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Being Lazy Is a Sign of High Intelligence, Study Suggests (independent.co.uk)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent: Findings from a U.S.-based study seem to support the idea that people with a high IQ get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought. And active people may be more physical as they need to stimulate their minds with external activities, either to escape their thoughts or because they get bored quickly. Researchers from the Florida Gulf Coast University gave a classic test -- dating back three decades -- to a group of students. The 'need for cognition' questionnaire asked participants to rate how strongly they agree with statements such as "I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems," and "I only think as hard as I have to." The researchers, led by Todd McElroy, then selected 30 'thinkers' and 30 'non-thinkers' from the pool of candidates. Over the next seven days both groups wore a device on their wrist which tracked their movements and activity levels, providing a constant stream of data on how physically active they were. Results showed the thinking group were far less active during the week than the non-thinkers. "Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness," said McElroy, according to The British Psychological Society. "Awareness of their tendency to be less active, coupled with an awareness of the cost associated with inactivity, more thoughtful people may then choose to become more active throughout the day."

9 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. was going to post earlier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    but did'n feel like doing it

  2. As Calvin once said by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    As Calvin once said, "You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well mine are even worse!"

    1. Re:As Calvin once said by zifn4b · · Score: 5, Informative

      As Calvin once said, "You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well mine are even worse!"

      This is of course quite amusing as I'm sure you are referring to the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. But did you know said comic strip is a satire around two characters that represent two prominent historical figures with two very different philosophical points of view:

      John Calvin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Thomas Hobbes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      If you read into their differences of opinions on many things related to society, you'll find relevance to this topic. We can't really understand why our society and culture values things and whether those things are appropriate today or ever even were rational to begin with if we don't understand the roots of where that thinking came from. The comic strip of course is more digestible in popular culture instead of having read comparably dry historical text but understanding the true historical context is very important especially as we evolve our values and ideas forward into the future.

      --
      We'll make great pets
  3. I can buy that by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First time I have to do something I do it.
    Second time I think of how to automate it
    Third time I test my script
    Fourth time I refine my script
    Fifth time I run my script and go back to whatever I was doing.

    1. Re:I can buy that by bain_online · · Score: 5, Funny

      I just hire bright people to write my scripts :p

      --
      BAIN http://www.devslashzero.com
  4. "lazy" !? by sittingnut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    being physically inactive and being lazy are two different things.

    one can be physically inactive, or less active, while doing a lot and expending lots of energy, through metal activity and stationary activity.
    any one who codes, or writes papers/books, designs stuff, or paints pictures, etc, or even watch and read thought provoking books/plays/movies know that such things can take a lot out of one.

    may be only people who do nothing of the kind, and write absurd careless/thoughtless summaries here, that are full of silly errors and duplicates, mistake all that for 'laziness'

  5. Why the shit is this shit here? It's not science! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They never tested IQ, and IQ is not intelligence. They passed out a questionnaire where people self selected with bullshit questions, then tracked them for a single week.

    To put it another way, this is like sorting fruit salad into grape and kumquats by shaking the bowl so the small ones end up on the bottom and so everything on top is a kumquat, everything else is a grape, without even checking that the fruit salad was in fact made with blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, and tomatoes(technically a fruit).

    This is shit science I would chew out a fifth grader for it, because they failed to determine if the factor they were testing was present, and used a shit sorting method. A questionnaire with questions like that isn't going to get you any useful results unless you're testing self perceptions of inteligence related to something(to which I'd argue that this study proves that lazy gits think their smart to excuse their laziness, which is just as valid as their conclusions).

    Where the hell do these people get the idea that it's alright to call this shit science? A first year student of any science other than social or political would be able to see what they've fucked up, and I've only excluded those two because they generally work with questionnaires and so might assume a competent questionnaire was created, which I highly doubt due to the absolute shit example questions. Mien Gott.

  6. Re:These studies, Jesus... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

    This looks more like the people who *think* they are intelligent are lazy.

    It is not just about being lazy, but about what you do with your laziness. The most intelligent goof off by posting on Slashdot.

    Physical activity is good for both the body and mind.

    TFA is using "lazy" to mean lack of physical activity. So if I pull an all-nighter and write 1000 lines of code, I am lazy. If I go for a walk instead, then I am not lazy.

  7. Re:These studies, Jesus... by RabidReindeer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you pull an all-nighter and write 1000 lines of code, then you're likely in violation of the "I only think as hard as I have to" part.

    If, on the other hand, you spent your time daydreaming, a light bulb came on while you were taking a shower, and the net result is 20 minutes of work and 30 lines of brilliant code, then you qualify.

    But management will ding you, because while you're supposed to work smarter and not harder, if they don't see you "working", then you're "obviously" not being "productive". So keep doing those all-nighters and job security will be yours. Maybe.