This keeps coming up lately. I continue to bump into the subject of intelligence and IQ. In personal conversation, in shows I am watching, etc.
I wrote this essay last year and wanted to share it again (see below).
As I tell my students, IQ is three inches on a twelve-inch ruler. It generally means you’re good at math, chess, standardized tests, and so on. There is then intellectual intelligence. This means you can read Plato and have something to say about it; you can navigate concepts and come up with insights.
There are other types of intelligence, such as moral intelligence. One can have more than one. For instance, one can have a high IQ and a high moral intelligence.
This is not a case where everyone gets a trophy. Intelligence is biological. Some people are tall. Some people are strong. Some people are good looking. And some people are “smart.” Some people are not tall. Some are not good looking. Take my meaning?
But do not despair: Everyone is good at something. All have talents and abilities, and some things just come easy.
IQ is not the measure of intelligence. It is a measure of intelligence. In this culture, if you do well on the SAT, you’re smart. Congratulations! Those clowns in MENSA would love to have you. The rest of us are dummies? [wrong-answer buzzer]
And I find this interesting: What makes one smart is the ability to excel at what is presently being pushed. STEM has basically become a religion. So, to be able to excel at STEM-related subjects is to be smart. What those hippies are doing in the English Department? Poetry has no value, biochemistry does. Therefore, it’s concluded that an aptitude for biochemistry = smart. An aptitude for reading poetry and producing incisive analysis = not smart.
This culture has interesting priorities.
https://www.gregoryharms.com/essays-20251121
