anyone watch the thing on tv about mozart's skull?

[Tash]

well it was on SBS in oz last night- it was all very interesting- they were doing some DNA tests on his supposed skull, and went and dug up his grandmother and mother i think to check if they had the same DNA. in the end they discovered that all the people buried in the mozart grave (where his dad supposedly is) were not related to each other, nor were they related to the skull...so who is buried in the mozart family grave?!

[prometheus]

Probably a hoax. Why would Mozart's skull surface after so many years? Where has it been all this time? And how does it get the accurate label of being Mozarts skull? Why does this appear a few weeks before Mozarts 250th anniversary?

[brewtality]

I was watching a jenna jameson doco on VH1, much more interesting.

[thalbergmad]

I was watching a jenna jameson doco on VH1, much more interesting.

She has got an interesting skull too.

[Tash]

well i think apparently the skull's been around a while but they haven't had the technology to prove whether it's his or not- like they apparently did tests back in 1991 or something and maybe earlier as well. i figured like as soon as i started watching it that it wasn't his, cos if it was it'd be all over the news. the music was annoying- some string trio that had jazzed up some of his pieces, found it kinda inappropriate for the program, which may suggest its hidden tackiness...probably more for the people who think mozart is great and know nothing else

[xenon]

When Mozart died, he was an impoverish bum and his body was dumped in one of many large unmarked pits with the bodies of other poor people.  He didn't have the money for a decent burial plot.  Therefore no one knew where he was buried, let alone which body was his.  Or skull, for that matter.

[Tash]

yes i know i thought it was quite a feat having managed to pick out one and say it's his! i bet some random was diggin up bones and thought hey that looks like quite the mozartish skull- the musical intelligence is just obvious through the bone structure

[4tissimo]

I don't know about Mozart's skull, but a few years back I read what I considered an authoritative source that described a psychologist/psychiatrist who devised a posthumously administered IQ test which he gave to virtually every famous person that ever lived.  The result?  Mozart was Top IQ dog!  Anyone know anything about that?

[steve jones]

Actually, I heard that the story of Mozart dying broke was quite the exaggeration. He was far from being a wealthy man, but a bum? No.

Atleast that what channel 5 reckon anyway 

[prometheus]

There are some lists with estimated IQs of historical people out there. One of them is https://members.shaw.ca/delajara/Cox300.html

I wonder how objective and accurate this data is.

[bearzinthehood]

Hilariously it looks like they just made the major composers have 165 IQ on their list.

[emmdoubleew]

There are some lists with estimated IQs of historical people out there. One of them is https://members.shaw.ca/delajara/Cox300.html

I wonder how objective and accurate this data is.

Isn't IQ mathematical and reasoning skills?
Didn't Beethoven have 0 mathematical skills?
Why did they give him 165?

[mikey6]

Isn't IQ mathematical and reasoning skills?
Didn't Beethoven have 0 mathematical skills?
Why did they give him 165?

Music is full of maths so I can't see that being a problem.  Judging by what you hear of his general attitude, reasoning skills might be a bit more of a debate.