To become better decision-makers we must be willing to challenge our assumptions and beliefs, seek out diverse perspectives and information and engage in critical thinking / reflection. To understand his results, we need some basic statistical theory. In psychology and other sciences, the relationship between two variables is usually expressed as a correlation coefficient between 0 and 1. A perfect correlation would have a value of 1—the two parameters would essentially be measuring the same thing; this is unrealistic for most studies of human health and behavior (which are determined by so many variables), but many scientists would consider a “moderate” correlation to lie between 0.4 and 0.59. My first book, The Intelligence Trap, examined the reasons that smart people make stupid decisions. Wraw, C., Der, G., Gale, C. R., & Deary, I. J. (2018). Intelligence in youth and health behaviours in middle age. Intelligence, 69, 71-86.

Stanovich emphasizes that dysrationalia is not just limited to system 1 thinking. Even if we are reflective enough to detect when our intuitions are wrong, and override them, we may fail to use the right “mindware”—the knowledge and attitudes that should allow us to reason correctly. If you grow up among people who distrust scientists, for instance, you may develop a tendency to ignore empirical evidence, while putting your faith in unproven theories. Greater intelligence wouldn’t necessarily stop you forming those attitudes in the first place, and it is even possible that your greater capacity for learning might then cause you to accumulate more and more “facts” to support your views. We assume that smarter people are less prone to error. But greater education and expertise can often amplify our mistakes while rendering us blind to our biases. This is the 'intelligence trap'. What did you answer? According to Stanovich’s work, 70 percent of university students believe that this is a valid argument. But it isn’t, since the first premise only says that “all living things need water”—not that “all things that need water are living.” If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire. Many highly intelligent people are caught in the intelligence trap: they take a position on a subject and then they use their thinking skill solely to support that position.Now if you put your bias aside and asked yourself, “Who is more intelligent, Magnus or Elon?”, would you be able to answer the question easily? Probably not. Termites’, in Shurkin, J. (1992), Terman’s Kids: The Groundbreaking Study of How the Gifted Grow Up, Good content; well covered via named biases, a small history lesson on IQ, recent studies, findings and quotes from scientists working on the domain for years, accompanying intriguing stories, different layers of application of its learnings from individual to teams and organizations and even to the public. Deliberately avoiding the chance to learn new information to avoid discomfort and to increase our productivity. At work, for instance, it can be beneficial not to question the long-term consequences of your actions, if that knowledge will interfere with the chances of promotion. These choices may be unconscious.” The Intelligence Trap is written for anyone who wants to escape the above mistake — a user’s guide to both the science and art of wisdom. The author asks three questions: why do smart people act stupidly? What skills and dispositions are they missing that can explain these mistakes? And, how can we cultivate those qualities that protect us from these errors? Robson is an award-winning science journalist working with BBC Future, where he specialises in psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. His skill as a journalist makes him readable and entertaining while his scientific approach makes him credible.

Intelligent and educated people are less likely to learn from their mistakes, for instance, or take advice from o“thers. And when they do err, they are better able to build elaborate arguments to justify their reasoning, meaning that they become more and more dogmatic in their views. It’s difficult to define who’s the most intelligent because we can’t put numbers on intelligence. We can’t say that Elon Musk is more intelligent than Magnus Carlson by a certain number of points, but we can say that Magnus Carlson will win against Elon Musk at chess by a certain margin. So the next time you find yourself suffering from the same old stinking thinking, try the PMI technique on for size. You Might Also LikeThe book answers questions on why these mistakes occur and how to cultivate those qualities to protect us from errors that could hurt us, our family, or those whom we serve.

And maybe the most important thing the PMI does, is it actively helps me avoid the Intelligence Trap. Why do seemingly intelligent people believe in ideas that are not supported by the facts? How could it be that the more intelligent you are the more likely you are to fall into a cognitive trap? Answers to these questions and many more are the subject of the new book, The Intelligence Trap (March, 2019), by David Robson. Exhausted from making too many decisions – so simplify our choices, decision-making and take breaks to recharge. A powerful concept in education: we actually learn better if our initial understanding is made harder, not easier. See also Growth mindset. This same polarization can be seen on many other charged issues, such as stem cell research or evolution and creationism, with more educated individuals applying their brainpower to protect their existing opinions, even when they disagree with the scientific consensus. It could also be observed in beliefs about certain political conspiracy theories. When it comes to certain tightly held beliefs, higher intelligence and knowledge is a tool for propaganda rather than truth seeking, amplifying our errors.Not only do general intelligence and academic education fail to protect us from various cognitive errors; smart people maybe even more vulnerable to certain kinds of foolish thinking. I run into the Intelligence Trap a lot at work. It usually happens when somebody wants to play the Devil’s advocate. carefully selected evidence and rationalisation. Such is the stimulation of psychodynamic disagreement. The unfortunate conclusion is that, even if you happen to be rational in general, it’s possible that you may still be prone to flawed reasoning on certain questions that matter most to you. Conan Doyle’s beliefs were certainly of this kind: spiritualism seems to have offered him enormous comfort throughout his life. The author David Robson suggests we’re not always as smart as we think we are. Psychological research suggests that greater intelligence, education, and expertise might amplify our errors. Here are some key reasons why high IQ people fall under the intelligence trap: Cognitive Miserliness