Posted on 03/09/2019 11:36:54 AM PST by Thalean
Assume for a moment that America fully embraces free trade, and it works exactly as planned: we offshore all our low-margin production to developing countries, and this indeed frees-up our population to work in lucrative industries like product design, finance, management etc. While this may make America richer (in the short term), it will not necessarily make Americans richer. Why? Not everyone can be an engineer, investment banker, or lawyer—most people just aren’t smart enough, and many more don’t have the personality for it. It’s harsh, but true.
Charles Murray explains in his seminal book The Bell Curve that human intelligence, as measured by IQ, conforms to a normal distribution. That is, most people are of roughly average intelligence (68.2 percent fall within one standard deviation of the mean), while a minority are significantly more or less intelligent than average (15.9 percent are one or more standard deviations above or below the mean respectively). Importantly, half of all Americans are smarter than average—and half are, well, below the average. This has big economic consequences which Kessler ignores.
For example, America’s average IQ is 100, while the average IQ of engineers is about one standard deviation higher. This means that the average engineer is more intelligent than some 85 percent of the general population. Further, the data implies that an “IQ threshold” exists near 105 IQ points, below which the odds of someone becoming an engineer are infinitesimally small. This suggests that 62 percent of Americans are simply not bright enough to be engineers—no matter how hard they try. Biology limits us, whether we accept it or not.
People not only differ in cognitive ability, they also differ in personality. According to the five factor model, people’s personalities are rooted in five basic psychological predilections: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These personality foundations impact everything about us, and have important economic consequences.
Consider the trait “conscientiousness.” Conscientious people tend to be organized and dependable, disciplined: they show up for work on time, stay focused on their task, and rarely call in sick. In short, they’re model employees. For this reason, a conscientious personality is the best single predictor of an individual’s economic success in life (after their IQ score, that is). For our purposes, another important trait is openness: people who are open to new experiences and ideas are more creative on average.
But being open isn’t enough. Productive creativity is driven by people who are predisposed towards openness and conscientiousness—they not only have new ideas, but they are willing to put in the work. This combination is rare, and it partly explains why there are relatively few creative engineers (like Steve Jobs) and disciplined artists (like Michelangelo). In any case, my point here is that different people have different personalities, and that being an engineer or designer isn’t for everyone.
America needs ditch diggers, too. And skilled tradesmen can make as much as any engineer. Free trade still rules. [Dons flame retardant suit]
interesting read.
And it begs questions, about what sort of work people can do to earn a living. Not everyone can be an engineer, or wants to be an engineer, as noted.
There are some job categories, for which you need a certain mindset or personality, such as sales. I’m sure there are many high IQ individuals who would not make a living as a salesman. On the other hand, some lower IQ people might have the assertiveness of personality, and learn some basic sales techniques, to earn a good living at it.
But EVERYBODY should get debt free college attendance at college according to the ‘RATS. Right, that money well spent - at least they will be indoctrinated by the Leftists.
I sometimes wonder, where did this idea, that everyone should go to college, come from?
There are some job and career fields for which college and/or grad school is mandatory, such as law, medicine, various hard sciences.
But how many jobs are out there, for college grads who major in Women’s Studies, Sociology, Philosophy, various liberal arts areas?
I think there is a veiled reference to the millennial issue here.......
Everyone should be given an IQ test at 4.
If you don’t score a 180, you are summarily imprisoned for the rest of your life.
So we can certainly get rid of the idiots that keep harping on this stupid topic, when they cant get seem to get to their bloody point.
I take it you didn’t score 180.
"I notice you don't spend much time there."
"I'm not sure where they are..."
"Be the ball Danny."
"Where did it go?"
"Right in the lumber yard..."
Liberals don’t want income distributed by IQ - they want it distributed by feelings. :)
They are conscientious, organized, and dependable. In a crisis they are remarkably cool-headed. They are going to do just fine.
Is my sample cohort unusual in some way? I believe it is quite common.
“half are, well, below the average”
I got in trouble once at HP for saying that in a meeting where there was an “HR” creep present. Then I ask them to think about what I was saying...
thanks to the Pyramid of Ability principle there will always be employment available for even low IQ people.
>>America needs ditch diggers, too. And skilled tradesmen can make as much as any engineer. Free trade still rules.
Indeed.. There ain’t no shame in honest work.
Free Trade does not necessarily cause outsourcing.
Farming, building and maintenance, service industries, education and countless other forms of employment are resistant to outsourcing.
His argument had more than a whiff of arrogance.
I'd suggest, that in comparison to many offerings, that is a noble field of study - if run largely in a traditional way.
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