Renaissance man turned psychometrician -- this is perhaps the best way to encapsulate Thurstone's career. He is considered by many the quintessential American psychometrician. This reflects not only his exceptional contributions to factor analysis (i.e., the development of multiple factor analysis) but also his work on measurement theory and models of intelligence.

Thurstone recognized the inadequacies of psychological measurement techniques and single handedly devised methods to produce scales to which meaningful interval and ratio criteria could be applied. The ambiguities of Binet's "mental age" received his attention and led to the introduction of standardized IQ scores (mean 100, standard deviation 15 is the norm for modern representations). Application of his new factor analytic techniques led Thurstone to postulate the notion of Primary Mental Abilities (PMA's). These are crudely defined as relatively independent sub-components of intelligence that individuals' possess to a greater or lesser degree. This discovery led to inflamed debate over the nature of intelligence, because it appeared to suggest the opposite of that proposed by Spearman in his general intelligence theory. The debate still continues with proponents of "g" pointing out that at the highest level of analysis a general factor emerges.Whether or not Thurstone's concept of PMA's (and the related theory of fluid and crystallized abilities) can ever be reconciled with Spearman's "mental energy" appears unlikely. Perhaps Thurstone's greatest contribution to psychometrics (and psychology) was the introduction of "simple structure" to factor analysis. Simple structure allows for meaningful psychological interpretation of factor analytic results, and thus insight into the potential processes involved in intelligent functioning.Renaissance man?

Well Thurstone began his career as an electrical engineer and was recruited by Thomas Edison as an assistant. Thurstone invented a method for making "talking pictures" and developed the flicker-free movie camera and projector. Furthermore he exhibited significant geometric ability by describing a method for trisecting angles. On top of all this Thurstone was regarded as one of the first "greenies". He suggested techniques for extracting 'pure energy' from river systems and Niagara Falls. Pretty smooth for a psychologist.