Re:High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders
by rendall on Thursday March 25, 2021 @06:39AM
(#26578513)
One would think so, but not so much. MENSA forums are rife with conspiracy theories, as any MENSA member can attest. Anecdata, but shrug. It's all anyone has, AFAIK.
I suspect that high IQ people are in fact more susceptible to conspiracy thinking than most. The randomness of the universe is scary. Sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason. Much easier emotionally for some to live in a world where things happen for a reason, even if that reason is due to malevolent intent. At least a malevolent conspiracy can be fought or exposed or understood.
IQ measures pattern recognition. If one is mentally ill, or otherwise intent on finding explanations where none exist, one might see patterns where none exist. If you have a high IQ, the more plausible and internally consistent your narratives will be, and since you're generally right about a lot, all the more reason to believe that your theory isn't a theory at all, but reality.
I suspect that high IQ people are in fact more susceptible to conspiracy thinking than most. The randomness of the universe is scary. Sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason. Much easier emotionally for some to live in a world where things happen for a reason, even if that reason is due to malevolent intent. At least a malevolent conspiracy can be fought or exposed or understood.
IQ measures pattern recognition. If one is mentally ill, or otherwise intent on finding explanations where none exist, one might see patterns where none exist. If you have a high IQ, the more plausible and internally consistent your narratives will be, and since you're generally right about a lot, all the more reason to believe that your theory isn't a theory at all, but reality.