Response to: Contagious Stupidity

The following is a response to the previous post "Stupidity can be contagious".

This is brilliant and funny stuff. I'd like to add a new topic of study: comparing IQs between the religious and non-religious. Also, since critical thinking, as you say, is developed during the teenage years, there may be an important link to discover between how religious people lived those important years, and how non-religious people did. Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation is studying something quite interesting. He's doing his PHD at the moment and looking at physiological aspects of religion, using tools such as MRI/CAT scans of the brain in order to try and find an area which is triggered or stimulated by religious behavior. Fascinating.

The question of smokers and gamblers is equally interesting, and also brings up this idea of nature vs. nurture. Both being addictions (one physical, one psychological), the real important thing is to figure out where there was a moment of logical weakness in that person's life which made them begin smoking/gambling. Is there a correlation in IQ, as you say, which would predispose a dumber person to become a smoker (I'm assuming that smokers don't have higher IQs, being that there's no logical benefit to smoking, nor is there for gambling, if you look at the odds... which are designed against you winning).

My first reaction to the IQ-test question was that IQ and/or behavior-type tests don't usually have right or wrong answers, but instead are indicative of something larger. This is actually an interesting question of logic, however, which one doesn't usually see on typical IQ tests (which deal with things such as association, deduction, etc.) This is sort of a trick question, and it's very interesting. People make the assumption that if a question is being asked, that there must be a very clear and concise answer. In fact, there are likely dozens of factors which might explain that men have more accidents than women, none of which can be narrowed down to a simple multiple-choice question.

Dumb people use stereotypes and pre-built conclusions in order to make quick decisions on things (which reminds me of armchair philosophers). The smart person understands the inherent complexity of the question and instead understands right away (in this case, WITHOUT even having read the answers) that the answer cannot be so clear-cut and simple. The inquisitive/rational/curious mind is intrigued and wants to use their rational capacities to figure it out, even knowing that they may not come to an immediate answer. The dumb person doesn't go through this process and uses vague conceptions of belief and guesstimates. This reminds me very much of how people act in regards to religion.