Beyond The Evolutionary Lottery

There are all kinds of built-in advantages to being a natural 1) Caucasian-born 2) American 3) male.  Any one of these three gives a person a head start in life; being all three is like winning the evolutionary lottery, especially economically and socially.  I realize this, although most do not.

However, there is one thing I believe no one is naturally born with that, if attained through effort and some luck, creates a big advantage in life.  Intelligence.  (I say luck is involved because although it isn't natural, intelligence is still more likely to be attained by those advantaged, white American males who are far more likely to be educated through college.)

Smarter people are capable of doing more things in life, and doing them effectively and efficiently, and therefore they gain advantages over others.  There are tons of examples, some obvious (understanding technology) and some not so obvious (critical thinking).

Knowledge is power, whether it's at the office, at the bar, or at the neighborhood block party.  Just being able to carry on a conversation with the person standing next to you, whomever that is, can be a big plus in a variety of situations.

There is one major downside for some of the smarties out there:  Their frequent inability to grasp that they aren't always the smartest person in the room.  This brings them well-earned disregard from those they would seek to impress.  Let's just say the positive correlation between knowledge and power is sometimes offset by the negative correlation between intelligence and self-awareness.

Regardless, knowing things other people don't know is a huge advantage in a world that relies less and less on physical talent.  The best part of this is, almost anyone can do it.  (I say almost because again, it helps a lot to be born in America, home of taxpayer-funded public education and the public library.)

If only it mattered more in politics, where intelligence apparently provides no advantage whatsoever.