As you have probably seen throughout your life, everyone makes mistakes, but those of different levels of intelligence tend to make different kinds of mistakes. Based only on my personal observations, those in the lower levels of intelligence are more likely to make mistakes related to health issues, such as proper diet, adequate exercise and proper oral hygiene than those of higher intellect, although it’s always possible to find a genius who has no personal hygiene and rotten teeth. Mistakes related to substance abuse run through all levels of intelligence, though the substances used differ by intelligence and social class.
Similarly, those of lower intellect tend to make financial mistakes more often than more intelligent people. For example, they will tend to spend freely without planning for the future and often purchase lottery tickets as insurance against future poverty. Providing financially for the future tends to be more prominent among intelligent people. Of course, it’s always possible to find brilliant people who bungle their finances and end up living in poverty.
When highly intelligent people make mistakes, they’re whoppers. I am currently writing a book about intelligence, and in one of the chapters, I provide evidence that brilliant people make mistakes just as often as those of lower intelligence. One of the examples cited is the story of Long-Term Capital Management, a group of brilliant investors, including a couple of Nobel laureate professors, who almost dominated the stock market and then went bust. The danger of making mistakes is greater for those who believe themselves to be highly intelligent, because a natural hubris may cause them to reject evidence that conflicts with their beliefs. Our tendency to second-guess our decisions, while often a liability, can be an asset on occasions when second-guessing our decisions is vitally important–and such second-guessing is less likely to occur in those who see themselves as omniscient.
When it comes to mistakes in personal relationships, I don’t think it differs much by intelligence. Sometimes those with a slightly more intuitive approach (rather than entirely visceral) to relationships may fare better than those who operate in a purely rational fashion. Personal relationship mistakes probably vary more among individuals than across intellectual categories.
The prevalence of mistakes in the lives of us all was captured in a comment of Benjamin Disraeli, “Youth is a blunder, manhood is a struggle, and old age is a regret.” We all make mistakes right up to the end!
