People of high IQ probably struggle more to understand things than people of average IQ. While this seems paradoxical, it is something that you will probably observe if you look at the people around you. People of high IQ believe that most, if not all, ideas and concepts that humans have developed are within their grasp if they invest sufficient time and effort. For this reason, when they find a concept that is difficult, they struggle to learn more in order to understand. When Albert Einstein hit a block in formulating his General Theory of Relativity, he realized that he needed a greater knowledge of differential geometry. Reaching out to his close friend and mathematician, Marcel Grossmann, he pleaded, “Grossmann, you’ve got to help me or I’ll go crazy.” His friend helped Einstein understand how to express his field equations in the language of differential geometry.
A significant reason that academics work in departments and hold seminars, is to learn from each other the new ideas at the frontiers of their field. Complex ideas are best absorbed through quiet study and subsequent discussion with peers. It is the highly intelligent people who challenge themselves most and who therefore struggle more frequently to understand our complex world.
People of average IQ generally believe that quantum physics, brain physiology, deep mathematical concepts and the mechanisms of artificial intelligence are beyond their grasp, so they tend to avoid investigating an abstract topic that may bring only frustration. Most people learn what is necessary to survive in life and then proceed with their lives in a pragmatic fashion. This is neither a criticism nor a judgment, because that may well be a reasonable way to proceed.
The long-running sitcom, The Big Bang Theory , caricatured a group of nerds, together with a person of average intelligence, Penny, who navigates smoothly through life by taking a pragmatic approach. Meanwhile the nerds are constantly immersed in the struggle to understand the complexities of physics and the challenges of social intercourse. This is only a satire, but it captures an interesting paradox in the human struggle to understand.
