Are IQ (Smarts) and Success Correlated?

[Shono]

Lol @ the feathers and iron

I googled the weight of a feather in ounces, took whatever google spit out and converted it to 0.000018 lbs - that's the weight in pounds of one feather. Sadly I don't have a scale that could really do this!

That means it would take roughly 55,556 feathers to make 1 lb. That's quite a lot of feathers!

A pound of iron would be very small. You have probably used plates in the gym before and seen the 2.5 lb plates. Well... You can guess the volume of 1 pound from that. We are talking about something the size of your fist, or smaller.

The volume of a bag of ~55,000 feathers would be pretty large since the average king-sized pillow only contains roughly 1,000 feathers. That means 1 pound of feathers would be the equivalent of 55 king-sized feather pillows. Wow!

Same weight, different densities, very different volumes. The universe is fascinating. (I wouldn't want to be hit in the face with either, to be honest)

Finally someone who understands my point, exactly, iron is heavier on average than 55 pillow cases worth of feathers

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Guest-5ty5s4]

Finally someone who understands my point, exactly, iron is heavier on average than 55 pillow cases worth of feathers

I think you are trolling at this point haha

 

[Kak]

I think you are trolling at this point haha

I just realized that we have now both argued over 700+ year unit of measurement with someone who named their account F*cking “droopynips.”

I’m currently trying not to hate myself for taking the bait.

I am going to unignore him just to ignore him again. There is literally nothing anyone on this forum can learn from this guy.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

I just realized that we have now both argued over 700+ year unit of measurement with someone who named their account F*cking “droopynips.”

I’m currently trying not to hate myself for taking the bait.

I am going to unignore him just to ignore him again. There is literally nothing anyone on this forum can learn from this guy.

It was a fun little math thing to do. Did it for Droopy nips

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Shono]

am i missing something here? Am i the butt of a joke or something? ‘Lets try and convince the new guy feathers way as much as iron?’ If so you got me

 

[BizyDad]

Fwiw there is a correlation between intelligence and higher income. Just as there is correlation between level of education and income, just as there is correlation between good grades and income.

I didn't bother reading the thread, but you guys can actually look up the science.

One way you could test this hypothesis is to look at the data on Mensa members and how successful they are.

Is there any correlation between being having an IQ in the top 2% and being successful?

Two percent of the US population is 6 million people. Are the 6 million people with the highest IQ in the US also the people with a disproportionate level of success and wealth?

I have a hunch the answer is no, based on the assumption that if there were a strong correlation, it would be trumpeted from the Mensa website and marketing materials, which it isn't. Plus, I would think this list of "noteworthy Mensans" would be much longer and much more populated with "well-known successful people" if there was any kind of correlation to success.

However, there IS a correlation where the higher your IQ, the more likely you are to have ADHD, stunted social skills, mental health challenges, or one or more other eccentricities. These factors act as headwinds to being successful.

Not saying IQ is useless... I'd rather be smart than dumb... but just saying that I doubt the correlation between IQ and success holds up unless the person also has multiple other factors supporting them (such as absence of childhood trauma, good mental health, good emotional stability, good social skills, good executive function, internal locus of control, good work ethic, etc.).

First off joining Mensa is not necessarily an indication of who the smart people are. Many smart successful people refuse to join Mensa because of Mensans.

Nevertheless, let's take the inverse of your logic. What is the percentage of successful Mensans vs the percentage of success people with sub 70 IQ?

Or... Take a look at a list of the wealthiest people in the world. How many of them are cretins?

 

[Shono]

Fwiw there is a correlation between intelligence and higher income. Just as there is correlation between level of education and income, just as there is correlation between good grades and income.

Unobserved confounders make those correlations null since there are essentially infinite variables that can be joint between income and education, ie health, genetics, family, geography ensues too many sensitivities for accurate analysis.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Johnny boy]

 

[Roli]

About MJ's "lies to yourself list" all of them are correct, except the IQ one.

