Think For Yourself, Question Everything, Never Stop Learning

The words above have been my mantra of life for decades. Everyday I think about those three things, and make sure I am living up to them. I have lived with those words so long that I sometimes kinda naively think that most others do too. But, sometimes I get a figurative punch in the gut to tell me otherwise. With this post I will try to explain that.

Let’s take a look at some of the stuff that psychology has come up about being smart:

Not Everyone is Smart

Some people are just smarter than others. I would like to believe that, given enough time and effort everyone would become smart.  But, the cognitive difference between someone who has a 90 IQ ( in the normal range) and someone with130 IQ (in the top 3%) is day and night.

That’s not to say  that there is something wrong with people who have an IQ of 90, they just aren’t smart. They do the best they can but sometimes they just don’t make the best decisions, and sometimes struggle with things that those with higher IQs don’t.

I would also like to believe that if anyone puts in the hours  of training and homework, they can be experts in almost any field they choose. But, whether I like it or not, some people’s personalities are just not suited to this type thing. They are just stuck in their own little world, and never bother to look over the edge of the box that someone put them earlier in life.

Since I am a very rational person I finally want to believe that all people are rational, logical and live life according to what they have learned is right or true. We want to believe that when faced with evidence contrary to their beliefs that they would be willing to change those beliefs to accommodate the new information. Unfortunately, there is again little physical evidence to suggest that this is the case. Trying to reason with people who are not rational is simply a futile effort.