How Come Smart People Can Be So Stupid Sometimes?

Having a high intelligence quotient (IQ) and being smart are two different things ; you don’t have to look too far to discover incredible acts of stupidity committed by intelligent, even brilliant people. Thus, most tests that “measure” IQ only focus on one type of intelligence, namely analytical intelligence. This ability allows us to recognize patterns and solve analytical problems. The majority of IQ tests therefore do not collect the other two aspects of human intelligence: creative intelligence, and practical intelligence.

Creative intelligence is our ability to fight against new situations. Practical intelligence, on the other hand, corresponds to our ability to do things. In the first 20 years of our life, we are rewarded for our analytical intelligence : indeed, the educational system in place is structured to train us in this direction.

Today, emotions have reached the level of emotional intelligence. Today, we live in the age of values, of what is called ethical intelligence.

One of the reasons smart people don’t behave this way is excessive ego. Their good results obtained on other occasions have served as a breeding ground for an omniscience, omnipotence, or invulnerability that prevents them from seeing the real consequences of their actions.

Thanks to intelligence, we can find solutions to all problems. The smarter we are, the more we assume that we are able to find good solutions, since we have a greater perspective, a greater vision of the reality of the problem as well as greater knowledge of the circumstances that determine it. However, let us not forget that a global intelligence, which is in question here, corresponds to:

1. The ability to understand

2. The ability to solve problems

3. Knowledge, understanding, the act of understanding

Intelligence therefore uses knowledge, skills and attitudes, or even ability, skill and experience.

We have our intelligence and our values, among other resources, to make many decisions. Thus, if we do not develop both, our behavior, derived from decision making, can be negatively affected. One of the qualities that a good choice of values ​​and its use gives us is to avoid stupid solutions, to know how to distinguish between the means and the ends, and to guess the consequences that can generate the different solutions considered.

The stupid solutions, which many people opt for, arise from not having previously analyzed the consequences of one’s actions. When we have to make a decision in complex or stressful environments, we do not know how to properly value which solution is the best, and in haste we hide what analytical intelligence dictates without considering the consequences.

We have all had misguided behavior in the past. In the future, to try to control these possible behaviors, it is advisable to monitor our behavior by practicing, at least three days a week, the activation of consciousness. This will make reality more accessible, more understandable, and making silly decisions more difficult.

Intelligence devoid of values ​​loses its capacity for resolution; unintelligent values ​​can be misapplied. However, values ​​and intelligence are two complementary forms that promote our good results, making them productive and valuable.

Images kindly granted to us by Sonja Flemming / CBS