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by bell-cot 721 days ago
First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional. If not fractal. The IQ-ish dimensions are usually overrated - especially by folks for whom that's their strong suit, and by the young. Vs. the emotional maturity, big pictures, and wisdom-ish dimensions are really seldom understood, let alone mastered, until your later years.

There are some old proverbs about the wisdom and (un-)benefits of winning arguments with your wife. Beyond your need to be right about things, how much skin do you & yours have in the game on things that she's "wrong" about? If it's "homeopathy would be better than vaccines for our baby"-class stuff, that's probably worth arguing. Vs. she doesn't understand e=mc^2, or believes most politicians are well-intentioned, or knowns that your favorite football team isn't worth watching? Those really aren't worth fighting over.

1 comments

>First issue - outside of "my IQ is..." bragging rights, intelligence is multi-dimensional.

This is the reason I shy away from using the term IQ. I do not believe it's a valid test on the individual level.

>If it's "homeopathy would be better than vaccines for our baby"-class stuff

A lot of it is this level. In fact, homeopathy is a major point of contention.

Does she seem committed to homeopathy when she has "instant" skin in the game? (Say, she needs to have a tooth drilled & filled, and the dentist would permit homeopathic "pain relief".) Or might homeopathy be more of an emotional reaction against being ill-treated (both emotionally and physically) by conventional medical practitioners? For women, even well-to-do white women, the latter is wretchedly common. And if you don't feel yourself an expert on the technical details, then "do not trust those who treat me poorly, when there seem to be nicer alternatives" is, sadly, a pretty reasonable and human strategy...