[ExI] Life @ Playstation

[Anders Sandberg]

On 04/11/2012 22:45, BillK wrote:
> From the point of view of having a successful career I think that 
> being *too* clever can often be a disadvantage.

An interesting data point is the the anticorrelation with IQ and top 
level chess ability. Of course, there is a general correlation between 
smarts and chess. But when you look even at younger adults there is an 
anticorrelation at the top end. The reason is likely that chess skill is 
to a large degree about training, and smart people have more options - 
there may be a lot of competing interests.
http://v-scheiner.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/642/1/Does%20Chess%20Need%20Intelligence-revision-finalINT.pdf

I suspect the same is true for a lot of other domains. As the chess 
example shows, the impact of intelligence does not necessarily have to 
be negative on life for it to be negative on a particular skill or 
ability. A lot hinges on what the person values and how well this fits 
the world.

Intelligence is a very useful tool for living a good life, but it is not 
a sufficient tool.

-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University