4 ms·

Among the people around me, I see a high correlation between IQ on the one side and emotional engagement, empathy and ethics on the other. What I also see is a

Among the people around me, I see a high correlation between IQ on the one side and emotional engagement, empathy and ethics on the other. What I also see is an anticorrelation between giftedness and happiness, which makes me really sad.

contingencies 10y ago
Ignorance is bliss!
sushid 10y ago
Do you think that's really true or do you tend to mainly interact with your smarter friends? This may give you a skewed understanding of how your less gifted friends might feel. My closer, "gifted" friends are in tech or finance and we interact more often. My less gifted friends, I see less often and I mostly interact with them via Facebook and the likes. This makes it seem like my smarter friends are more reflective and thus less satisfied with their lives whereas my less gifted friends seem to only have fun. Just food for thought.
- nils-m-holm 10y ago
  Did think about it! :) I spend a lot of time with all kinds of friends, so I don't think my perception is skewed. What I do observe is this: when my smarter friends are miserable, they are mostly sad or anxious, while the others are mostly frustrated or angry. The latter concentrate on finding quick fixes rather than dealing with their emotions. My smarter friends are interested in how other people feel, while the others are mostly interested in what they do. The former are very aware that their own good is linked to that of the people around them; most of the others think that life is a zero-sum game. I think it is much, much easier to agree to disagree with my smarter friends. I often feel a close connection to very smart people after having known them for only a few months or weeks. I miss this connection in most of my other relationships. So I disagree, but thanks for the input!
cko 10y ago
What about moral luck: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_luck https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_luck If higher IQ correlates with higher income, and higher income means better circumstances (health, safety, opportunity, etc) then wouldn't that explain greater empathy and ethics? As opposed to someone who has to fight for their survival. Because when you're talking about survival or the threat to it, all ethics go out the window. For example, I had fairly high test scores indicating high cognitive ability - this has made life relatively easier for me. I see coworkers, on the other hand, one socioeconomic class below and there is a pattern of mistrust in others, the mentality of scarcity, and the belief that people who are successful are lucky or corrupt. All of which seems to indicate less empathy.
- nils-m-holm 10y ago
  I know a few people with very high IQs (3-sigma and above) who have been poor and miserable most of their lives, and they are among the most compassionate and sympathetic people I know. If anything, their ethics and compassion have improved during their fight for survival. OTOH, I have met quite a few wealthy people who couldn't care less about the suffering around them. But it's an interesting question: what creates compassion and empathy? Wealth? Suffering? High IQ? Combinations of the above? Which ones?

contingencies 10y ago

Ignorance is bliss!

sushid 10y ago

Do you think that's really true or do you tend to mainly interact with your smarter friends? This may give you a skewed understanding of how your less gifted friends might feel. My closer, "gifted" friends are in tech or finance and we interact more often. My less gifted friends, I see less often and I mostly interact with them via Facebook and the likes. This makes it seem like my smarter friends are more reflective and thus less satisfied with their lives whereas my less gifted friends seem to only have fun. Just food for thought.

nils-m-holm 10y ago
Did think about it! :) I spend a lot of time with all kinds of friends, so I don't think my perception is skewed. What I do observe is this: when my smarter friends are miserable, they are mostly sad or anxious, while the others are mostly frustrated or angry. The latter concentrate on finding quick fixes rather than dealing with their emotions. My smarter friends are interested in how other people feel, while the others are mostly interested in what they do. The former are very aware that their own good is linked to that of the people around them; most of the others think that life is a zero-sum game. I think it is much, much easier to agree to disagree with my smarter friends. I often feel a close connection to very smart people after having known them for only a few months or weeks. I miss this connection in most of my other relationships. So I disagree, but thanks for the input!

cko 10y ago

What about moral luck: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_luck https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_luck If higher IQ correlates with higher income, and higher income means better circumstances (health, safety, opportunity, etc) then wouldn't that explain greater empathy and ethics? As opposed to someone who has to fight for their survival. Because when you're talking about survival or the threat to it, all ethics go out the window. For example, I had fairly high test scores indicating high cognitive ability - this has made life relatively easier for me. I see coworkers, on the other hand, one socioeconomic class below and there is a pattern of mistrust in others, the mentality of scarcity, and the belief that people who are successful are lucky or corrupt. All of which seems to indicate less empathy.

nils-m-holm 10y ago
I know a few people with very high IQs (3-sigma and above) who have been poor and miserable most of their lives, and they are among the most compassionate and sympathetic people I know. If anything, their ethics and compassion have improved during their fight for survival. OTOH, I have met quite a few wealthy people who couldn't care less about the suffering around them. But it's an interesting question: what creates compassion and empathy? Wealth? Suffering? High IQ? Combinations of the above? Which ones?