Posted by CmdrTaco ( 58% noise) View Skip D1gital_Prob3 writes “How can a ‘smart’ person act foolishly? Keith Stanovich, professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada, has grappled with this apparent incongruity for 15 years. He says it applies to more people than you might think. To Stanovich, however, there is nothing incongruous about it. IQ tests are very good at measuring certain mental faculties, he says, including logic, abstract reasoning, learning ability and working-memory capacity — how much information you can hold in mind.” Sigh…editors. - by fahrbot-bot (Score: 5, Funny) Thread Why a High IQ Doesn’t Mean You’re Smart? They’re still smart, but even smart people can do dumb things. That’s why it’s important to be clear with phrases like “You are dumb” and “That was dumb.” (I have finger puppets if the /. editors are confused about this…) Openness to ideas and creativity - by x_IamSpartacus_x (Score: 5, Insightful) Thread Based on no research and absolutely no scientific data I have come to measure a person’s intelligence by how creative they are and how open to new ideas (especially ideas in conflict with their own belief system) they are.   I am a conservative, white, heterosexual, Christian male (source of all the world’s problems according to many) and yet I understand that there are things I am probably wrong about and there are people who have radically different beliefs than I do and I can definitely learn from them. I consider myself pretty intelligent and yet understanding that I can learn from others is very key to my intelligence growing.     People who have closed their minds to new thoughts/ideas and who do not exercise their creative potential get stupid fast. I have met a LOT of them (in my white, hetero, Christian, male society) and I am the first to admit that my peers tend to be pretty dumb. TFL starts off bashing on George bush and how his IQ is pretty high yet the author has obviously decided bush is an idiot (an earned reputation) and he fits right into my category of society.     What I feel is important to note is that in American progressive society MY ethnicity/religion/political views/gender quickly get thrown into a category that I really don’t thing I’ve earned. I try not to complain of racism/sexism/whateverelseism but it gets old some times. How can a “smart” person act foolishly? - by SCHecklerX (Score: 5, Funny) Thread There’s usually a woman involved. Smartest people I know are morons in some things - by techsoldaten (Score: 5, Interesting) Thread Friend of mine, his father is a senior researcher for NIH. One of the smartest fellas you will ever meet, has multiple PhDs, charming and really has his act together professionally. Came back from a concert one night, there was a note taped to the door. “I owe you a microwave.” Inside, the house smells like burning compost, his Dad still forgets he can’t microwave food with a fork inside. Has never been able to operate a microwave oven and this is about the tenth time he has done it. His Dad owns a lot of land in Montgomery County, Maryland. He has made a lot of money off real estate investments. He has had a lot of disasters over the years as well, for things that would have seemed apparent to anyone else. Like not leaving untreated wood lying in pile all winter, not parking a backhoe at the top of a pile of dirt, not purchasing residentail land and trying to have it rezoned for multilevel commercial, etc. It’s not just forgetfulness, he has a hard time processing these realities of life. Without his family, I don’t think he could function. M I say this with some knowledge on the matter - by ">Anonymous Coward (Score: 5, Interesting) Thread As a member of mensa with a rather high IQ (160 on the cattel 3B), I know that my IQ is in at least the top percentile. However, my organisational skills are atrocious, and while I can remember something well short-term, I tend to forget things long-term. This led to my nearly dropping out of university because while I can write a decent essay, I often forgot to do so. Once I understand a mathematical concept I can do it well, but I tend to forget formulae, so I only got a middle-of-the-road grade in maths. A high IQ means very little, and I’m not saying that because of jealousy; I’d rather be well-organised and “only” average in the more abstract ways of measuring ability.