Is Everyone About as Smart as I Am?

Many assume that nearly everyone possesses sufficient intelligence to learn any job, make sound decisions, and achieve economic stability. However, this assumption overlooks a crucial reality: individual differences in intelligence have profound consequences in work, education, and daily life. A particularly troubling aspect of this oversight is that people struggle to comprehend the cognitive processes of those whose IQ differs from their own by more than 10 or 15 points. This difficulty becomes especially problematic when individuals at one intelligence level make judgments about or recommendations for people at substantially different levels.

This represents a particular manifestation of the psychologist's fallacy—the tendency to assume others think and act similarly to oneself. Paradoxically, highly intelligent individuals are among those most vulnerable to this cognitive blind spot. Bright people frequently presume that everyone reasons and solves problems with comparable competence, leading to significant consequences when they interact with other population segments.

The ramifications of ignoring intelligence differences in decision-making can be severe. False confessions in criminal proceedings exemplify this problem. Low IQ constitutes a substantial risk factor for false confessions, as individuals with below-average intelligence prove more susceptible to interrogation methods and may fail to comprehend their constitutional protections. Jurors of average intelligence often cannot grasp the confusion that prompts a low-IQ person to falsely admit guilt.

Project 100,000 provides a larger-scale illustration. Between 1966 and 1971, the US Department of Defense lowered the minimum military service IQ from 92 to 71, inducting 354,000 men under relaxed standards. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara believed supplementary training would transform these men into capable soldiers. The initiative failed spectacularly. These inductees proved harder to train and less competent, with over half receiving dishonorable discharges. They experienced psychiatric difficulties at ten times the normal rate and a death rate three times higher. The failure stemmed not from inadequate resources but from decision makers' failure to recognize that IQ differences create fundamental variations in environmental functioning capacity.

Similar overestimation of others' abilities appears in claims about escaping poverty through "simple steps" like graduating high school, maintaining employment, and avoiding out-of-wedlock childbirth. While these behaviors characterize economically successful individuals, they prove far more challenging for those with low general intelligence. High school completion may be extremely difficult, employment opportunities limited, and pregnancy prevention complicated by the correlation between low IQ and impulsivity.

Society increasingly segregates itself by intelligence levels. People gravitate toward social circles, career paths, and neighborhoods aligned with their cognitive abilities, resulting in IQ-based balkanization. Consequently, bright individuals rarely interact extensively with average or low-IQ community members or understand their daily realities.

Additionally, few people learn about intelligence and its practical significance. Even among psychology students, intelligence courses are uncommon, and textbooks contain substantial inaccuracies. American culture also discourages discussing intelligence openly, viewing such conversations as elitist.

Addressing this problem requires several actions. First, we need frank yet diplomatic discussions about intelligence differences and their real-world effects. Decision makers must recognize that solutions effective for high-IQ individuals may prove difficult or impossible for those with low intelligence.

Second, high-IQ people affecting less intelligent individuals should deliberately accommodate their needs. Medical professionals should simplify instructions, provide demonstrations, and offer frequent reminders. Professionals working with lower-intelligence clients should assume understanding is limited until proven otherwise.

Third, policy makers should consider legislation protecting less intelligent citizens, such as eliminating predatory industries like payday lenders and state lotteries.

Finally, individuals should actively seek interactions with people across intelligence levels through volunteering, workplace relationships, and residential choices.

Understanding that not everyone thinks equally well represents a crucial first step toward creating a more compassionate, effective society that accommodates all its members' needs and limitations.





From Chapter 35 of "In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence" by Dr. Russell Warne (2020)