What Intelligence Tests Miss by Keith E. Stanovich

Author:Keith E. Stanovich [Stanovich, Keith E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300123852
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2009-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

“If That Man Had Two Brains He’d Be Twice as Stupid”

The title of this section is the punch line to an Irish joke told to me by Desmond Ryan. I cannot remember the rest of the joke, but this funny line summarizes the implication of the existence of dysrationalia—that having more brainpower in the form of intelligence is no guarantee against foolish behavior. This is especially true of irrational action caused by contaminated mindware.

Contaminated mindware is often acquired because it is wrapped in an enticing narrative, one that often has some complexity to it. This complexity is probably not the best “sell” to those of lower intelligence. Instead, complex mindware probably sounds most enticing to those of moderate to high intelligence. Search the Internet for examples of conspiracy theories, tax evasion schemes, get-rich-quick schemes, schemes for “beating” the stock market, and procedures for winning the lottery. You will quickly see that many of them are characterized by enticing complexity. For example, many get-rich-quick schemes involve real-estate transactions that interact in a complex manner with the tax system. Many win-the-lottery books contain explanations (wrong ones!) employing mathematics and probabilities. “Beat the market” stock investment advice often involves the mathematics and graphics of so-called technical analysis.

The intuition that those taken in by fraudulent investment schemes are probably not of low intelligence is confirmed by the results of a study commissioned by the National Association of Securities Dealers.4 The study examined the beliefs and demographic characteristics of 165 people who had lost over $1000 in a fraudulent investment scheme, and compared them with those of a group of individuals who had not been victims of financial fraud. The study found that the investment fraud victims had significantly more education than the comparison group—68.6 percent of the investment fraud victims group had at least a BA degree compared to just 37.2 percent in the control group. The proportion of the investment victim group with incomes over $30,000 was 74.1 percent compared with 56.4 percent in the other group. We can infer from the education and income statistics that the victims of investment fraud are not more likely to be of low intelligence. This type of contaminated mindware may, if anything, be more enticing to those of higher intelligence.

Much truly mischief-making mindware that supports the irrational behavior we observe in society is concocted by and infects those of moderate to high intelligence. As a result, there are numerous examples of famous individuals, noted for their intelligence, who displayed persistently irrational behavior. Philosopher Martin Heidegger, a conceptual thinker of world renown, was a Nazi apologist and used the most specious of arguments to justify his beliefs. He organized paramilitary camps for his students and often signed correspondence “Heil Hitler.” Famed scientist William Crookes, discoverer of the element thallium and a Fellow of the Royal Society, was repeatedly duped by spiritualist “mediums,” but never gave up his belief in spiritualism. Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was likewise a notorious dupe for “mediums.” Poet Ezra Pound

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