Are You Really that Smart If You Can’t
Recognize B.S.? - American Thinker
American Thinker,
by
Alicia Colon
Original Article
Posted By: FlyRight,
9/20/2022 6:12:35 AM
My husband, who was a Marine during the Vietnam War, was always talking about the IQ levels of fellow soldiers, and he would express surprise at the low level of intelligence of some draftees.
We would then get into arguments on the validity of IQ testing, which I questioned did not take into consideration an individual’s environment. But considering the past decade as the utter complete dumbing down of our populace, maybe I should reconsider my dismissal of testing. What exactly does a person’s IQ mean?
Reply 1 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 9/20/2022 6:35:18 AM (No. 1282450)
I often listen to Red Eye Radio out of Dallas at night. The folks that call in are mostly Long Haul Truckers and they exhibit much, much more common sense than the cabal of clowns currently running our government. In my book, if you have an advanced degree, you are automatically suspect of being stupid until proven otherwise.
91 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
udanja99 9/20/2022 7:00:35 AM (No. 1282469)
There is a huge difference between intelligence and common sense. My husband is super intelligent but has not a lick of common sense. I’m the opposite and have tested as “high logical”. So we compliment each other.
These days it appears that there is no common sense left in DC or the demonrat party.
56 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Adam 9/20/2022 7:18:43 AM (No. 1282476)
Glad to see Nat Hentoff praised. I miss him.
19 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
MissNan 9/20/2022 8:03:31 AM (No. 1282502)
Case in point - Joe Biden has a law degree but the IQ of a dill pickle.
66 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
czechlist 9/20/2022 8:15:02 AM (No. 1282513)
as someone once said - when you think about how stupid the "average" American is just remember that half of America is stupider than they are.
I worked with PhD Physicists for two decades; After awhile I was no longer surprised at the illogical, emotional decisions many made in their personal lives - and they were democrats.
27 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
seamusm 9/20/2022 8:45:22 AM (No. 1282550)
IQ testing is only one measure of general intelligence and IQ scores are reported as a number on a Bell Curve - roughly half the population is above 98 and half below. An IQ test has no ability to assess wisdom or common sense. The test may offer some way to predict academic or employment success but it utterly fails at assessing values of morality - those things we claim to admire most. We as a society tend to worship worldly success such as wealth or college degrees but in the end what will matter more won't have anything to do with how high one's IQ was or how many yachts one possesses.
26 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Rather Read 9/20/2022 9:12:27 AM (No. 1282573)
I work with a lot of PhDs. Some are smart and have a lot of common sense as well, but they are in the minority. Two of the smartest and most common sensical I met were a folk lore professor and an historian. The nature of their studies had them talking to people from every walk of life and every profession and income level. They had a great respect for their fellow man and were not in the least pompous.
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
wilarrbie 9/20/2022 9:33:17 AM (No. 1282587)
Liars learn too. They learn how to better deceive their victims - and often play off the intelligence of their target. They come at you wrapped in the lie of friendship or leadership tell you what you want to hear, and it greases their deceptions until they are oh, so palatable. They have friends in high places who vouch for the lies (media) and their intent is evil while your response is based on your own better angels. They KNOW you're smart, and adjust accordingly.
11 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Strike3 9/20/2022 9:36:07 AM (No. 1282593)
It's not that people don't recognize BS when they see it, many use it to their advantage because one can get further ahead on BS than by hard work. In fact, it is the very essence of politics, education and advertising and generates loads of money that would otherwise need to be earned. Are politicians inherently honest? Does one detergent clean any better than its' competitor? Does one insurance company cost you less than another? Do you need to take a hundred pills a day to stay healthy? Are the poor poor and the homeless homeless because they have had some bad luck?
15 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
FLCracker 9/20/2022 10:21:14 AM (No. 1282640)
The Army has an expression, "stay in your lane." This means keep within your area of expertise and the job you are assigned to do.
The problem with so many people with advanced degrees is that they think because they are good in one lane, they are good in all lanes. In most cases, not.
19 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
LadyVet 9/20/2022 10:40:20 AM (No. 1282656)
I knew that Alicia Colon would be the author as soon as I saw the title of the article. She is a national treasure.
17 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Highlander 9/20/2022 10:44:30 AM (No. 1282666)
I once tutored a 16-year-old girl who had a reported IQ of 136 when I taught for the county schools. She was an emotional mess.
7 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Italiano 9/20/2022 10:51:06 AM (No. 1282674)
Knowledge, particularly book knowledge, does not necessarily equate to wisdom or discernment. Cases in point: Many Never Trump "conservatives."
And college and post-graduate degrees? Give me a break. As we have seen, too many clueless morons have them.
