5 Unexpected Downsides of High Intelligence

[hue]

http://www.cracked.com/article_19174_5-unexpected-downsides-high-intelligence.html

You know that phrase, "Ignorance is bliss"? There's a reason it's stuck around all these years. Because having the upper hand in intelligence might give you an advantage in some areas, like crossword puzzle solving and quantum physics-ing, but it also might just screw up your life forever.

For instance, if you're smart ...

#5.
You're Probably a Night Owl -- And That's a Bad Thing

Recently, scientists discovered a quirky side effect to having a high IQ: You tend to stay up until later hours and get up later in the morning. That's right -- the more intelligent are also much more likely to be night owls. Which isn't such a surprise when you consider that intelligent people are infamous for burning the midnight oil to cram for tests, write papers, touch up those earnings reports, etc.

[CrispyQ]

1. Bookmarking to read tomorrow.

I live with a Night Owl.

[TheWraith]

2. Shit.

I scored like four out of five.

[stevedeshazer]

4. Same here.

And I'm not gonna ever tell which five.

We're busted.

[NV Whino]

3. It's confirmed

I'm dumb as a post.

[AndyTiedye]

5. Some of Us Stay Up All Night to DANCE

> You see, people who tend to stay up late also tend to do other unhealthy things at night, such as overeating.

If I get hungry late at night it's usually because I have been dancing for hours.

I don't know anyone who stays up all night to eat. I don't think it would work. Stuffing oneself tends to be sleepifying.

[RC]

6. And this is why we, as a species, are getting dumber.

It all starts with the smart ladies. A 2008 national census reported that women who had dropped out of high school had the most children on average. And the more education women achieved, the fewer children they were likely to have, with the fewest children being born to women who had finished graduate school.

And of course, IQ plays a direct role here, since it has also been found that women with lower IQs are less likely to know how to use birth control properly, leading to more unplanned pregnancies.

(Mitt is bad enough, but it is his supporters that we need to worry about.)
Anybody need this explained to them?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. You forgot regression towards the mean.

[TheWraith]

17. Actually, we're NOT getting dumber on average. That's a myth.

Average intelligence has very gradually increased over the past ~50 years or so that it's been tracked. But it's still true that being much smarter than average negatively effects your PERSONAL chances of passing on your genes.

[lastlib]

7. D#$%&, I KNEW i shouldn't have taken out that Mensa membership....!

(No wonder I can't get laid.......!)

[AnotherMcIntosh]

8. Good find. Thanks.

[Jamaal510]

10. I'm a night owl,

except I do my homework in the morning and stay up late playing Xbox and Nintendo DS. I also used to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, and that the wind can blow away the Sun as if it were a cloud.

[elleng]

11. I don't believe it!

Something wrong with this analysis.

[Populist_Prole]

12. I like 'Cracked' but this was a BS analysis IMO. It scratched the surface of one good point though

I've seen some self proclaimed very high IQ people basically hide behind their IQ's as though it were a shield, and be willingly uninformed on a matter by being overly competitive and letting their egos get the best of them.

I can tell when this happens when those who are normally very sharp at "connecting the dots" will dig their heels into a defense of an utterly illogical point that anybody short of a cretin can recognize. In their eyes, they're smart dammit, and they aren't backing down.

[Odin2005]

16. Case in point, the Libertarians.

[FlaGranny]

13. Well, I knew

there was a reason I hate to go to bed at night and hate to get up in the morning.

[Javaman]

14. So according to this...

people in their late teens early 20's are all genius's.

5 stay up and sleep late
Check.

4 want to screw around but don't want kids
check

3 lying? really?
Check

2 they believe bullshit. Yeah, ron paul is the greatest!
Check

1 more self destructive. I'm amazed I made it to 25 myself
Check.

[Neoma]

18. Ew.

Please don't stereotype us early 20 year old's as Ron Paul fans.

[Javaman]

19. I find it funny that you only took offense at the ron paul comment...

[Odin2005]

15. Fuck, I'm screwed! I'm 5 for 5.

[DCKit]

20. Jeebus, no wonder my sisters hate me.

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