intelligence is simply a tool, rather like a screwdriver: nothing more, nothing less. To assume success or failure in any endeavor based solely upon some hypothetical score on some static exam at a single point in time is to say: "I have this screwdriver, therefore, I will be (or will not be) successful. " The assertion is fallacious. to be successful, one must have the wit to identify potential opportunities (intelligence) but one must also have the balls to execute the construct once identified. (winner's spirit, guts, staying power ) This last is where the mensans fail, in my experience. - bazi
Well in today's world, look across the corporate world. Most of the "successful" people are incompetent morons. Problem is, once they infect the workplace, it is impossible to get them out. They fear smart people, cause those will expose everything and even take their jobs. Just the way it goes. In established big corporations, most of the processes have been created by the smart people back in the day. Most of it just operates due to previous work & sharp thinking. After that, the boat does not want to be rocked, even when things get redundant. Hence, easier for a dumbass to be in charge, than a smart one who will push for improvement, changes, real thinking, etc. It's all over the place nowdays. Especially when sh*t gets shady, the boss, smart or dumb, will avoid hiring anyone with intelligence. It is in his favor to hire dumb people and even promote them. I know a certain famours NYC non-profit institution which is doing this right now to cover up embezzlement by the higher ups. On the other hand, a good example is franchises. The simpler, dumber people perform better because they just follow the program. It is designed to work. The smarter ones keep thinking they can improve it and start messing with it. It's quite similiar with simplistic businesses that require a straightforward and diligent approach, not reinventing the wheel. There are other forces operating out there which make "success" indirectly related to intelligence. Whatever success is anyway, in this country everyone just looks at the $ figures. Even though one study after the other keeps proving that money does not bring happiness. Quite some irony there when you put it all together.
I read recently that IQ points correlate to annual income to the tune of $140/point. IQ alone won't do that much for a person. I met interesting people at Mensa meetings way back in the day. The ones with education were really going places and doing things, the ones without were pretty much not. I recall several that had wine sores, one of them wrote paperback porn books to make his living. It was a real mix of people, I never expected an intelligent discussion there, it was just a party thing and it was a lot of fun as I recall. One odd little fact, some researcher somehow found that it takes an IQ of 160, minimum, to succeed at a life of crime!! Good thing for me I gave up those ideas early on
Ditto here, too. Knew a guy who found a flaw in Einstein's theory of relativity and fixed it. He also invented an engine that could run totally on water. You know, like that one Jethro made. But he crashed and burned and lives out of the back seat of a '73 Ford Pinto.
IQ 200 didn't manage to pull off the perfect crime: http://www.crimemagazine.com/04/leopoldloeb,0229.htm
Some of the more interesting studies I've read have found a strong inverse correlation between competence and confidence across several disciplines, e.g, mathematics, language, humor, medicine. Bertrand Russell may have been on to something: "the trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."