“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that.” – George Carlin
Along similar lines, a family friend named Alan Fierverker once remarked on the outcome of some political issues of the day by saying: “You know, half the country is below average IQ.” It’s tongue and cheek, but the point rings true if you’ve ever been baffled by the collective actions of society at large. However you define intelligence, half the people are by definition below average, so we must set our expectations and act accordingly. I now invoke the “Fierverker Rule” as an explanatory axiom whenever friends and colleagues express confusion at the disconnect between logical courses of action and what they observe people to be doing.
This perhaps comes across as elitist bilge. Who’s to say who’s an idiot? It’s always a matter of perspective, some might say. Perhaps. But ignore that for now because there is a deeper, richer way to consider the Fierverker rule. Rather than thinking of intelligence generically, as a fixed quantity that you posses, think of it in specific areas: there’s intelligence around things like Math and Science, which is pretty easy to quantify. But there’s also intelligence around things like Business or Software development, which are tougher to quantify. And then even more abstract things like Art or music.
What I’m getting is that even you didn’t get straight As in school, there’s probably an area where you’re in the top half of intelligence. And it’s important to keep in mind that at least half the people will need to some extra help to understand what seems to come easily to you.
Conversely, even if you’re in the top 1% of something, you’re probably in the bottom half of something else. So wipe the smirk off your face that emerged when reading the George Carlin quote. You might have done something this week that someone else thinks is definition of idiocy.
Intergalactic Dance 