Why Do Smart People Do Foolish Things?
Intelligence is not the same as critical thinking and the difference matters
Given all the advantages of intelligence, though, you may be
surprised to learn that it does not predict other life outcomes, such as
well-being. You might imagine that doing well in school or at work
might lead to greater life satisfaction, but several large scale studies
have failed to find evidence that IQ impacts life satisfaction or
longevity. Grossman and his colleagues argue
that most intelligence tests fail to capture real-world decision-making
and our ability to interact well with others. This is, in other words,
perhaps why “smart” people, do “dumb” things.
The ability to think critically, on the other hand, has been associated
with wellness and longevity. Though often confused with intelligence,
critical thinking is not intelligence. Critical thinking is a
collection of cognitive skills that allow us to think rationally in a
goal-orientated fashion, and a disposition to use those skills when
appropriate. Critical thinkers are amiable skeptics. They are flexible
thinkers who require evidence to support their beliefs and recognize
fallacious attempts to persuade them. Critical thinking means
overcoming all sorts of cognitive biases (e.g., hindsight bias,
confirmation bias, etc.).
Is it better to be a critical thinker or to be intelligent? My latest research
pitted critical thinking and intelligence against each other to see
which was associated with fewer negative life events. People who were
strong on either intelligence or critical thinking experienced fewer
negative events, but critical thinkers did better.
Reasoning and rationality more closely resemble what we mean when we say a person is smart
than spatial skills and math ability. Furthermore, improving
intelligence is difficult. Intelligence is largely determined by
genetics. Critical thinking, though, can improve with training and the
benefits have been shown to persist over time. Anyone can improve their
critical thinking skills: Doing so, we can say with certainty, is a
smart thing to do.
(ScientificAmerican.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment