One bias that I think is common among smart, academically minded people like us is that the value of intelligence is overestimated. I certainly think we have some pretty good objective reasons to believe intelligence is good, but we also add biases because we are a self-selected group with a high “need for cognition” trait, in a social environment that rewards cleverness of a particular kind. In the population at large the desire for more IQ is noticeably lower (and I get far more spam about Viagra than Modafinil!).
If I were on the Hypothetical Enhancement Grants Council, I think I would actually support enhancement of communication and cooperative ability slightly more than pure cognition. More cognitive bang for the buck if you can network a lot of minds.
One bias that I think is common among smart, academically minded people like us is that the value of intelligence is overestimated. I certainly think we have some pretty good objective reasons to believe intelligence is good, but we also add biases because we are a self-selected group with a high “need for cognition” trait, in a social environment that rewards cleverness of a particular kind. In the population at large the desire for more IQ is noticeably lower (and I get far more spam about Viagra than Modafinil!).
If I were on the Hypothetical Enhancement Grants Council, I think I would actually support enhancement of communication and cooperative ability slightly more than pure cognition. More cognitive bang for the buck if you can network a lot of minds.