A rant on average intelligence

We all should seek information. We should want to learn, to grow, to better ourselves. Doing so makes us part of society. We are “Culturally intelligent”, we speak the same language, use the same references. Have you noticed though, how we don’t all speak the same language? That references have different meanings to different people? How often has someone who is unable to explain themselves simply said “You know what I mean”, when you obviously do not?

You are seeking information right now. You are determining if I am an interesting source, if I have something new to say, if I know what I’m talking about. You are not a part of the majority. There is a reason for this.

 

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Average intelligence is considered an IQ of 100. Roughly half of the population is above average. Roughly half is below average. A recent poll found that 90% of people asked believe they are above average.  If you happen to actually be above average, you immediately knew from reading that information that somewhere in the area of 40% of the population is kidding themselves.

The implications tend to sail over our heads. We try to be gracious and accepting. But the fact remains that half of “us” are lacking in intelligence. In fact, considering the requirements of life, “average” really isn’t good enough, so more than half of us are less than capable of meeting life’s challenges. That’s a difficult idea to accept in a democracy, so we ignore it.

You know who they are. They believe things they can’t justify. They deny evidence. Their point of view cannot be changed, or if it is, their new point of view is just as blindly accepted as their last. They have said “I don’t want to know” with the confidence of stating a healthy perspective.

Intelligence of course has many meanings, and IQ is not a measure of many of the things that make the world a beautiful place. You do not need to be intelligent to be a wonderful artist or musician. You do not have to be intelligent to be a good person, a good neighbor, a good parent, or even a good leader.

You do need to be intelligent to make intelligent choices though. So in our democracy, where each person has an equal voice, we should not expect intelligent decisions. At least in some countries everyone is required to vote, balancing the represented intelligence. But in America, the least intelligent are encouraged to vote out of balance with the most intelligent, and we end up with a government that has learned to take advantage of that fact.

The majority of successful individuals are above average. They are where they are because they learned to profit from their intelligence. Those that are not successful tend to be jealous of those that are. Rather than acknowledge the superior intelligence of the successful, they accuse them of manipulation and “cheating” (not always falsely, it is in many ways “unfair” to take advantage of others’ weaknesses).

I’m not saying this for any reason other than to educate. There is nothing that can be done to change the system, but understanding the system and the forces at work can lead to some inner peace. Inner peace is highly underrated, I’ll write about that another time.

And yes, I am among that 90% that believe they are above average. When I was a child, I stood out enough that my parents had me tested, fearing that I was “retarded”. Many years later I discovered the results of those tests. It was sometime later that I came to understand the entire issue. I was not “retarded”, I am a “genius” (146 on the Stanford-Binet scale). I am also imaginative, creative, and artistic, the things that the tests don’t reveal. I see connections that few others see, the universe is a framework of matrices upon which the fabric of reality (Maya) is stretched. So I appear distracted at times. I wear the badge of “wierdo” proudly.

Another rant tomorrow…