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The Trouble with High IQ

neurosciencenews.com

31–40 of 63 posts

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#31

A possibility: People with high IQs notice patterns (with a higher fidelity) that are not noticed by people with lower IQs. Thinking in terms of a bell-curve probabilistic distribution: If there is a baseline cultural perception (reality, narrative) shared by the majority of people, those with high IQs will notice the degenerate patterns, hypocrisies, and general systemic issues with the baseline. One would need to l…

This.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#32
post #16

Neuroskeptic is, unsurprisingly, skeptical: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2017/10/22/in... Secondly, I have concerns about the sample. This wasn’t a study of high-IQ people. It was a study of Mensans, a self-selected subgroup of high-IQ people. 6.5 million Americans fall in the top 2% of IQ, and only 55,000 of them are members of American Mensa. In other words, Mensans make up about 0.8% of high-IQs,…

It may well be that higher anxiety people are more likely to join Mensa.

I'd honestly be surprised if there weren't a correlation between distressed/disordered thinking of some kind and joining Mensa.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#33

Mensa members are a small subpopulation of Americans with high IQ, so it's a stretch to conclude that high IQ is the problem. To me it's more plausible that someone seeking to boost self-esteem and social status by joining a weird organization tends to be a more troubled person than intelligent people in general.

It may only be a coincidence, but I do have high IQ and exactly the kinds of problems they mention in the article. I'm not American or a member of Mensa. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and inflamatory reactions to certain foods. I also have high anxiety. Strong emotions or stress can be overwhelming enough to give me gastritis or even ulcers sometimes.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#34
post #24

Neuroskeptic is, unsurprisingly, skeptical: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2017/10/22/in... Secondly, I have concerns about the sample. This wasn’t a study of high-IQ people. It was a study of Mensans, a self-selected subgroup of high-IQ people. 6.5 million Americans fall in the top 2% of IQ, and only 55,000 of them are members of American Mensa. In other words, Mensans make up about 0.8% of high-IQs,…

> Secondly, I have concerns about the sample. This wasn’t a study of high-IQ people. It was a study of Mensans, a self-selected subgroup of high-IQ people Sounds like a BS reason to dismiss the findings. Any reason to believe that this "self-selection" has any impact on the people involved regarding "regular" non-mensa high IQ people? > In other words, Mensans make up about 0.8% of high-IQs, and Karpinski et al. have…

No, the "methodology" of using a very self-selected group to represent the whole is certainly and unambiguously complete methodological bullshit. The problem is known as "confounding variables" or "common latent cause". For example, people with anxiety and depression may be more likely to join a club like Mensa.

There's certainly interesting questions to explore here, but we shouldn't settle for this extremely weak sort of study. The authors are doing the best they can, but we should take this paper as a indication that further research in this area would be fruitful, not as an accurate measurement of the nature of reality.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#35
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may well be that higher anxiety people are more likely to join Mensa.

That sounds counterintuitive to me. "People with anxiety are more likely to join a community."

Ehh, as someone with anxiety, it’s not that straightforward. Maybe you join it to socialize and improve your self esteem.

Granted, the members I know just really like puzzles.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#36

I am above average intelligence and nothing pisses me off more than stupid people (especially stupid people gathering in large numbers). I can withstand nearby gunshots or explosions without emotional stress (I am military), but stupid people proclaiming their awesome wisdom really alters my emotional state. I had to stop visiting Ars Technica. Their news is great, but I wish I could turn the comments at the bottom c…

Speaking for myself, I would feel pretty dumb if I got angry due to echo chamber comments on online articles. Why would you cause stress to yourself after reading vapid comments, when it's not mandatory to scroll to the bottom of the article/fb post and read them?

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#37
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may well be that higher anxiety people are more likely to join Mensa.

That sounds counterintuitive to me. "People with anxiety are more likely to join a community."

Why? Communities allow people to work together to deal with shared problems -- like anxiety or not fitting in elsewhere.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#38
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may well be that higher anxiety people are more likely to join Mensa.

That sounds counterintuitive to me. "People with anxiety are more likely to join a community."

Not really, people with anxiety are often looking for self-validation and self-affirmation. Joining a community that screams "we're more intelligent than 99% of the population" sounds like a fair way to go with that anxiety.

Re: The Trouble with High IQ

#39

I am above average intelligence and nothing pisses me off more than stupid people (especially stupid people gathering in large numbers). I can withstand nearby gunshots or explosions without emotional stress (I am military), but stupid people proclaiming their awesome wisdom really alters my emotional state. I had to stop visiting Ars Technica. Their news is great, but I wish I could turn the comments at the bottom c…

Interesting that you shared this anecdote just now.

I've been an Ars reader for nearly 2 decades and noticed the comment quality drastically declining over the last few years. Used to mostly be people sharing interesting POV and polite discussion, now there seems to be much more policing of a 'pro science and technology' (but often inaccurate) viewpoint.

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