Is that possible? An IQ is pretty stable. Measurements at different ages don’t differ much. So the conclusion seems warranted that you can’t do too much about intelligence. The main predictor of high intelligence is highly intelligent parents. And there is little you can do about that.
Interestingly, even highly intelligent people make mistakes in judgments and conclusions. Some people have tried to list all thinking errors. They easily come to 150. If we would be able to teach people to make less thinking errors that would amount to something! You might become successful by limiting yourself to only 120 thinking errors!
David Perell: Avoiding stupidity is easier than being brilliant. A nice saying, but not very true: avoiding stupidity is very difficult, as there are so many ways to be stupid. And the awful truth is that we all are apt to make thinking errors. Morgan Housel: Few things are as valuable as a good bullshit detector. True, but you can’t buy those at the supermarket.
We should try to minimize thinking errors. It all amounts to education. If needs be: self-education. As Nietzsche famously said: “Educate the educators! But the first have to educate themselves.”
Italian psychologist Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini: Why people keep making the same mistakes? Through inattention, distraction, lack of interest, poor preparation, genuine stupidity, timidity, bragging, emotional imbalance; ideological, racial, social or chauvinistic prejudices; and tribal or aggressive instincts.
Inattention. Because of what?
Distraction. By what?
Lack of interest. Wait for a mistake with really serious consequences.
Poor preparation. Do you have a love of failure? Or do you have bouts of sleepiness? Or are you just lazy? Not very smart.
Genuine stupidity: Only a real problem when you over-estimate yourself. You wouldn’t do that, would you?
Timidity.:Under-estimating yourself. Who taught you that?
Bragging: Really? Why would you do that? Inferiority complex? Superiority complex?
Emotional imbalance: Time to grow up.
Ideological, racial, social or chauvinistic prejudices: Apparently you are really happy with the people around you.
Tribal or aggressive instincts: If you have them, you probably would not read this blog.
Practical intelligence means minimizing bad choices. Some suggestions that may be helpful—at least are intended to be helpful.
> Looking reliable or unreliable may indicate reliability, but it often doesn’t. Reliability will never present itself as unreliability, but unreliability often presents itself as reliability. Be wary of people calling themselves reliable. Why do they want you to believe that?
> You can’t judge a book by the cover, but glancing through a few pages often will do the trick. When you can’t do that, and the cost of a book is negligible, why not buy it? The cost of buying one worthless book may be insignificant compared to the pleasure or worth of reading one good book. Just give it a try.
> Compare the advantages and disadvantages of being right or wrong. I you dream that your deceased grandmother is advising you to drive more carefully, take her seriously. If she advises you to give all your money to a cousin, don’t. If she advises you to put your money on a certain outcome in a lottery, do that, but limit yourself to an amount you can lose without that really hurting you.
> In general, balance two errors in judgment: rejecting a thought that is true vs. accepting a thought that is false.
> What is worse, missing mr. Right or marrying mr. Wrong? Most probably the second. Anyway, you can find out the second usually faster than finding the first. So don’t hurry. Avoid undue pessimism and undue optimism, but always compare the prize of being right with the cost of being wrong. What is the cost of a reasonable time of engagement first? So, don’t maximize upside benefits, minimize downside risks.
> And don’t be a stickler for being sure.
Avoid undue generalizations. This may not be as easy as it seems. If less than one percent of bearded people is violent, but over 30% of violent people are bearded, it is very difficult to avoid prejudice. (I am bearded, but not violent.)
> Minimize hope and fear. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. In practice it is rather: Hope for the best, avoid the worst.
> Avoid end-risks, risks that may finish the game. Risks that may lose you your fortune, your freedom, your friends, your health, your life.
> Mists are ephemeral, swamps endure. First get a clear mind. Then try a first step.
> Superstitious people believe things without a shred of evidence. Skeptics don’t believe things without a shred of evidence. Avoid the company of both.
>Keep your mind open. Keep your mind open as long as you can. Life will be so much more interesting.
The basic recipe is to not be addicted to being sure. We rarely need to be sure. Geert Hofstede found four fundamental differences between national cultures. One of them was uncertainty avoidance. Sometimes certainty is highly desirable, but being able to stand uncertainty will help you to avoid many mistakes in work and life. It fosters practical intelligence, prudence, wisdom. Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from lack of wisdom. Wisdom is avoiding folly. Learn from the follies you still committed. Use wisdom when you can, courage when you must, but always learn.
It is not stupid to be stupid. It is stupid to stay stupid. It is stupid not to learn. So learn.
If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you are stupid. At least start to learn from the mistakes of others. And never assume you will be free of them.
Again: keep learning.
And good-luck with all of this!
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