Not all smart people are rich, but all self-made rich people are definitely smart.

The correlation between net worth and IQ is a real thing.

And social-economics inequalities are "IQ" inequalities more than anything else.

It's immensely controversial...but it's true.

Dude, I heard the term "flat-Earth millionaire" the other day. Intelligence might help, but it's definitely not a prerequisite to making money. In fact, often it's a hinderance.

 

[biophase]

am i missing something here? Am i the butt of a joke or something? ‘Lets try and convince the new guy feathers way as much as iron?’ If so you got me

Yes, we are laughing at you. I hope that you are in grammar school and haven’t taken physics yet. If you are a grown adult, then I don’t know what else to say.

Two questions, do you know what density is? And what do you think “on average” means?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Roli]

No, God makes sure you're poor by getting you to be born into poverty. Grow up in an Indian slum with the I.Q. of Einstein and you could still end up sweeping streets for a living. That same IQ in Europe or the United States will get you very different things. Nothing to do with capitalism my friend.

 

[Roli]

As I wrote in Post#28 of my featured user thread,

Walter Hay, Imp/Export Extraordinaire (Vandalay Industries),​

while spending a lot of time in hospital as a child, I read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, and having a photographic memory, was able to answer every question asked by the kids in the street where I lived. They called me "The Professor." Is that genius, or a quirk of nature?

My mother sent me to a primary school that was attached to a nearby university and its teachers' college. The school was used as a source of guinea pigs for various tests, and I often had to walk to the college to do an exam. The dumbest boy in the school was also often present.

As I reached high school age, the tests changed and unbeknown to me I was being tested for entry to a "Selective High School." The entry criterion was a certain high IQ score. I know what it was, but will omit reference to the number.

The question is: Was my photographic memory an indicator of a high IQ, or did I achieve that score because of diligence in reading all those volumes?

In addition to that: Was my problem solving ability that fueled my industrial chemical business without any chemical qualifications due to genius or plain hard work?

Any answers?

Walter

As someone with a photographic memory I can relate to that Walter. I tussled with myself on these very same issues, eventually coming to the conclusion I wasn't particularly smart, just a good memory.

However later I realised memory (in its various forms) is a part of intelligence, later I took an IQ test and scored pretty high, although sometimes I wish it were a few points lower as many people I've met who are probably 20 or 30 points below me on the scale, are way happier than I am and it seems directly correlated with their IQ.

In answer to your last question, a bit of both. In my mind genius is the ability to work over and over on something to the point of exhaustion and just keep going. If you can't stop playing football, you'll probably be a genius footballer, if you can't stop doing chemistry, you'll probably be a genius chemist.

 

[Roli]

not on average? would you rather have a pound of iron fall on your head or a pound of feather?? obviously the lighter option of the two

am i missing something here? Am i the butt of a joke or something? ‘Lets try and convince the new guy feathers way as much as iron?’ If so you got me

I get what you're saying, iron is a metal, ergo it is sharp and hard. If you dropped it from a height, then air resistance will mean the iron will hurt you more than the feathers. But the point is a pound or kilo of anything is the same weight, a kilo is a kilo. However I would rather be smashed in the face by a kilo of feathers in a pillowcase, than a kilo of iron nails in the same pillow case.

But they weigh the same.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

Yes. A pound of feathers is exactly as heavy as a pound of iron. Unequivocally.

No @Kak
You and your friend @Antifragile are WRONG.

Iron is HEAVY.
Feather is LIGHT.

If you have 1 kg of iron and also 1 kg of feather, the IRON will win because it is more heavy THAN FEATHER!

Have you ever tried to lift a feather and see how easy it is? More easy than iron. Because iron is heavy.

---

Jokes aside, I was really curious if 1 "pound" (£) of iron is heavier than 1 "pound" (£) of feathers.

• 1kg of iron $0.2 / £0.17
• 1kg of feathers $10 / £8.32

So:

• £1 of iron: 5.8kg
• £1 of feathers: 0.1kg

So yeah, pound by pound (£), iron is 58 times heavier than feathers (at these buy prices and currency exchange rates).

IRON IS HEAVIER.

@Spenny or @Andy Black Please send me £1 so I can buy some iron.

 

[monnffffiiiiiii]

Fwiw there is a correlation between intelligence and higher income. Just as there is correlation between level of education and income, just as there is correlation between good grades and income.

I didn't bother reading the thread, but you guys can actually look up the science.



First off joining Mensa is not necessarily an indication of who the smart people are. Many smart successful people refuse to join Mensa because of Mensans.

Nevertheless, let's take the inverse of your logic. What is the percentage of successful Mensans vs the percentage of success people with sub 70 IQ?

Or... Take a look at a list of the wealthiest people in the world. How many of them are cretins?

Sounds obvious to me, yet most people in this thread fail to see this.


----------------------------------------------------

@Kak @Antifragile when my customers pay me money, I ask them to pay me in coins because it is heavier than notes or (God forbid) a wire transfer, so it means I am making more money.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Fwiw there is a correlation between intelligence and higher income. Just as there is correlation between level of education and income, just as there is correlation between good grades and income.

I didn't bother reading the thread, but you guys can actually look up the science.



First off joining Mensa is not necessarily an indication of who the smart people are. Many smart successful people refuse to join Mensa because of Mensans.

Nevertheless, let's take the inverse of your logic. What is the percentage of successful Mensans vs the percentage of success people with sub 70 IQ?

Or... Take a look at a list of the wealthiest people in the world. How many of them are cretins?

I am a very smart boy (official IQ of 158) and intelligence is certainly helpful, but beyond a certain point it is DETRIMENTAL to success.

Very intelligent people are usually more confused by all the possibilities, more likely to overthink things, less likely to be bold and take massive action.

Here’s an example: Christopher Langan - Wikipedia

He has one of the highest IQs in the world in the 200s. That’s a BIG PROBLEM for him, and it’s been so his entire life.

I know that if my IQ was just 20-30 points lower, I’d be a trillionaire today! No kidding though, imo an IQ over 140 (maybe even 130) is harmful to success. George Bush, Putin, Trump — they’ve all got IQs around 130. (When they measured my IQ at 7 yo, it was 132 and I could barely tie my shoes. So 132 isn’t such a high bar to pass even though I think only 2% of the population passes it)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

so youre telling me feathers are just as heavy??? different things have different mass and structure, next youll try and convince me feathers are as hard as diamond??

Social media has destroyed a generation.

What astounds me with young people today is their confidence in their ignorance.

The statement is very simple. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of iron. But people who've had their brains microwaved into mush by social media can no longer look at things simplistically because their brains have already moved onto the next swipe, the next scroll, and the next dopamine push.

 

[Anon3x156]

Social media has destroyed a generation.

What astounds me with young people today is their confidence in their ignorance.

The statement is very simple. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of iron. But people who've had their brains microwaved into mush by social media can no longer look at things simplistically because their brains have already moved onto the next swipe, the next scroll, and the next dopamine push.

nahh bru

imagine you dropped a pound of feather on your foot, it wouldn't hurt.
but if you dropped a pound of iron, it'd hurt like a hoe.

1 pound of iron is at least 10 pounds

 

[Kevin88660]

Social media has destroyed a generation.

What astounds me with young people today is their confidence in their ignorance.

The statement is very simple. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of iron. But people who've had their brains microwaved into mush by social media can no longer look at things simplistically because their brains have already moved onto the next swipe, the next scroll, and the next dopamine push.

I remembered it as an elementary school trick question. One pound is one pound.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kevin88660]

nahh bru

imagine you dropped a pound of feather on your foot, it wouldn't hurt.
but if you dropped a pound of iron, it'd hurt like a hoe.

1 pound of iron is at least 10 pounds

1000 calories of bread versus 1000 calories of beef. They have equal energy content.

