Intelligence is overrated

Definition I gave the definition of intelligence for the purposes of this debate, It is "the ability to sore well on IQ tests" and I gave the reasons for using that definition. That is the definition that relates to success in academia and it is what is popularly embraced. Without that simple definition, we could spend the whole debate arguing about what constitutes "intelligence." For example, we could argue whether or not what is called "emotional intelligence" is really part of "intelligence" at all. Con's dispute of the definition by saying "In different contexts this can be defined in different ways," would destroy the debate. If Con did want to debate the resolution as proposed, including intelligence as defined for the purpose of the debate, he should have declined the challenge, not have accepted and then tried to change the meaning of the resolution. Human characteristics beside intelligence are critical I made four claims in my opening arguments. on did not dispute any of my claims, so they all stand. Con seems to only be saying that intelligence is an important characteristic, and I never disputed that. I said: The press, intellectuals in academia, and budding students place a higher value on intelligence than is warranted because IQ is important to them. The result is that society as a whole overvalues intelligence relative to other human characteristics. Character, principles, knowledge, and intellectual attributes other than intelligence are as important, and collectively they are more important. Society should change its thinking. I began by posing a question, to which I now challenge con to answer. Which attributes do you want in a person as a friend, neighbor, or leader? I ask Con to rank the following human attributes. a.) Intelligence b) Character. High intelligence is compatible with all manner of immoral behavior. Someone noted that serial killers tend to have above-average intelligence, including killer IQ scores Albert DeSalvo "The Boston Strangler") 170, Brian James Dugan >140, Andrew Phillip Cunanan 147, Carroll Edward Cole 152, Charlene Williams 160 (The Gallego Sex Slaves Killers ), Jeffery Dahmer 145, http://www.kids-iq-tests.com... The IQ scores appear collected from the Wikipedia articles on each person. c) Principles. Nazis, authoritarian Communists, religious fanatics, and racists may have high intelligence. The prominent members of the Third Reich had IQs of 120-140. (Tabulated at http://www.vnnforum.com... which references the sources.) As to Hitler himself,"Tests he took showed that he had an IQ of 141." http://www.imdb.com... d) Knowledge An intelligent person without education is of little use to a modern society, and even a primitive society depends upon learned-skills to survive. In fact, the main use of IQ tests is to assess a person's ability to learn. What is important is the end product of learning, useful knowledge. The ability to learn is only a means to that more-important end. e) Intellectual attributes other than intelligence Research on leadership qualities are summarized as follows: "In his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Goleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. "It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as “threshold capabilities”; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader." http://hbr.org... Evidence of intelligence being overrated In the first round, I cited the very low correlation of intelligence with wealth. here is something of a "threshold capability," but it's low. For average intelligence and above, the correlation is slight. Failed US Presidents Nixon and Carter were two of the most intelligent presidents. A recurring theme of recent elections is that accusations of low intelligence are widely considered a substitute for concerns about ideology, character, experience, and leadership ability. " Perhaps because the perception of George W. Bush having low intelligence is common and had been cited by the media as well as by politicians, including a spokesperson for Tony Blair The hoax report was widely taken to be true. The British newspaper The Guardian, for example, quoted the report in its diary section of July 19, 2001 and used it to belittle Bush, although the paper published a retraction two days after the Associated Press drew attention to the error. Other mainstream media news outlets to fall for the hoax included Bild (Germany), Pravda (Russia), and the Southland Times (New Zealand) as well as a few small U.S. newspapers. The hoax came back to life in March 2007 in Spanish-language media when the Press Agency Efe distributed a piece referring to it. Dozens of media (primarily in their online versions) reproduced Efe's text. Among newspapers publishing the hoax were El País (Spain's leading newspaper) ABC and La Vanguardia" http://en.wikipedia.org... It turned out that Bush had a slightly higher IQ than Kerry, his opponent, and both had the same grades at Yale. http://mypetjawa.mu.nu... The point is that the press, and much of the public, made a very big deal of IQ, and many people wrongly judged Kerry to be smarter because they agreed with his ideology. A practical consequence of intelligence being overrated is that some young people come to believe that unless they have a genius IQ, they ought not to expect to amount to much. There are many counter examples. " John Chambers, CEO of Cisco. John has been hailed as the best boss in America. ... John admits that he nearly flunked out of grade school because he couldn't keep up with the work. He had dyslexia and was slower than other students to comprehend the assignments. Most people considered him the dunce of the class, yet John went on to become a billionaire and one of the most successful corporate leaders of our time." http://www.evancarmichael.com... For many pursuits there is a threshold intelligence needed to succeed, but for most enterprises the thresholds are low. For a career in academia, the threshold is higher than most, but still well below genius level. " The famous Nobel Prize Winner Francis Crick (The man who found the structure for DNA) had only an IQ of 115! So, with hard and dedicated work it is possible to compensate for a lack in intelligence."http://www.aceintelligence.com... Intelligence is important, but in general it is overrated.