SwimExpert
Gold Member
- Nov 26, 2013
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- #21
But, but, but.....I have 3 PhD's, 4 offshore accounts worth millions each, top member of Mensa with 300iq and I shop at Walmart all the time.....and I have a friend that is unemployed due to mental health issues and receives welfare, and shops the Farmer's markets, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.....
yes, I'm being sarcastic to make a point. Level of intelligence has nothing to do with financial status or where you spend your money. I've met several people with college degrees that are dumber than a box of rocks for common sense. I've also met many 'po white trash' that had higher IQ's than others in a higher standard of living. Both rich & poor, smart & challenged shop both types of places. So none are really comparable
Many people make the mistake of equating intelligence with various prejudices about personal worth, ethics, etc.
Smart = Good
Smart people = Good people
Smart people actions = Good people actions
Smart people tastes = Correct tastes
This classic example of reverse prejudice ends up leading people to automatically cast judgements about people's intelligence based on factors that have no relation to their intelligence. If you work in a low level job, you can't be intelligent. If you were, you would have done something better with your life. You would have worked harder to accomplish more. You would have found a way, even though nobody else can seem to figure out what that way should have been. Anything about your personality that invokes a prejudice of "lowly" tastes, interests, or preferences ends up leading to prejudices about intelligence.
It's really quite damaging, but most people just can't get it through their thick skulls. And so, the notion festers.