STUDY: EVERYBODY’S A ROCKET SCIENTIST

You’ve heard the expression “It’s not rocket science” and “It’s not brain surgery.” Researchers in London wanted to see which was smarter – rocket scientists or brain surgeons. What they found was that the average person is just as intelligent as both of those people. Researchers compared the intelligence of 329 aerospace engineers and 72 neurosurgeons to 18,257 people from the general population. All of the participants completed an online exam (* Always a great way to do science!) that measured six different fields of cognitive ability. These include planning and reasoning, working memory, attention, working memory, and emotion processing abilities, and memory.
– The results reveal that aerospace engineers and neurosurgeons displayed the same levels of intelligence but differed in two specific areas. Aerospace engineers displayed better mental manipulation skills, while neurosurgeons had better semantic problem-solving skills. (* Great – they can solve the Middle East problem! Oh, wait – that’s ‘semitic.’)
– But they also found that, in comparison to the rest of the population, these rocket scientists and brain surgeons scored nearly the same as the average person. Aerospace engineers showed no significant differences in intelligence, while neurosurgeons were only faster at solving problems.
The researchers believe their findings show that the stereotype of these jobs being out of reach for many people (in terms of intelligence) is untrue.
The study was published in the BMJ, the British Medical Journal: (https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-067883)
* That’s right. These jobs are out of reach for most people ’cause of the cost of the schooling.
* I don’t think I would trust any brain surgeon or rocket scientist who agreed to participate in an online survey.
* In addition, the online survey showed the rocket scientists and neurosurgeons which South Korean Boy Band they were.
* What’s the intelligence of researchers who do dumb studies like this?