Enhanced intellect

Enhanced intellect, or increased intellect, represents an individual's intelligence quotient, which is usually perpetuated through unnatural processes. This differs from someone who is simply naturally intelligent, and generally relates to those whose intellect has increased due to scientific experimentation, genetic mutation or some other form of external stimuli.

In science fiction, one of the most well-known examples of enhanced intellect is Flowers for Algernon, which was a short story written by Daniel Keyes in 1958 and was first published in the April, 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story was adapted into a television movie in 2000 starring Matthew Modine which chronicles the life of a simple-minded janitor named Charlie Gordon, who undergoes experimental brain surgery to increase his IQ. Ultimately however, his intellect regresses back to that of a small child.

The 1984 short story "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" by author Stephen King features the titular protagonist Becka Paulson, who benefits from the effects of increased intellect. The story was adapted into a season three episode of the 1995 iteration of The Outer Limits'', also titled "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", where the character was played by actress Catherine O'Hara. In the story, Becka Paulson suffers an accidental gunshot wound to the head while watching a soap opera. She becomes increasingly more intelligent even though her actions are guided by the voice of a man on the TV screen (8x10 Man), who encourages her to kill her husband.