Why "Smart" People Are "Stupid"

[drwex]

Today's xkcd (http://xkcd.com/c242.html) is funny, but it also illustrates a truism: smart people are more likely than less-smart (in the IQ sense) to make the same mistake twice or even three times.

It's a combination of curiousity asking questions that normal people really don't care about (is that a random thing? is it repeatable?) with the arrogance of the smart (that couldn't possibly happen to me... again).

Contextually, this is part of the discussion about why conventional (IQ-like) measures of intelligence are outmoded or just flat-out wrong. It's part of the science of why intelligence and emotion are really inseparable (and thus why Meyers-Briggs is a load of horsepuckey) and makes me want to get back into reading that body of literature.

Comments

[drwex]

Ah, no, I hadn't seen that. And you're right, it would horrify me. Anyone who thinks in terms of personality types rather than in terms of people is already one step too far removed from reality to be an effective manager, imnvho.

[xthread.livejournal.com]

It was exceedingly twitch-inducing.
Worse yet, it was someone of sufficient age, ostensible experience, and close personal connection to other key executives that 'he's a blooming loon!' was not an adequate justification to relieve ourselves of the individual.