9 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Axeman 9/20/2022 11:06:30 AM (No. 1282696)
IQ measures the ability to learn or figure things out. It doesn't measure what one can do with that ability. Someone who has not seen all of the pieces may not know about a piece they hold. Someone who has seen many pieces may have a better idea about any new piece they encounter. IQ helps both. I have always thought of wisdom as IQ times experience.
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
PESSIMIST 9/20/2022 11:07:43 AM (No. 1282698)
Underneath its patina of elite bashing -- and I'm sure the author is a good person, no insult to them intended -- I smell a liberal argument here.
Next time you hear someone say IQ doesn't matter, or "doesn't measure anything, really," be prepared to foot the tax bill for gigantic expenditures on public school systems that will still produce the same results after the spending is done. It's liberals these days who really love to bash cognitive testing, like the SAT -- presumably because it produces "unfair" results. Remember?
You don't have to want to send your child to a weird place like Yale to understand that IQ, in the aggregate does matter a great deal -- if not in the case of the stereotype liberal professor we all can laugh at for not having tied his shoes properly. Everyone in the Manhattan Project had a higher IQ than me, as does the doctor who saved me from a really bad health condition that could have taken my life. I'm glad they had natural ability I just don't have -- even if too many high IQ types turn out to be "pointy heads."
High IQ doesn't mean you'll have good morals. Saying that belabors the obvious. But it means that, if properly applied, one can do very important things other people can't do, but need to have done We all rely on "good, decent" neighbors to protect us, exhibit good morals and benefit our nation. Most of them couldn't be neuro-surgeons however, and I don't think they walk around resenting the cognitive skills of neurosurgeons.
(Remember that Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz were all very smart Ivy Leaguers.. I'm proud of them.)
OK, everyone, denounce me, but I think Charles Murray and Steve Sailer have a point.
13 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
DVC 9/20/2022 11:12:02 AM (No. 1282705)
I always enjoy reading Mrs. Colon's essays, as they are always sensible and offer useful insights.
I've never taken an IQ test, but all the college entrance tests I took in HS had me in the top 1%. OK, fine, but who cares, including me? I care far more that I know how to DO things, make things, fix things, build things.
For a small example, a couple of days ago, I was having trouble reloading some cartridges, so I designed and then build a precision tool to solve the issue. I went to my metal lathe, drilled and then precision bored a tapered sizing die, threaded the outside to fit a standard reloading press and then turned a special pushing pin which would fit into a shell holder. Now I have a special tool to solve a particular problem that I had in reloading ammunition. It works well, and will be in my permanent tool set for that caliber. I have never seen anything like it offered as a standard tool.
THAT kind of work pleases me, and gives me a sense of accomplishment in my retirement. I have always been a problem solver and for many years was paid very well to solve other people's problems, problems for advanced weapons systems. Now I solve my problems and my friend's problems.
And I can generally tell BS pretty well. And as far as 'recognizing errors'. As I posted yesterday, at one point, I bought into the "hydrogen is our energy future" story that was being sold widely in the 80s and 90s. Then, I figured it out.....it was BS, and hydrogen is another damned dead end. Once I recognized my error, I changed my mind entirely and can now explain exactly why hydrogen is a waste of time and effort as a "fuel". If you cannot recongnize your errors, you are not smart.
14 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
MDConservative 9/20/2022 11:27:57 AM (No. 1282731)
FTA: "Now what’s missing from this description? How about the ability to reason? How about the ability to figure out what is total nonsense and check out who’s spouting that nonsense? How about the ability to recognize that the media and certain politicians on both side of the aisles are self-serving and unconcerned about your best interests unless it lines their own pockets?"
Being informed is hard work. Nobody wants to take the time to investigate multiple sources, evaluate the information, and form a viewpoint. It's easier to adopt an ideology as a filter for all that does not conform, or to follow the crowd of "influencers", like your parents, friends, and favorite media celebrity. Fewer take any action based on their evaluation, regardless of the issue. "Real Conservatives" are inactive, if not inert, by definition - just leave things as they are.
The problem is compounded when your ideological leaders aren't really driven by ideology or principle...like virtually every politician ever. Someone explain Lindsey Graham...
9 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 9/20/2022 11:50:55 AM (No. 1282759)
Sometimes it is stupidity, and other times it is dishonesty. One doesn't know what they are talking about and the other lies. Not sure which is worse.
5 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
mc squared 9/20/2022 12:04:01 PM (No. 1282770)
We may all agree that politicians take the 330 million of of us as neanderthals to be freaked with.
4 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
columba 9/20/2022 12:11:55 PM (No. 1282776)
I taught at a local college.
I learned;
1) one student over the 4-year stint had paid for fees. The rest received grants.
2) Not one of the students knew what an IQ test was.
