas. However, this is not true.
- The same IQ does not look the same on every person. Different people have different cognitive strengths.
- People can have both intellectual gifts and intellectual challenges, which is termed twice-exceptional (2e).
BTW, over time there has similarly been considerable discussion of the word "gifted" as many also find that term to be divisive, exclusionary, and/or elitist, and therefore off-putting.
This thread suggests some words to use, rather than "gifted", when advocating. This thread,
School Administrators as Politicians (2015), also advises against using the word "gifted."
