Are you intelligent — or rational? The question may sound redundant, but in recent years researchers have demonstrated just how distinct those two cognitive attributes actually are. Irrationality — or “dysrationalia” — correlates relatively weakly with I.Q. A person with a high I.Q. is about as likely to suffer from dysrationalia as a person with a low I.Q. If an I.Q. (intelligence quotient) test measures something like raw intellectual horsepower (abstract reasoning and verbal ability), a test of R.Q. (rationality quotient) would measure the propensity for reflective thought — stepping back from your own thinking and correcting its faulty tendencies. There is evidence that rationality, unlike intelligence, can be improved … Continue reading David Z. Hambrick, Alexander P. Burgoyne