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Comment by webmobdev | Hacker News Reader

I used to be arrogant about this in my teens and think that people who aren't good at maths and science have a lower IQ. Till one day I learnt about the different types of intelligence - linguistic, logical, geospatial, social, musical, empathetic etc. - that really made me rethink how I look at people, and how flawed the whole IQ thing is. When we talk about someone having a "gift" or a knack for something, we don't realise we are appreciating the intelligence of that person in that area.

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I have gotten into fishing this summer and _damn_ do those pro/YouTube dudes know a lot about fishing. They study bass behavior and do all kinds of experimentation with tackle and lures and the time of day and every conceivable variable that could affect the bite.

When I was getting into weightlifting, which I had always dismissed as a pursuit for dumb bro types, I was similarly impressed with the knowledge out there about nutrition, anatomy, the way that muscles tear and repair and grow, etc.

I think it's an all too common "nerd social fallacy" to assume that people who don't have that "traditional" scientific/math intelligence aren't smart, but as I've gotten older it seems to me that, on average, most humans are pretty damn smart about one thing or another.

>I think it's an all too common "nerd social fallacy" to assume that people who don't have that "traditional" scientific/math intelligence aren't smart

Dunning-Kruger effect. It's all too common on places like HN.

Eh we are a bubble. Many people assume because you are good at math or something that you must be skinny and weak and not into weightlifting or fly fishing, or you can’t get a partner.

I think that is a natural consequence of being young. You tend to evaluate others by comparing their skill in what you are good at.

In my case it was more due to the media hype around "Intelligent Quotient" and how it was measured.

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