A book that challenges common misconceptions about the nature of intelligence Satoshi Kanazawa's Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters (written with Alan S. Miller) was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a rollicking bit of pop science that turns the lens of evolutionary psychology on issues of the day." That book answered such burning questions as why women tend to lust after males who already have mates and why newborns look more like Dad than Mom. Now Kanazawa tackles the nature of intelligence: what it is, what it does, what it is good for (if anything). Highly entertaining, smart (dare we say intelligent?), and daringly contrarian, The Intelligence Paradox will provide a deeper understanding of what intelligence is, and what it means for us in our lives. Asks why more intelligent individuals are not better (and are, in fact, often worse) than less intelligent individuals in solving some of the most important problems in life--such as finding a mate, raising children, and making friends Discusses why liberals are more intelligent than conservatives, why atheists are more intelligent than the religious, why more intelligent men value monogamy, why night owls are more intelligent than morning larks, and why homosexuals are more intelligent than heterosexuals Explores how the purpose for which general intelligence evolved--solving evolutionarily novel problems--allows us to explain why intelligent people have the particular values and preferences they have Challenging common misconceptions about the nature of intelligence, this book offers surprising insights into the cutting-edge of science at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and intelligence research.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 What Do People Want? 3 A Brief Word on the Data 8 1 What Is Evolutionary Psychology? 13 Four Core Principles of Evolutionary Psychology 15 Two Logical Fallacies That We Must Avoid 19 2 The Nature and Limitations of the Human Brain 23 The Savanna Principle 23 3 What Is Intelligence? 37 Common Misconceptions about Intelligence 38 How Did General Intelligence Evolve? 49 Cognitive Classes 54 4 When Intelligence Matters (and When It Doesn't) 55 The Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis 55 From the Hypothesis to the Paradox: The Intelligence Paradox on Individual Preferences and Values 71 5 Why Liberals Are More Intelligent than Conservatives 73 What Is Liberalism? 73 Are Liberals More Intelligent than Conservatives? 76 If Liberals Are More Intelligent than Conservatives, Why Are Liberals So Stupid? 78 IQ and the Values of Nations 84 6 Why Atheists Are More Intelligent than the Religious 87 Where Does Religion Come From? 87 Is It Natural to Believe in God? 92 Societal Implications 95 7 Why More Intelligent Men (but Not More Intelligent Women) Value Sexual Exclusivity 97 Humans Are Naturally Polygynous, Not Monogamous 97 Are More Intelligent Men More Likely to Be Faithful? 101 Intelligence and Marriage Institutions 110 8 Why Night Owls Are More Intelligent than Morning Larks 113 Choice within Genetic Predisposition 114 Night Life Is Evolutionarily Novel 115 So Are Asians Really More Nocturnal than Others? 122 9 Why Homosexuals Are More Intelligent than Heterosexuals 127 What Does It Mean to Be Homosexual? 128 Evolutionary Novelty of Homosexual Identity and Behavior 130 Intelligence and Homosexuality 133 10 Why More Intelligent People Like Classical Music 141 Evolutionary Origins of Music 144 Intelligence and Tastes for Music 148 Evolutionary Novelty or Cognitive Complexity? 152 11 Why Intelligent People Drink and Smoke More 157 Brief Histories of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs 158 Intelligence and Substance Use 160 Intelligence and Criminality 173 12 Why Intelligent People Are the Ultimate Losers in Life 177 Reproduction Is the Ultimate Goal of All Living Organisms 177 Intelligence and the Value for Children 178 Intelligence and the Number of Children 181 Heritability of Fertility: An Evolutionary Puzzle 186 Possible Societal Consequences 187 13 Other Possible Consequences of Intelligence 191 Coffee 192 Vegetarianism 192 Crime and Punishment 198 Representative Democracy 199 Conclusion: Intelligent People Are Not What You Think 205 Notes 209 References 221 Index 243