3 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Krause 9/20/2022 12:36:54 PM (No. 1282802)
In order to be a democrat you have to suspend common sense.
5 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 9/20/2022 1:11:35 PM (No. 1282836)
FTA: "When did they stop thinking for themselves instead of losing themselves in groupthink?"
When the intelligentsia abandoned God they replaced Him with groupthink. People need a touchstone upon which to test/prove ideas and propositions against truth and reality. God is the Only real Truth and Reality and without Him and only human replacements leads to Hell on earth.
5 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Mulhaven 9/20/2022 1:29:43 PM (No. 1282848)
Thinking and having ideas are two separate things. People who have little or no interest in the "crudity of reality" can find solace and a false sense of importance by indulging in ideas. They can construct mental constructs that lead them to a sense of superior intelligence and morality (in accordance with their criteria). They can exhibit social grace and logical analysis. However, since they are actually detached from reality, their "truths" are confined to their mental constructs. What they claim does follow logically from their inner world. It just does not relate to the real world. They fail, however, to contribute to the betterment of mankind and can easily become destructive to a stable society that is founded on sensible well established rules of behaviour. They have without doubt begun many opinions with the words "if only everyone understood ...". Their lack of wisdom results from their inability or disinterest in the complexities or facts of reality. To discover reality one needs to be observant. In other words one needs to have sense. Academic airheads and media goofs are common because they avoid thinking. Thinking requires verifiable facts. For example, imagining that the world's weather can be controlled by people and bring dire consequences, is a mental (and computer) fantasy that allows detached people to feel significant and sainted. We deserve better from the people in power. Academics used to be patronized as lovable eccentrics who lived in their own world. Academics of shallowness and influence have since been catastrophic. Remember the 1960's and its sloganeering?
5 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
vinegrower 9/20/2022 1:30:44 PM (No. 1282850)
FTA: "Since the beginning of this century, it seems to have been super easy to convince people of the most absurd notions that only the most intellectually impaired would accept. Gender status is now fluid even though there are only two genders, male and female. A planet that has existed for billions of years is in danger unless we recycle cans and bottles and eat less meat because cows’ farts are killing the planet." This describes the majority of people that I live with, here in California. Many of these people are successful business people but they will only vote for Democrats. They are completely taken in by the so called 'freedoms' that the Democrats will protect and the GOP will take from them.
6 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
SoSensible 9/20/2022 2:15:43 PM (No. 1282874)
I am a Mensan. Why? Because my mother half-jokingly thought it would provide proof to those who thought I was just an airhead and would get treated more seriously. I will tell you that it is a complex place to be up here in the 1%. So easy to fit pieces together, but so hard to assemble a bookcase. Liking people but finding them boring in general.
It is such a thrill to talk to someone who has a combination of ability to think, enough education to understand classical, historic and sociologic references, and is participatory in life. This is the sort of person who can figure out the truth.
It also helps if one is over 35.
5 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
red1066 9/20/2022 2:16:15 PM (No. 1282876)
According to research and discussed by Jordan Peterson years ago, the U.S. military which has always been in the forefront of IQ testing, decided a 100 years ago to use IQ tests to pick out individuals with higher intelligence for leadership roles in the military. As a result, the military has decided that anyone with an IQ of 83 or lower cannot be trained for any role in the military. In other words, there are no jobs in the U.S. military that someone with an IQ of 83 or less can perform. The number of people in the U.S. with IQs of 83 or less is around 10 percent. That's something like 34 million people in the U.S. When pressed on the issue of training these people, Peterson states it's been tried over and over again, and it cannot be done. It's failed every time they've tried. Translate that to employment with companies in the private sector and we have a lot of people who are just unemployable.
4 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 9/20/2022 4:57:35 PM (No. 1283023)
As #18 says, "If you cannot recognize your errors, you are not smart." is spot on. The left is most guilty of this. They will cling to their ideology even when presented with irrefutable facts. They are now in a CYA mode because of the horrendous way they handled Covid, but they will never admit that they were wrong and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Even now, the deaths are continuing because they are still pushing the jabs. The narrative must be adhered to at all costs.
2 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
Old Army Vet 9/20/2022 6:12:36 PM (No. 1283073)
I worked for a chemical research company for more than ten years. Phd's all over the place. I use to set up the research equipment for their testing, new processes etc. I am a well trained mechanic in many fields and have been certified in the field of electrical, plumbing and general mechanics. I can build and/or repair just about anything. If it wasn't for people like me the research facilities all over the world would grind to a halt or explode. I knew a few of the Phd people that had some common sense but they were a very small minority. IQ only means something to the people in academia. Anywhere else it's useless. It always comes down to someone that can use their head and hands in a productive way.
2 people like this.
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