Chris Nikic

Jordan Peterson shared one of the most sobering statistics I’ve heard in a long time. The U.S. Armed Forces — after over a century of careful psychometric research driven by life-and-death necessity — will not induct anyone with an IQ below 83. They concluded that there is simply nothing in the military (at any level) that such a person can be trained to do without being counterproductive. Peterson noted that this threshold captures roughly one in ten people. And if the military’s complexity is even roughly comparable to broader society, that means about 10% of the population has no viable place in our cognitively demanding world. He emphasized that this isn’t about lack of money or short-term training. The data shows it’s extremely difficult to turn low cognitive ability into the kind of adaptive, creative problem-solving that modern society requires. It’s a raw, uncomfortable truth about human variation that most people prefer not to discuss openly. What do you think — is this statistic something society needs to confront honestly, or is there a better way to think about it?

We are so excited to announce our keynote speaker for our upcoming SHAPE Delaware Conference happening in October!

It is the best move for his career. Sorry Lakers fans