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IQ Matters Less Than You Think

nautil.us

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Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#31

Post by avryhof »

Anyone who knows that their D&D Character with a 20 INT isn't invincible. You have to have a combination of scores in all of the attributes to succeed. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't apply this to real life.

That being said, I often find that I over-think tasks, and end up never completing them because I try to make them perfect, and find out at some point that I can't.

What's more important than "perfect" is "good enough", and sometimes a high IQ won't allow you to accept that.

It's one of the things I hate about myself at times.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#32

Post by everdrive »

sidcool wrote: post #8

I want to believe that my perhaps above average IQ won't matter and I could be in a league of PhDs. But practically it seems very difficult and there is a glass ceiling which seems too difficult to break. A feeling that there is something which my mind cannot probably grasp.

>difficult >cannot probably grasp

I think a lot of PhDs find their study very difficult too, and simply have to persist.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#33

Post by mgkimsal »

jlawson wrote: post #17
hokua3 wrote: post #13

IQ measures intellectual ability. Intelligence is a necessary, not a sufficient condition for success.

Absolutely. It's not that complicated. Usain Bolt obviously has incredible sprinting talent. But if he sat around at home playing video games and eating potato chips all day, nobody would expect him to be an amazing sprinter. Everyone knows this. Yet for some reason there's this weird idea that intelligence without effort can yield results, where the same obviously doesn't apply to any other kind of natural talent. I…

> weird idea that intelligence without effort can yield results

In my experience, that 'weird idea' comes from early schooling. Highly intelligent (gifted?) kids generally don't have to exhibit any effort on school work, at least up to a certain time. I can tell you that, in my case, I coasted up until around 11th grade, then I hit a bit of a mental wall. I'm sure other physiological changes impacted, but at core, I didn't know how to study or exert effort in 'learning' - everything had just fallen in to place for so long that I didn't have the skill or experience to learn how to get better. This was a confounding factor in college as well.

I've shared this with other folks, and had more than a few people share similar experiences.

If Usain just ran really fast, and people said "wow, you're fast", but he wasn't trained at how to get better, he probably wouldn't have become a world champ. But with 'raw intelligence', that often doesn't receive the same sort of coaching and support as specific sports or other identifiable talents.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#34

Post by ben_w »

MrEfficiency wrote: post #5

Can someone do a test for willpower/hardwork? I think that would be a useful indicator. I was a B student, but I've accomplished more than A students now that I'm approaching my 30s.

Willpower has a standard test, at least in kids: put a sweet in front of them, tell them to not eat it, leave them alone with it, and see how long it takes them to eat it anyway.

For adults, I propose giving them a mobile phone and a Twitter account, and seeing how long it takes for them to “just check it one more time”.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#35

Post by smt88 »

jacquesm wrote: post #18

I know plenty of people for whom their high IQ is actually a hindrance rather than a help. So even for them it matters (greatly) but not in a positive way. The best determinants for being successful, in spite of a high IQ or lack thereof are the ability to focus and to have stamina.

I see luck (family you're born into, being in the right place at the right time, etc.) as far more of a determinant than focus or stamina.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#36

Post by account2 »

neffy wrote: post #30
account2 wrote: post #28

I wonder how many IQ test misclassify intelligence? Feynman had a score of 125 and many people here have a high score than that. I bet no one here with a higher score of 125 are actually smarter than Feynman though. I think this is just one of many possible such examples where IQ test miss the purported people they were suppose to capture. Feynman’s score wouldn’t even qualify him for MENSA. I wonder how many IQ exam…

I think it´s fairly well accepted that Feynman deliberately blew off his IQ test.

Your comment doesn’t address my question of how many people are misclassified by IQ test. I suspect smart people with high functioning autism and the like are not accurately measured. Not saying any of this applies to Feynman by the way. Just used him as an example of where an IQ exam underestimated someone.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#37

Post by dEnigma »

sidcool wrote: post #8

I want to believe that my perhaps above average IQ won't matter and I could be in a league of PhDs. But practically it seems very difficult and there is a glass ceiling which seems too difficult to break. A feeling that there is something which my mind cannot probably grasp.

I personally know a number of people with PhDs who never did well on IQ tests, but simply persevered and did their thing.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#38

Post by rocgf »

jlawson wrote: post #14
empath75 wrote: post #4

I always tested in the 99th percentile, went to gifted and talented classes, was a merit scholarship semi finalist, etc. I think by any measure I had a high IQ. I also barely graduated high school, flunked out of junior college and spent most of my 20s going to raves instead of accomplishing anything worth while. Meanwhile my sister, who had an utterly average iq by any measure has a masters degree and is a hospital…

Talent without effort will get you nowhere. Effort without talent will get you somewhere. Effort with talent will get you anywhere.

Sounds a bit cliché, but screw it, that's going on my desktop background.

Re: IQ Matters Less Than You Think

#39

Post by maceurt »

melling wrote: post #7

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” ― Calvin Coolidge

That is the quote I most remember from the movie, the founder. I did not know Calvin Coolidge was originally the guy who said it.
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