Healthy Ignorance

If a high intelligence quotient as an ideal equates to the ultimate desire, then the ‘majority’ have much to aspire to. In statistical circles, 2% of the population (exceptionals) have IQ levels of 120 points or more while the ‘minorities’ (100 to 120 IQ points) account for around 15% of the population leaving the ‘mediocre’ and ‘majorities’ to account for the rest.

Putting the whole IQ world in perspective is a tricky exercise, but one which I believe to be of vital importance if one is to understand how the world of IQ levels is perceived. It is supposed that persons with IQ levels below 20 IQ points cannot be toilet trained while those with around 40 IQ points, although they may be able to attain grade 4 by ages 18, cannot look after themselves, and those with IQ points of 70 and lower cannot differentiate between right or wrong.

The ‘mediocre’ (90 to 100 IQ points) fare no better. Although they can do all the above with closed-eyes proficiency, they are not University material, their reading material is, at best, news stories (the reading of Editorials not included,) popular magazines and novels. Their morality is formed around executing what Authorities expects from them; be it work, religious, governmental or scholastic.

It must be understood that an IQ result is a statistically derived number which indicates relative and comparative abilities that can be used to obtain academic skills and knowledge. An individual has many specific mental abilities of which some can be measured accurately while others can only be used as indicators (or predictors) of academic abilities.

(Note: An IQ test does not measure most kinds of human abilities such as musical talent, artistic flair, emotional stability, physical co-ordination, or spiritual level.)

Thus it is left to the ‘minorities’ --

Actually, the ‘minority’ prospects are rather gloomy. Research at a Swedish University has scantly indicated that ‘minorities’ tend to suffer from one or other form of physiological malady when exposed to prolonged periods in the company of mediocrity. The results were obtained by randomly questioning ill people whose IQ levels fell within the prescribed range, specially those in corporate environments, as to what brought on the infirmity. All persons questioned replied that prior to the attack, or closely thereafter, they had to endure some or other act of stupidity by one of their fellow work mates; who were subsequently tested and found to have IQ levels below 100 IQ points.

-- and the ‘exceptionals’ to rule the roost, as these are individuals that can reason abstractly, postulate logic and solve what-if situations: exactly what is expected from leaders, politicians and decision makers!?

If the world is indeed ruled by the ‘brilliant,’ why is it in such a mess? Surely the intellectually superior can, by way of reason, foresee the outcome of a given action? And maybe they too suffer, like everyone else, from attacks of megalomania, from desires of grandeur and from blatant power mongery.

Consider; (all below mentioned are claimed to have an IQ above 100 points)

Hitler; an intelligent man who used reason as a means. Yet, his noble pursuits lost their benevolence as his insolence grew. Why should he who gained knowledge through reading implement a draconian rule like book-burning? Surely his common sense should have kicked in and told him that he was being a fool? Why the abnormal abhorrence of a people when intelligence, through reason, dictates that, in life, its not about absolutes but temperance?

Sister Theresa; a well-to-do woman who revelled in altruist pursuits. There was nothing that this women would not do for others; as long as their suffering met with her expectations.

Einstein; a confirmed logical thinker of high acclaim. Yet he believed in God; a subject that has no logical substance except through the eyes of faith. And his domestic life left a lot to be desired; just ask his wife’s.

Margaret Thatcher; highly respected for her powers of rationale and astuteness in negotiations. Yet she had no qualms about condemning (indirectly) a portion of the British population to death (starvation, exposure, war, etc) just because her pride could not be blackmailed.

What about persons who head reputable institutions, that are loved by their employees and partners alike, that are known for their powers of reason while behind closed doors, abuse their loved ones, and comit other atrocities.

What about a less known factor that most shakers-and-movers sufferer from one or other form of schizophrenia - Not a duality of character but of psychotic mania.

In the world of politics, we are all equal, but by all reasoning, an exaggerated misnomer:

Fact; In the world of IQ testing, we are not equal.

Fact; In the world of anthropomorphic measurements, we are not equal: That verbal inabilities are vast. That musculature variations are many. Even our powers of reason are dissimilar; and the list goes on.

Given all of the a foregoing reckonings, are IQ results of any use to anyone or to life in general?

As a means to an end, let me simplify the inadequacies of IQ testing by means of a true story: There was a murder case where this person, with an IQ below 70 points, could not be executed for his crime as he was deemed not to be able to distinguish between right or wrong, yet, because of his shrewd dedication in the pursuit of justice, the jury ruled that he was intelligent enough to die.

But it must be bliss to live in ignorance. It is postulated that higher intelligence may not be favoured by selection. The history of life on earth, contests the claim that ‘it is better to be smart than to be stupid,’ at least judging by biological success: beetles and bacteria, for example, are far more successful than primates in these terms, and that is generally true of creatures that fill a specific niche or can undergo rapid genetic change.

Intelligence versus inanity will remain a bone of contention with much time being dedicated by pundits in the pursuit of answers. In the end, what will it all mean? I do believe that, in the greater scheme of things, not much. Life will continue its ineffable journey with us as passengers, whether we like it or not.

Healthy ignorance must be bliss, as no time is wasted on profound thought processes, in life analysis, or in elucidation. Life is lived as it comes and the rest will take care of itself; what joy, what bliss…what a waste.