IQ is only a minor factor in success • Hacker News Board

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#151

Post by keefe » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:21 PM UTC

In broad terms of course emotional intelligence is very useful when interacting with other humans.

to pick at the 1-2% numbers a bit the impact of IQ depends on the individual; physical size/height is only profoundly important for the success of certain people - athletes primarily. however, both also have correlation with success. I'm sure the paper was more careful than this article.

IQ is often used as a proxy for intelligence, when in fact it's just a set of standard metrics that nobody thinks is that good beyond a certain point - after all the term comes from early attempts to quantify developmental delay. Leaving that aside for a moment.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#152

Post by wolfgke » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:27 PM UTC

lgessler wrote: post #148

wolfgke wrote: post #140

> The study found that grades and achievement-test results were markedly better predictors of adult success than raw IQ scores. That might seem surprising -- after all, don’t they all measure the same thing? Not quite. Grades reflect not just intelligence but also what Heckman calls “non-cognitive skills,” such as perseverance, good study habits and the ability to collaborate [emphasis by me] -- in other words, consc…

> but working together with people who have less of this trait always ends/ended in a tragedy. If by that you mean you were then unable to collaborate with them, perhaps you have less of this than you imagined?

> If by that you mean you were then unable to collaborate with them, perhaps you have less of this than you imagined?

I am not an English native speaker, so perhaps I misunderstand some subtleties that exist in the English language, but not in the German translation of the word "conscientiousness". The dictionary translates "conscientiousness" to German "Gewissenhaftigkeit" and "Pflichtbewusstsein". I tend to work hard - thus I am conscientious. But I also expect other people to do so - so I don't tolerate loafing on my behalf; again a trait of "conscientiousness", but exactly what leads to difficulties working together with other people who are less conscientious.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#153

Post by hyperbovine » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:28 PM UTC

babuskov wrote: post #138

visarga wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well... in order for you to wonder at how "biology ruled over your logical processing unit" a lot of people had to sacrifice their freedoms, before you. Don't beat yourself over it, it's such an important thing that it is equal to "being alive". And what you lose as a person, your DNA gains as a living system. DNA is such a chump. I never realized how much work it does. Every protein in our bodies is copied from DNA.…

I wrote it in so nice way. I'm usually more harsh to people. Deciding not to have kids because it's too much of an effort is so selfish act. You're throwing away all the effort your ancestors put in to get to the point of you being alive.

Having kids is a far more selfish act than not. Our species and our planet would be way, way better off if about 9/10 of us elected not to reproduce for a few generations.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#154

Post by alkonaut » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:29 PM UTC

If I were to guess I'd bet a low IQ is a stronger predictor for failure than a high IQ is a predictor for success.

Presumably, once you have "enough" capability for abstract thinking for what we consider success, then other factors, internal and external, will decide.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#155

Post by forgetsusername » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:30 PM UTC

varjag wrote: post #143

cryptarch wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is holding large amounts of cash bad? I don't understand, could you elaborate on that?

You are losing them to inflation.

At a very slow rate, at very low risk. There are always tradeoffs. I think bad about cash.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#156

Post by plg » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:32 PM UTC

IQ is only a minor factor in intelligence.

Hampshire, A., Highfield, R. R., Parkin, B. L., & Owen, A. M. (2012). Fractionating human intelligence. Neuron, 76(6), 1225-1237.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#157

Post by forgetsusername » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:34 PM UTC

ehnto wrote: post #19

meddlepal wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not pretend that many folks in startups aren't doing just that.

The person working at a concreting factory for 60 hours a week to try and save is in the exact same position. My biggest concern isn't that you can work away your youth and health like that, it's that a lot of people of my generation have no idea that's what they are doing and were gently coerced from a young age to imagine the house/car/work triad as the three ticks of success in life.

Except the Startup is "glamorous" and the concrete labour is not. And the concrete worker doesn't think about making concrete after he clocks out.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#158

Post by Noseshine » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:43 PM UTC

RyanZAG wrote: post #119

Noseshine wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the existence of a trust fund actually relevant for the story? Whether there was one or not, as you already said, Gates didn't have to fear failure. I doubt the family would have let him live in poverty on the street if he had failed. I don't think it changes the narrative. But it's bad that - if you are right - the wrong story is out there because it gives a convenient escape to get sidetracked and be able to ign…

No single guy with no family to support has to fear failure though. It only becomes a fear once you have a wife and children to support - but that's why it's generally accepted that you first get financial stability before starting a family. Some people choose differently as people are always free to make terrible life choices - but they need to face the consequences then. Even someone with a $1mil trust fund can mak…

You are very, very confused about what is likely vs. what is merely possible.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#159

Post by PlugTunin » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:43 PM UTC

scandox wrote: post #90

Most non-exceptional things depend on character. Extreme intelligence only manifests its value in areas of extreme complexity. When I hire programmers for a job I'm looking for characteristics like consistency, patience, memory, organisation skills, attention to detail, a touch of pendantry and a reasonable analytical mind. I don't actively avoid extremely intelligent people, but given the work at hand I certainly do…

Pedantry, not pendantry.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#160

Post by Noseshine » Fri, Dec 23, 2016, 2:47 PM UTC

Noseshine wrote: post #87

asher_ wrote: post #69

I'm not addressing the claim of this article, just the methods. IQ has a misleading (and factually inaccurate) name. The Q stands for quotient, but an actual IQ is not a quotient at all. IQs are ordinal ONLY. They allow you (to the extent that IQ tests measure intelligence) to rank people, not assign numerical values. It is not possible from IQ scores to say "Alice is x% more intelligent than Bob", only "Alice is mor…

For some more details, I bookmarked this page that explains "IQ", so that I can post it in forums whenever the subject comes up :-) http://www.michna.com/iq.htm Relevant paragraph quoted: Misconception: The IQ is a direct measure of brain performance. For example, somebody with an IQ of 120 can do 20% more mental work in the same amount of time than somebody with an IQ of 100. In truth the IQ is a purely statistical…

To clarify: My comment is in support of the parent. Could the downvoters please explain what they think is wrong that I add MORE information and a link to an extended explanation??