In his commencement speech to Harvard’s 2000 graduating class, late-night comedian Conan O’Brien cautioned his fellow Harvard alums against telling people they went to Harvard. Or else, he warns, they would forever live under the shadow of the taunting question, “And you went to Harvard?” when they make “normal folks” mistakes. The prestige of Ivy League does shadow alumni, but one thing is certain: Going to a prestigious school often implies a considerable level of intelligence.

But is intelligence such a superpower that automatically guarantees the holder an “edge” in real-world scenarios? 

“Being smart” is a fraught idea in itself. Unfortunately, we often treat it as a monolithic attribute and unjustifiably group various kinds of talent because of it. In fact, common perception seems to believe the most intelligent students are the most rational. In his book, “Thinking Fast and Slow,” Nobel laureate Daniels Kahneman explained human beings have the tendency to associate intense feelings about one thing with other related things. This might explain the intuitive feeling of associating Harvard graduates as more rational and having more common sense.

But those who get the highest score on the SAT are not necessarily the ones who make good decisions. Keith Stanovich, a psychologist in the study of reasoning, argues in his book, “Rationality and the Reflective Mind,” that there’s a difference between the two parts of the mind that engage in reflective thinking. One is algorithmic, the innate computational power, while the other is the immunity to biases. 

After conducting an experiment with hundreds of subjects in which he tests their vulnerability to biases, he finds a low correlation between performance on an IQ test and performance on a rationality test. This suggests the most intelligent individuals are not necessarily the wisest. While intelligence indicates one’s proficiency in abstract reasoning, being rational means having fewer biases and proficiency in critical thinking ability. As it turns out, rationality and intelligence ultimately belong in different dimensions, and even the most intelligent individuals are not immune, if not more susceptible, to these biases due to overconfidence.

The good news is that while IQ is largely determined by DNA, rationality can be learned and practiced. A study conducted by psychologist Carey Morewedge and colleagues has found that training and informing common biases have enduring effects on subjects. They first test the susceptibility of subjects towards biases. Then, they show one group of subjects informational videos on biases, while they assign the other group to play a simulation game of real-world decision-making scenarios to reduce biases. They test both groups immediately after the experiment and then two months afterward. The results show that those who received “training” (simulation games players) demonstrate a larger and more enduring increase in their rational reasoning capability.  

While being naturally gifted is certainly great, rationality seems to provide direct access to well-being. Although IQ testing contributes to predicting financial gains and career achievements, it has almost no correlation with life satisfaction. Heather A. Butler, assistant professor at California State University, finds that people who have critical thinking ability, often associated with rationality, do better at life satisfaction than those who do well on IQ tests. 

This is suggestive of a distinction between intelligence and rationality, as being rational means knowing one’s own goals and limits and continuously making decisions in a goal-oriented fashion. This will lead to fewer distractions from inconsequential things and mental misery after failing to achieve unrealistic goals. It enables better decision-making in choosing the most satisfying career or taking on different projects after accounting for one’s needs and limits. At the end of the day, decision-making is the key, and the prerequisite of a great decision is always the sufficient understanding of unique conditions. Without an appropriate goal, one can win many battles but still lose the war. 

To college students who are still figuring things out, especially in an internet age as it is today, it is almost inevitable that we will face a different kind of decision-making, with uncertain outcomes and the peer pressure of comparing oneself to others. This can result in vile mindsets and even mental disorders.

Students today are especially susceptible to these negative sentiments with the exposure to fuzzy information and increasingly quirky ideas online. It is especially important for us to form a mental filter of rationality and open-mindedness in dealing with these new forms of social interactions. This requires us to train ourselves in skills that school has yet to teach us or are even impossible to teach.

Yutong is a senior in LAS. 

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