Individualism: the plague of the high-I.Q. community

Observation of the problem

I.Q. societies, especially those with higher pass levels than the 98th centile, are supposed to consist of intelligent members. This has made many ask the obvious question If they are so smart, then why do they not solve the world's problems? And indeed, I.Q. societies as groups rarely or never achieve anything in the real world, although individual members certainly do but are not always identified or willing to identify as members. Instead, what one sees within the societies is socializing, pleasure-seeking, self-promotion, megalomania, narcissism, endless discussion, infighting, badly functioning organizational structures, and schisms. Hereafter it will be attempted to explain a likely cause of this.

The individualist nature of I.Q. society members

Those who join I.Q. societies appear inclined to individualistic behaviour within those societies. They are not necessarily individualists outside of the societies, and it may be that their individualistic behaviour within the societies is partly caused by their not having anything in common with the other members besides a high test score. It is also plausible that intelligent persons in general are more disposed toward individualism than is the average person. The meant behaviour can be summed up as follows:

• Low sense of attachment and commitment to the group or its other members;
• Low willingness to recognize and respect authority and conform to rules within the group;
• Low sense of in-group/out-group distinction, therefore treating members the same as non-members;
• Frequent disagreement between members and high tolerance of adverse opinions;
• Holding memberships in multiple societies;
• Joining and leaving societies on a whim;
• No sense of a common goal;
• Unwillingness to share one's contact and other personal data within the group (concern for privacy);
• Low level of participation in the group;
• Low sense of a common interest with other members;
• No sense of a group interest, or valuing one's own interest or any out-group interest over the group interest;
• Acting against the interest of the group, for instance, speaking negatively of the group to new or prospective members to thus discourage them or warn them off.

To observe these behaviours in I.Q. societies does not constitute a value judgement; it merely answers the question If they are so smart, then why do they not solve the world's problems?

Collectivism

For comparison, here are characteristics of collectivism, such as one typically finds in political or ideological movements, religious cults, religions, interest groups, some business enterprises, societies devoted to a shared hobby or field of interest, and so on:

• Strong group ties and commitment to the group;
• Authoritarian leadership and penalties for not conforming to the rules;
• Strong in-group/out-group mentality with nepotism regarding the in-group and discrimination of the out-group;
• High amount of agreement between members — speaking with one voice — and disapproval, punishment, or expulsion of dissenters;
• Membership in other, competing groups is unthinkable;
• Joining and leaving the group are major steps requiring serious consideration;
• There may be formal initiation rites and a system of promotion through ranks;
• There is a group goal or philosophy on which all members agree;
• Within the group one has no secrets for one another, surrenders one's privacy, and in extreme cases one's possessions;
• One is expected to participate in the group;
• The group interest prevails over individual interests and interests of out-groups;
• The group is presented positively to prospective members.

Again, to observe these characteristics is not a recommendation to I.Q. societies; it serves to illustrate why other types of groups do get things done in the real world.

Individualism versus collectivism

When it comes to performing as a group, collectivist groups are stronger than groups of individualists. In the latter, intelligence and other positive abilities and traits are recessive: the group's output level is determined by the level of the least able members of the group. In the former, the members' individual qualities are combined synergistically toward a common goal.

It is worth noting that individualism has been actively promoted and become positively valued in the Western world, in particular since the 1960s. Collectivism, on the other hand, has been devalued and come to be associated with fascism. Were one bent on weakening or destroying the social fabric of a society in order to facilitate domination, precisely such promotion of individualism and demonizing of collectivism would be the the golden move, combined with retaining a collectivist structure within one's own group.

[I.Q. societies]