This isn't "common sense," per se. It's more like uncommon sense. Most people follow an effort in -> result out paradigm, believing the two are perfectly correlated. A "smart" person, in PG's view, attempts to min effort and max result. (I've also heard this sort of hacker described as "lazy," in a positive and non-derogatory sense. A "lazy" person finds the most efficient and effective ways to do things, minimizing man-hours and resources.)
The relationship between "smart"/"lazy" and IQ hasn't been studied all that well, but it seems plausible that there is some sort of relationship. Perhaps it's a strong one, and perhaps it's not. Either way, I don't believe an IQ test as a single-factor qualification gate will filter effectively for "smart"/"lazy."
That isn't what Paul means by "smart." Worrying about trivial inefficiencies like that is a sign of an ineffective coder. That's the opposite of a great hacker.