A meta question to the question of “how to most accurately measure intelligence” is “how is accurately measuring intelligence actually useful?”
Just from my experience it seems that an accurate relative intelligence value of some sort, for example iq score, has surprisingly few useful applications. I think this is mostly because making claims about superior intelligence, accurate or not, is considered socially repulsive (as you acknowledged). Without accounting for social factors, I would expect an intelligence rating to be a very useful thing to include on a work resume for example.
Personally, I am most comfortable acting like a slightly above average intelligence guy, although objectively I think I am the most or one of the most intelligent people I know. Most people would not think of me if asked to name a really smart person they know, but anyone who knows me well will notice that I have a mysterious tendency for accomplishing very hard complex tasks. I guess it seems to me that trying to project my intelligence more would close off more opportunities than it would open just because of social factors.
Acting less smart than I am can sometimes be inconvenient or annoying especially if I’m arguing with someone who projects a “smart guy” vibe, and they’re clearly wrong, but other people are impressed with their verbiage and confidence in their claims. Usually I don’t care that much about winning arguments, except occasionally when the outcome really matters in which case I can get very frustrated.
This may be obvious, but I’m not posting this out of vanity for being a high-intelligence individual. Rather, it is a real issue that I have to deal with and I’m not completely sure I always get it right. Sometimes it seems it would be better and more genuine to not have a projected self separate from my real self (whatever that is). It would be nice to talk with people about my actual interests and say things the way I actually think about them. But mostly I think that intelligence should be a tool rather than a goal in itself. Also, the problems that come with high intelligence are far less than the benefits, so I should stop complaining and use the intelligence that I was lucky to get to accomplish something good.
A meta question to the question of “how to most accurately measure intelligence” is “how is accurately measuring intelligence actually useful?”
Just from my experience it seems that an accurate relative intelligence value of some sort, for example iq score, has surprisingly few useful applications. I think this is mostly because making claims about superior intelligence, accurate or not, is considered socially repulsive (as you acknowledged). Without accounting for social factors, I would expect an intelligence rating to be a very useful thing to include on a work resume for example.
Personally, I am most comfortable acting like a slightly above average intelligence guy, although objectively I think I am the most or one of the most intelligent people I know. Most people would not think of me if asked to name a really smart person they know, but anyone who knows me well will notice that I have a mysterious tendency for accomplishing very hard complex tasks. I guess it seems to me that trying to project my intelligence more would close off more opportunities than it would open just because of social factors.
Acting less smart than I am can sometimes be inconvenient or annoying especially if I’m arguing with someone who projects a “smart guy” vibe, and they’re clearly wrong, but other people are impressed with their verbiage and confidence in their claims. Usually I don’t care that much about winning arguments, except occasionally when the outcome really matters in which case I can get very frustrated.
This may be obvious, but I’m not posting this out of vanity for being a high-intelligence individual. Rather, it is a real issue that I have to deal with and I’m not completely sure I always get it right. Sometimes it seems it would be better and more genuine to not have a projected self separate from my real self (whatever that is). It would be nice to talk with people about my actual interests and say things the way I actually think about them. But mostly I think that intelligence should be a tool rather than a goal in itself. Also, the problems that come with high intelligence are far less than the benefits, so I should stop complaining and use the intelligence that I was lucky to get to accomplish something good.