Societal IQ and Leadership
This post is based on the musings in a Bruce Charlton post regarding IQ and leadership in different societies. First consider IQ scores by country . Then look at a map of IQ score averages. First Charlton supposes what is the probable level of IQ needed for leadership. His reasoning is logical. Suppose that the threshold IQ for effective leadership is about 105 (roughly the top one third of the population of England, when IQ is normed at 100 average and with a standard deviation of 15). In other words, by IQ 105 I mean a level of general intelligence (as measurable by capacity for abstract and systematic thinking, ease of memorising, swiftness of calculation etc.) which is somewhat but not much above average for European natives. (This is roughly the IQ of an effective foreman, police or Army Sergeant, or a master craftsman - somebody with potentially high technical skills, good practical reason and tactical nous.) I am suggesting that IQ 105 is the threshold for 'int...