Intelligent people have 'unnatural' preferences

[Feelinglost]

I know Satoshi Kanazawa is a somewhat controversial figure after he published a paper alleging that African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent than people in richer countries, however I found this article to be a good read.


Intelligent people have 'unnatural' preferences and values that are novel in human evolution
February 24, 2010

More intelligent people are significantly more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are novel to the human species in evolutionary history. Specifically, liberalism and atheism, and for men (but not women), preference for sexual exclusivity correlate with higher intelligence, a new study finds.

The study, published in the March 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Social Psychology Quarterly, advances a new theory to explain why people form particular preferences and values. The theory suggests that more intelligent people are more likely than less intelligent people to adopt evolutionarily novel preferences and values, but intelligence does not correlate with preferences and values that are old enough to have been shaped by evolution over millions of years."

"Evolutionarily novel" preferences and values are those that humans are not biologically designed to have and our ancestors probably did not possess. In contrast, those that our ancestors had for millions of years are "evolutionarily familiar."

"General intelligence, the ability to think and reason, endowed our ancestors with advantages in solving evolutionarily novel problems for which they did not have innate solutions," says Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science. "As a result, more intelligent people are more likely to recognize and understand such novel entities and situations than less intelligent people, and some of these entities and situations are preferences, values, and lifestyles."

An earlier study by Kanazawa found that more intelligent individuals were more nocturnal, waking up and staying up later than less intelligent individuals. Because our ancestors lacked artificial light, they tended to wake up shortly before dawn and go to sleep shortly after dusk. Being nocturnal is evolutionarily novel.

In the current study, Kanazawa argues that humans are evolutionarily designed to be conservative, caring mostly about their family and friends, and being liberal, caring about an indefinite number of genetically unrelated strangers they never meet or interact with, is evolutionarily novel. So more intelligent children may be more likely to grow up to be liberals.

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) support Kanazawa's hypothesis. Young adults who subjectively identify themselves as "very liberal" have an average IQ of 106 during adolescence while those who identify themselves as "very conservative" have an average IQ of 95 during adolescence.

Intelligent people have 'unnatural' preferences and values that are novel in human evolution

[seabhcan]

I know Satoshi Kanazawa is a somewhat controversial figure after he published a paper alleging that African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent than people in richer countries, however I found this article to be a good read.

Wasn't he also pointing out that poverty causes bad nutrition which causes low intellect?

[Nodin]

.....which was something that was pointed on the leaving cert geography course, or at least it was 20 or so years ago....

[Supermanpolitician]

Wasn't he also pointing out that poverty causes bad nutrition which causes low intellect?

Poverty also causes brain drain, as well as poor nutrition...

Successful people are perceived as more intelligent (with obvious exceptions) and social class is a huge determinent of success in Ireland.

[rockofcashel]

Intelligent people, well intelligent women are better in the scratcher too.. um.. apparently

[Supermanpolitician]

Intelligent people, well intelligent women are better in the scratcher too.. um.. apparently

My wife is thinking of doing a PhD....

[rockofcashel]

My wife is thinking of doing a PhD....

Yeah, but she'd recognise you for being a bit of an eejit, and you won't get the benefit

Sorry SMP

;-)

[Feelinglost]

Wasn't he also pointing out that poverty causes bad nutrition which causes low intellect?

The truth of the matter is that IQ is a measure of how well you can pass a test, not what potential intelligence you have. You would need to compare wealthy, privately educated African kids with the average state educated ones in the West to even get close to some sort of parity.

[Supermanpolitician]

Yeah, but she'd recognise you for being a bit of an eejit, and you won't get the benefit

Sorry SMP

;-)

So true, Rock!

[TheTipperaryMan]

Very interesting article.

I remember reading the controversial final chapter of Desmond Morris' The Naked Man - part of his series of books in which he uses zoology to study human beings and their behaviour.

He believes that homosexuality is more frequent among people of higher intelligence and intellect.

When boys and girls are in early infancy, their sex makes little impact on their interactions.However in late infancy the sexes separate and remain separate both as playmates and as friends until early adolescence and puberty when heterosexual teenagers begin to becomes sexually attracted to the opposite sex.
During the interim, the childhood friendships and relationships between girls and boys can become intense (e.g. the Bibilical story of the boyhood friendship between David and Jonathon).
However in the early teens these intense bonds break as intense sexual rivalries develop and competition begins for the affections of the opposite sex.
Boys and girls who played together separate.
Some boys and girls emerge as alpha males and females - born leaders, serious, typically good at sports, socially dominant and sexually attractive and successful with a wide number of sexual partners.
Others become run of the mill - they are usually happy with one sexual partner for life, are humorous and happy, hard working and good fathers and mothers.

Homosexuals due to environment and genetics do not break away from boyhood and girlhood friendships. They maintain those intense emotional bond with their own sex and this emerges as their sexual orientation.

They tend to be more academically gifted and to have intense and consuming hobbies.
This is why Morris contends there are a higher number of homosexuals in the arts - journalism, painters, sculpters, writers, academics.

They also more prevalent in science and mathematical fields and the social sciences.

This fits in with what we know of ancient societies - the eunuchs, priest, scribes were predominantly men of learning who remained celibate. It is highly likely many of these men were homosexuals.