One piece of diamond that is worth $100k versus a cargo of coal that is worth $100k. They have equal economic value.

It is just a trick question. By definition pound is the unit for mass.

 

[Anon3x156]

1000 calories of bread versus 1000 calories of beef. They have equal energy content.

One piece of diamond that is worth $100k versus a cargo of coal that is worth $100k. They have equal economic value.

It is just a trick question. By definition pound is the unit for mass.

nah you trippin

 

[Patryk.]

I remembered it as an elementary school trick question. One pound is one pound.

Try to imagine that my dad had test like that when he was working in the mine as electrican and there were electricans who couldn't answer it right - yeah my dad refused to work with them even when they finally passed the test as it was serious threat to his life.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Antifragile]

No @Kak
You and your friend @Antifragile are WRONG.

Iron is HEAVY.
Feather is LIGHT.

If you have 1 kg of iron and also 1 kg of feather, the IRON will win because it is more heavy THAN FEATHER!

Have you ever tried to lift a feather and see how easy it is? More easy than iron. Because iron is heavy.

---

Jokes aside, I was really curious if 1 "pound" (£) of iron is heavier than 1 "pound" (£) of feathers.

• 1kg of iron $0.2 / £0.17
• 1kg of feathers $10 / £8.32

So:

• £1 of iron: 5.8kg
• £1 of feathers: 0.1kg

So yeah, pound by pound (£), iron is 58 times heavier than feathers (at these buy prices and currency exchange rates).

IRON IS HEAVIER.

@Spenny or @Andy Black Please send me £1 so I can buy some iron.

I wanted to fight you on this. Got my coffee to help me, but it wasn't strong enough.

I am a very smart boy (official IQ of 158)

Solomon, Deborah (12 December 2004). "The Science of Second-Guessing". The New York Times.

 

[Anon3x156]

View attachment 47275
Solomon, Deborah (12 December 2004). "The Science of Second-Guessing". The New York Times.

Bro got so pissed he actually took the time to roast him

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

Honestly, it's cooler to be an idiot and still beat all the people with high IQs.

Just like it's cool when all the guys with more talent, more muscle, and better training are beaten in a race, sport, or other competition by someone with no talent who is weaker, slower, and has worse technique.

That being said, don't handicap yourself. Be the best you can be.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[rjdgreat]

About MJ's "lies to yourself list" all of them are correct, except the IQ one.

Not all smart people are rich, but all self-made rich people are definitely smart.

The correlation between net worth and IQ is a real thing.

And social-economics inequalities are "IQ" inequalities more than anything else.

It's immensely controversial...but it's true.

I'll drop some bible verse fellas

Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 KJV
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

So yeah hard work pays off and luck is a factor.

 

[Anon3x156]

I am a very smart boy (official IQ of 158)

Is this you bro?

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XvzkCpVGVqM
@Antifragile

 

[football4life]

not at all. look at all the young, famous tiktokers, instagram famous influencers and youtubers. if you've ever met some of them in person they have average intelligence at best, but what they do is they execute, test things out and are very, very good at getting people s attention and we live in a world where attention is the most valuable thing. so not at all. unless you want to be the next elon musk or something like that then it might matter.

some of the smartest people i know personally are broke as a joke but it s because they dont know how to guide their brains.

you can have a lamborghini in terms of your brain but your opponent has a vw golf but knows how to drive it 100% of the time and you only know how to drive yours 10%. so guess who is going to win?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

I wanted to fight you on this. Got my coffee to help me, but it wasn't strong enough.

Ha!

1kg of coffee is heavier than 1kg of tea, and way heavier than 1kg of water.

Because it has more caffeine.

It's basic maths and science! What do they teach in schools these days?

 

[Guest931Xfjyx]

Anyone can become successful if they can employ leverage, commitment, calculated-risk, and problem solving.

The unintelligent lack these abilities, limited to nothing more than uncalculated-risk, and so their chances are quite dim.