Are Really Smart People Able to Avoid Dumb Financial Mistakes?

A few years ago I published a research paper entitled “Do you have to be smart to be rich? The impact of IQ on wealth, income and financial distress” in the journal Intelligence.  The finding was that there was no relationship between IQ and a person’s net worth.  A slightly longer summary is found by clicking here and the full paper is found by clicking here.  Since writing this paper I have been fascinated by the question “Are really smart people able to avoid dumb financial mistakes?”

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Why Are Television Sets Showing Up Everywhere?

I was filling my car up with gas the other day at a Mobil station when it struck me that television sets are everywhere!  The thought occurred to me because I found myself watching TV while pumping gas.  The gas pump had a TV built into it and was showing a combination of news, ads and short entertainment features on a special network just for gas station pumps.  At the next aisle over was a taxi cab.  Between the driver and the backseat was a small TV, so that passengers could be entertained and shown ads while the cab was stuck in traffic.  This got me thinking; it is not just gas stations and taxis.  I often watch television while sitting on planes.  Not long ago I even found myself watching in a rest room.  I was at a sports bar and the bar had individual tv’s at each urinal so that patrons didn’t have to miss a moment of action, just because they needed to use the bathroom.

The key question is “why have television sets become so ubiquitous?”  Continue reading