Having a high IQ doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart. Nothing new here, I mean, we have all witnessed George W. Bush and his blunders. A funny fact: Bush himself says that his thinking can hardly be described as rational. But this man has a high IQ; around 120. So what is the deal with being smart?
Think of being smart as a flash light. The intensity of the beam is your IQ. But of course where you point it matters as much as the intensity of the beam…
It’s how you use it that counts
Being smart is important, let’s face it. But being smart isn’t all there is. You have to use your smarts well too. A high IQ can be compared to height in basketball. It is important, if all other factors are equal. But all other factors aren’t equal…
Recent years have shown many more studies into different sorts of intelligence than IQ. We have witnessed the rise of EQ (Emotional Quotient) as an indicator of one’s emotional intelligence, whatever that may be. A more interesting standard is RQ, or Rational Quotient.
The problem with RQ is that the tests are hard to design. You want to test someones ability to use rational thinking in situations where rational thinking might not be the first thing that comes to mind. So if the subject is ready for that, by just ignoring his first thought, it is easy to score higher on the test than you would in actual situations.
Test your thinking
Of course, after reading the previous paragraph you are not going to fall for the answers of this simple RQ test. But that is not my purpose. I want you to understand what RQ is about. This test was performed by 3400 students in the US. Only 17 percent got all 3 questions right…
Here’s the test (answers are and the end of the article):
- A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
- If it takes five machines 5 minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
- In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of it?
How to avoid making foolish decisions
It is easy for your own mind to lead you up the wrong path, resulting in a wrong solution. Here are 6 tips to avoid making rational mistakes:
- Clear your mind
Judgments are often based on a piece of information you have recently had in mind, even if it is irrelevant. For example, bidding high at an auction after pondering the height of the tallest person in the room. - Don’t fall foul of spin
We have an inclination to be strongly influenced by the way a problem is framed. For instance, people are more likely to spend a monetary award immediately if they are told it is a bonus, compared with a rebate. - Don’t let emotions get in the way
They often interfere with our assessment of risk. One example is our natural reluctance to cut our losses on a falling investment because it might start rising again. - Be fact based
Don’t allow your beliefs and opinions to cloud your analysis. - Think carefully about the long-term consequences
When considering how a course of action will make you feel, talk to someone who has been through a similar situation rather than try to imagine your future state of mind; run mental movies about ho an option might play out (see this article). - Look beyond the obvious solution
Don’t accept the first thing that pops into your head.
This article is an abstract of an article in New Scientist by Michael Bond. The answers to the questions are: 1) 5 cents 2) 5 minutes and 3) 47 days.
May 4th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Perfect article! Thx!