I read a news article online, which argued that General Wesley Clark
was too intelligent to be president.

It went on to say that George W. Bush?s lack of intelligence was
actually a positive attribute, which helped him to be a more effective
president.

It reminded me of when I was flipping through the TV guide, and there
was a summary of an episode of Malcolm in the Middle (I?ve never
watched the show) where Malcolm decided to "get stupid" and ended up
happier and better off than before.

This got me to wondering if there are any credible studies that
concluded that lack of intelligence was an advantage to achieving
success, and/or if too much intelligence leads to failure.

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Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 20 Mar 2004 21:55 PST

I haven't found any studies that show intelligence is a disadvantage,
but I have found references to studies that indicate there is a low
correlation between intelligence and success. Would you consider those
as answering the question?

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Clarification of Question by markabe-ga on 20 Mar 2004 23:10 PST

Hi mvguy,

I haven't found any studies that show intelligence is a disadvantage,
but I have found references to studies that indicate there is a low
correlation between intelligence and success. Would you consider those
as answering the question?

I've come across such studies myself (eg. The Millionaire Mind), but I
was after studies that either concluded that lack of intelligence was
an advantage to achieving success, or that too much intelligence leads
to failure.

Ignorance is bliss.

- the Bookface

No person with any intelligence would choose to be the Leader of any country.

QED

In The Millionaire Next Door, written by two college professors
(Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko), they outline the
characteristics of the 'average' millionaire in this country.  These
people have average intelligence.  Apparently, high intelligence is
not what it takes to be successful.

Here are some reviews of the book.
http://www.epinions.com/content_18603544196

I for one would not prefer to vote for an unintelligent president. My
countrymen in the Philippines did that in 1998 and it sure didn't
improve things.

Lack of intelligence as a positive atrribute... actually, I'm very
skeptical of that statement.

Bush an effective president... I know many others who are skeptical
about that as well. :)