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A comment on Why Aren't Smart People Happier?. Parent comment

Re:Why Aren't Smart People Happier? by dredmorbius on Saturday August 22, 2026 @08:21PM (#49405132)
The initial use was to ration advanced education (secondary or higher), so as not to lavish it on "morons" (at the time a technical term).

Similar in concept to the German Abitur, which originally tracked students into Gymnasium or vocational tracks. Today it comes at the end of a secondary education (high-school) programme, and is comparable to British A-levels.

<https://www.verywellmind.com/history-of-intelligence-testing...>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abitur>

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Re:Why Aren't Smart People Happier? by siren2026 on Sunday August 23, 2026 @05:08PM (#49412659)
Those standardized tests seem to mix grit and intelligence and are a way better predictor of success and "intelligence" than those IQ tests.

I have met a couple people that were boasting to me they were in the top 0.01% intelligence wise (as proven by the IQ test! Geniuses!). None of them were particularly successful or looked particularly outliers on intelligence based on what they achieved.

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Re:Why Aren't Smart People Happier? by dredmorbius on Sunday August 23, 2026 @10:52PM (#49414736)
My point was less what the tests measure and more how they were applied: rationing higher education resources.
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