Are We All Smarter Than Average?

As a statistician I know it is impossible, but it does seem that we all think that we are intellectually a cut above everybody else. I come to this conclusion for two reasons, subjectively by listening to people and objectively through the English language. Of course, we all tend to think we are superior; how else to explain the constant denial of the Theory of Evolution. However, in terms of looks we accept that there are beautiful people, models, movie stars etc. who we can only hope to emulate by spending vast sums on clothes, accessories and cosmetics. Presumably we accept that sports-stars and musicians have talents or strengths that we can only stand back and admire. Yet how many of us would pay to here an academic speak?

It is apparent that brains are not rewarded, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry or physics probably earns less than a good insurance salesman and certainly nowhere near as much as a derivative trader. This attitude to intelligence is reflected in our education process. Few parents would question a coach who dropped an inept player from the football team and yet when a student gets a C it is somehow the fault of the teacher! In a world where everyone is an A student then that becomes the norm and thus we are all above average. The trend is towards having a graduation ceremony upon completion of each year, s that students are rewarded for turning up on a regular basis which again negates the achievement that graduation represents. Why is it so hard for us to allow that some people are smarter than others, just as some are faster and some are stronger.

Our language underscores this ambivalence to intellect. Look at the words we use; clever, smart, intelligence, genius. The first two have a pejorative nuance as in "Are you trying to be clever?" or "Don't get smart with me , young man." ,that says that showing your knowledge is 'wising off', another example of a compliment becoming an insult. In these instances, demonstrating superior intellect, or even inferring that you are smarter than the other person, is seen as a bad thing. Intelligence, especially in today's climate, is associated with snooping and thus an invasion of privacy. The gathering of knowledge is equated with the gathering of data and is therefore viewed with suspicion as it gives the learned person an 'unfair' advantage. Genius, on the other hand, has a sense of rarity so that it has become akin to a freak of nature. People such as Mozart or Leonardo da Vinci are seen as being so far removed from the norm that they are no longer a threat to the common man.

On the other hand there is an absolute plethora of terms to describe those perceived as below us in intellect: idiot, fool, stupid, retard, dumb, simple, moron, cretin, backward, dim, slow-witted, brainless and on and on. The vast majority of these are considered politically incorrect such is the magnitude of inferring that someone is below average. One strange result of this is that whereas the landscape is littered with gyms, health spas, personal trainers and exhortations to physical fitness there is a total dearth of mental agility centers, almost no-one embraces learning for the sake of increased knowledge. Ah, but what about tech-schools, colleges and other institutes of adult learning? The answer lies in the focus of these facilities. Many people who habitually attend college courses are seen as drop-outs from society, whereas the majority of students are aiming for a different goal. Colleges and other adult learning centers are there to dispense diplomas not knowledge. Very few people would measure a course by what they had learned but rather by whether they had 'passed' and thus gained a piece of paper. People attend school to advance their career and, therefore, increase their earning ability.

All of which leads me to believe that the answer lies with society. The only measure of success, almost of meaning to life, is money. Whereas beauty can be traded for a movie career, agility and strength for a sports career, talent for stardom, knowledge has no tangible benefit. If you cannot sell it, utilize it or trade it then there is no value. But there is still the residual fear that maybe, just maybe, if someone is smarter than us then they can somehow get over on us, which really just demonstrates our ignorance.