IQ vs. EQ

So I've been listening to Tim Ferris interview Walter O'Brien (AKA "Scorpion") and they were talking about IQ (Intelligence quotient) versus EQ (Emotional quotient) and it sparked some thoughts. The reason they were talking about it was because Scorpion tested out at 197 IQ at age nine which classified him as a child prodigy. Also for those who don't know what EQ is it is pretty much being aware of one's own and others emotions and how those emotions affect everything.

So if I recall correctly, Scorpions opinion on the matter was that generally if  you have a high IQ (150+) then that will hamper your ability to traverse the stream that is life (my own words folks). Apparently while people with less IQ are trying their best at life, the high IQ people are looking beyond the task at hand and wondering what the point of it all is. Rather than solving the life problems in front of them they are looking beyond the problems into the future and searching for meaning.

If all we do is work really hard, have some fun, make some mistakes, have some experiences, and finally grow old and die then what is the point of it all? Scorpion said that most geniuses think thoughts like these and unfortunately many (not sure about the number) commit suicide before the age of 16. Now I'm not saying I'm a genius but that childhood is sounding very familiar, but of course I'm still here so obviously so no need to worry folks. It reminds me of Solomon who said "for with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief" Ecclesiastes 1:18.

Of course there was more to their talk than that. I also found the relationship between EQ and IQ very interesting. Apparently naturally those with high IQ have low EQ and generally I think you will naturally have a higher EQ if you have a lower IQ. The big difference comes from the fact that you can raise  your EQ through learning but IQ is somewhat unalterable. But let's not confuse IQ with being smart, you can definitely get smarter by changing the way you approach problems, using different techniques, so on and so forth.

Scorpion is a prime example of a child prodigy who had a massive IQ and little EQ who then went on to train up his EQ and be very successful in life. His company is actually based around having many geniuses who have crazy IQ's and are supervised by people called super nannies. These super nannies instead have very impressive EQ's and are able to teach and literally baby sit the geniuses to make sure they use their intellect in the most correct fashion.

All this reminded me of those periods where I'm either studying, reading, gaming in large amounts and having less exposure to human interaction. I find that my mind will be more clear and focused. I will think faster and enjoy thinking. It's like, rather than getting tired of what I'm doing I just keep getting better and better, but when this happens I've noticed some negatives.

I tend to get very easily annoyed at people. Its obvious if I'm in the middle of something and someone interrupts me - I will get really annoyed (of course I try not to show it because I know I'm just overreacting). This I'm sure is common for most people (yes?), but I have also noticed my mind wanting to order everyday very systematically and if there is one change to the routine it is very frustrating. Even if it's something I like and there is plenty of time I just get so annoyed that the perfect plan I had got ruined.

So I wonder what would happen if you isolated a person and had them perform some activity or routine to get them into that zone and had them take an IQ test. After have them get back to normal life interacting with people and have them take it again. Perhaps it would be normal for people to test better when isolated? Perhaps this is already common knowledge? I don't know because I haven't researched it. Mostly because I want to write a post everyday and if I spend too much time researching then it will be too time consuming and it will be harder to build up the  habit.

Anyway if anyone reads this please tell me what you think or know. All this IQ/EQ stuff is pretty interesting huh?