Why smart people make stupid mistakes | BBC Ideas

Some people are smart, but make all sorts of mistakes in their lives. Is that you? According to author David Robson, we're not always as smart as we think we are. Here are four thinking traps clever people fall into.

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[bbcideas]

Do you recognise yourself in this video? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe because we put out new videos every week!

[jahandadbaloch]

I don't find myself that smart, but this video answered some questions I had in mind about the intelligent people I admire.

[KumarPawar]

I make really stupid mistakes. Does that make me Smart?😂

[ghostt]

well when i do mistakes i start getting anxiety then think about suicidal thoughts and is very uncomfortable

[tripptank]

As we get older I think we also filter out what experience has tought us is not important and we sometimes over filter and miss details we wouldnt have missed when we were young and curious about everything.

[daniellee]

I use to use this as a joke "your post dropped my IQ points by 50"...but apparently this is actually true now.

[kingzombie]

I think what makes you "smart is not your nollge of science or things like that. But experience is what makes you smart.

[tripptank]

2:32
Me when a new Call of Duty comes out.

[nickm.]

Intelligence isn't knowledge, information, or being able to recite a textbook. Intelligence is the ability to be unintelligent, recognize it, then alter course to a better understanding.

[kevinvideos]

In the very beginning, dude said "but they don't apply that brainpower effectively". Yet in the schoolyard gotcha that he did with Moses and Noah it's actually that people are applying their brainpower too effectively. They are letting their subconscious handle the trivial question, where it just assumed that pairs of animals and ark meant the flood myth from Noah without bothering to listen to the words it didn't need to understand the question it thought was being asked. It's exactly this ability that lets us glide through trivial tasks so easily that is being exploited here. It's the overly efficient brain that usually misses details.

[briza]

Qualified smart people are highly theorical to specific subject and so self centered because they tend to be alone. They don't develop their coordination of mind-body-socialisation.

[kingzombie]

I try to argue with myself it makes things worse I will thing about it for weeks or months.

[tvewvij]

Am I the only one who makes a stupid mistake through how I clumsly write a different answer rather than the one what I actually meant to answer on the exam. It's so annnnoyingggg, it GETS me so frustrated.

[nobznwh]

Nice way to cover up the stupidity we encompass

[jessejones]

well i know it was noah not moses i should do too .

[kevinvideos]

Many of the things covered here have a lot to do with things other than intelligence, at least classic book intelligence. There are many different kinds of intelligence. Book, emotional, common sense, crowd, and many others are different types of intelligence. Often our over admiration of letters at the end of names gives us a false idea of intelligence. In my field I've dealt with many people with many advanced degrees who know a lot about one specific thing, but don't know how to write an email, tie their shoes, or understand the Pythagorean theorem. It's not about what you can recall through rote but what you can accomplish when you apply your knowledge that signals intelligence in my mind. I might be able to crush standardized tests, and I almost exclusively scored in the 99th percentile, but ask just about anyone who knows me and they'd say, yeah Kev knows trivia but he's a dumbass. Because I make stupid choices due to the human condition. We are predisposed to all sorts of logical fallacies, we generally suck at understanding probability, and we use emotion and intuition where they should definitely not be relied upon over data and common sense.

[dipiti]

Stupid people make intelligent mistakes. Next video soon on this.

[goldencookie]

Nope, you're wrong. Someone above average in intelligence would make such mistakes, but someone even beyond that would not make such mistakes as often. For example, a genius wouldn't think one sidedly, but try to look at every possible perspective possible. This is because they've already experienced being wrong, even though they thought they were correct based on their calculations. They've experienced this enough for them to realise there is always something that they may not have thought of. So they make it a habit to never come to a conclusion without properly researching every bit and perspective.

What you really mean is that people with above intelligence tend to make these mistakes. Truly intelligent people usually don't make these mistakes. So those that make such mistakes shouldn't be considered intelligent. Well, if it's relative to the average intelligence in the world, I guess you could say they are intelligent.

So maybe you're correct. It just depends on what "intelligent" is relative to.


But the those with top tier intelligence even among the intelligent usually don't make these mistakes.

[justStardust]

lol the noah and moses example is perhaps the worst example possible because it is based on a biblical story and intelligent people are less likely to be religious, especially in the 21st century, because the more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to believe things only when it is congruent with evidence and logic. should have used a scientific fact for that example

[lauraanderson]

lots going on in that noodle. free will may be debatable. too many neurons misfiring ?