Lack of intelligence (“book smarts”) = “Dumb”
Lack of “street smarts” = “Dumb”
Lack of “emotional intelligence” = “Dumb”
Unwillingness to define a circle of competence = “Dumb”
Inability to define a circle of competence = “Dumb”
Overestimating your own intelligence = “Dumb”
Overestimating the impact of intelligence on outcomes = “Dumb”
Believing intelligence translates into control of outcomes = “Dumb”
There are many dimensions to intelligence. Yet we tend to talk about intelligence in a reductive way. As if it is somehow straightforward to separate the world into the “smart” and the “dumb.” By the standard of raw IQs the folks on Wall Street responsible for creating synthetic CDOs circa 2006 were frighteningly intelligent. Look what they wrought.
People with low IQs tend not create really bad outcomes. At least not at the level of society at large. People with low IQs are rarely put in a position where they have that much power and influence.
Really bad outcomes result from “smart” people overestimating their intelligence. They result from “smart” people mistakenly believing being “smart” allows them to control outcomes in complex systems. And they result from “smart” people being coerced into doing dumb things by warped incentive systems.
Some examples (not comprehensive):
Literally every financial crisis.
The Titanic.
Literally every speculative bubble.
World War I.
The Challenger explosion.
Tobacco companies.
The Hindenburg.
Love Canal.
Badly cooked dinners.