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IQ is only a minor factor in success

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Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#261

Post by Godel_unicode »

lisper wrote: post #255
ikeboy wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, I guess. http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/seven-nobe... might change your mind on whether there are smart YECs. Apparently the inventor of the MRI machine was one.

Like I said, there are exceptions to every rule. There might be smart YEC's, but to me it's a very strong counterindication. Also, that's far from the only evidence there is with regards to Ben Carson. Try searching for "stupid things Ben Carson has said" some time.

You are aware of the correlation between being smart and thinking things which aren't true, right? Smart people are very good at rationalizing.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#262

Post by Godel_unicode »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #217
mcguire wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check Fig. 4 and the discussion: " Column 1 in Fig. 4 in the first block of columns (corresponding to wages) shows that IQ predicts wages, but the predictive power is small (around 1% [Adj. R squared of 0.02 in Fig. 4). Column 2 in Fig. 4 shows that self-esteem, locus of control, antisocial behavior, and neuroticism, taken together, are more important determinants of wages [R sq. Of .05]. Both IQ and personality rema…

The problem is that achievement tests and grades are a measure of IQ . Imagine I have a direct relationship, y = g. Now I measure compute a noisy data set, (x,y) with x = g + noise. Depending on the size of the noise I'll discover that y is correlated with g with some R^2. My regression coefficient will come out to be approximately y = 1x. Now imagine I made a new noisy data set, (x1, x2, x3, y). Here x1 = g + noise,…

In order for them to be directly related as you suggest, all high-iq participants need to memorize lots of facts and learn lots of skills and no low-iq participants can do similarly. It seems that, by citing them as separate factors, the authors are saying this is not true for the population they considered.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#263

Post by spiderfarmer »

chillwaves wrote: post #244
crikli wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough. Apologies for misinterpreting.

It was a snotty thing to say. Even making the judgment that a another person is incapable of enjoying the happiness of others is a really judgmental and overall shitty sentiment. It's doubtful the person you are responding to would have the intimate information needed to make that assessment, further people are ever evolving for the most part. Just a shitty thought all around.

Where do I make that judgement? You're turning it around again. Read my comment, there is no judgement of people whatsoever, only the claim that you should not have kids if you're unable to enjoy the joy of others. Because otherwise, yes, they are likely to make you feel like you're subject to an 18 year prison sentence.

English is not my first language, can anyone explain why people read my comment and reverse the sentence structure?

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#264

Post by johnwheeler »

I like to think of IQs using a car analogy.

You can have someone with an 8000 HP motor for a brain cranking away like a nitromethane dragster. These people don't have a ton of practical utility, but if you point them in the right direction and let 'em rip, they shred through certain problems like chainsaws through logs.

Then you've got Jeeps. Much more practical they are. They cover lots of terrain, but they're not as optimized on the street as typical sedans, and not as good on rough terrain as Humvees.

If you want to be successful, be a Porsche. Optimize for driving well on the most practical terrain that can take you the most places.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#265

Post by anonymoushn »

peteretep wrote: post #252
anonymoushn wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is possible for you to overcome your laziness and impulsiveness and direct your attention toward things that help your long-term goals. There are a lot of little pieces to doing this. One of them that I'm doing right now is reading "The Willpower Instinct" and trying out the stuff in it. If you want a more expensive, harder to ignore way to do this, you could try going to a CFAR camp. I'm not affiliated with CFAR…

I have looked at CFAR before, and have inhaled any amount of self development literature. The only thing I don't struggle to find intrinsic motivation for is programming. I am yet to find a long term goal that resonates at all. All success so far in my life feels entirely attributable to getting bored and saying "what else is there?" and/or seeking external validation. I earn just enough to fly business class wheneve…

Oh, alright. This is a bit different from my experience. I've pretty consistently had long-term desires but been pretty bad at enacting them.

Earlier when I didn't really want anything I thought it would be nice to make a bunch of money so that my future self who had a better idea about what he wanted would have that. This turned out ok, currently a lot of what I want is to know that I won't have to work if I don't want to.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#266

Post by wruza »

spiderfarmer wrote: post #263
chillwaves wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a snotty thing to say. Even making the judgment that a another person is incapable of enjoying the happiness of others is a really judgmental and overall shitty sentiment. It's doubtful the person you are responding to would have the intimate information needed to make that assessment, further people are ever evolving for the most part. Just a shitty thought all around.

Where do I make that judgement? You're turning it around again. Read my comment, there is no judgement of people whatsoever, only the claim that you should not have kids if you're unable to enjoy the joy of others. Because otherwise, yes, they are likely to make you feel like you're subject to an 18 year prison sentence. English is not my first language, can anyone explain why people read my comment and reverse the s…

They do because they see the intent to make that erroneous connection with backup plan of telling you 'only' said it one way and not the other (can't tell my self too). Higher order logic.

Kids can make you happy or tired, or both, too many factors for your parenting to go wrong way. Especially if you aren't rich. Imo, friends and gfs are far easier to get mutual happiness with, because they are self-established. I've lost too many friends to happy families they hate now, so personally I don't get your statement any way around.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#267

Post by Rainymood »

whack wrote: post #225
lisper wrote: post #41

Getting rich, at least under our current system, has a lot more to do with luck (mainly being in the right place at the right time) than it does with being smart or even working hard. The reason perseverance (which is related to working hard, but is not quite the same thing) helps is that the more willing you are to keep playing the game without winning the more likely you are to eventually win. (You can see this dyn…

It depends on what you mean by "rich". If your goal is to be a billionaire, then yes, luck plays a major role. But if you simply want to get to the 99th percentile of income/wealth, that can be achieved in a pretty replicable manner. Study hard in HS -> Go to a good college -> Work your ass off for a good GPA -> go do a MBA/JD/MD/CS degree at an elite university -> get a six figure job and work your ass off. Not much…

>replicable manner. Study hard in HS -> Go to a good college -> Work your ass off for a good GPA -> go do a MBA/JD/MD/CS degree at an elite university -> get a six figure job and work your ass off. Not much luck involved there.

>Not much luck involved there.

Except being born in a white rich household with access to food, water, shelter, support system, good high school so you can go to an elite college. Do you think everyone born in Africa/China (just to name a few countries) have the option to take this route you describe?

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#268

Post by babuskov »

hodder wrote: post #178
babuskov wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You are normally "way more harsh to people" for making the very personal decision as to whether they will have children? You do realize just how offensive you are being? Whether other people have children is not for you to decide or deride.

I wrote "...because it's too much of an effort" was a really selfish reason. If you decide not to have kids on some grounds, I don't mind at all.

It amazes me how shallow has people's attention on HN become. Not even bothering to read the whole sentence. I feel like I'm on Reddit.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#269

Post by babuskov »

Smaug123 wrote: post #185
babuskov wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> You're throwing away all the effort How many children must one have before one is morally absolved of this sin?

Zero. I only wrote that for those citing "it's too much of an effort" as a reason not the have kids.

Re: IQ is only a minor factor in success

#270

Post by lisper »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #261
lisper wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like I said, there are exceptions to every rule. There might be smart YEC's, but to me it's a very strong counterindication. Also, that's far from the only evidence there is with regards to Ben Carson. Try searching for "stupid things Ben Carson has said" some time.

You are aware of the correlation between being smart and thinking things which aren't true, right? Smart people are very good at rationalizing.

No, that's news to me. Do tell me more.
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