My summer reading always includes listening to Stephen Jay Gould’s The Mismeasure of Man. I discovered Gould in 1984 and have been a lifelong fan of his essays and books. Especially this year, I have been thinking more and more about intelligence and the really weak definitions of it that characterizes our understanding of it. It means so many things to scholars, philosophers, programmers, entrepreneurs, educators, and those interested in how generative AI is going to affect humanity. Gould’s book describes a very specific definition of intelligence, and one that has informed… no, it has disinformed… psychology and education and public policy for a century.
My current interest in intelligence has caused my to return to works I have read and thinkers who have informed (yes, I know some will argue I too have been misinformed) my thinking about it. One book that is included in this is Todd Rose’s 2015 The End of Average. I have reviewed in on this blog (The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World that Values Sameness). I have a NotebookLM resource with some of my blog posts, papers, and other materials related to intelligence uploaded and I have been using it to remind myself of my thinking and work.
I must say, I am a fan of generative AI to help with this work. I am starting to see generative AI in the same way I look at tools for managing references. I cannot imagine doing research without it, but just like I need to double-check my references for APA formatting, I am checking how it interprets my resources.
Here is evidence, that in my mind, AI is a tool for summarizing our own work. Here is the summary I had NotebookLM create based on the blog post I references above:
This briefing document summarizes key themes and ideas from excerpts of Todd Rose’s book, The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World that Values Sameness, as reviewed by Gary Ackerman. The central argument posits that our societal reliance on “averages” and the pursuit of “sameness” are fundamentally flawed, leading to inefficiency, misidentification of talent, and lost opportunities for both individuals and organizations.
Main Themes and Key Ideas:
1. The Flawed Concept of the “Average Person” (and its Consequences):
The foundational premise of Rose’s argument is that the concept of an “average person” is a statistical construct that does not exist in reality and, when applied to individuals, leads to critical misfits.
- The Military Pilot Anecdote: Rose introduces this idea with a compelling historical example. Early military plane crashes were attributed to pilot error, but “an insightful researcher realized the cockpit of the planes were built for the “average pilot” based on 1926 measurements of the men who were pilots, but no one pilot was average in all of the dimensions.” This revelation led to the understanding that the misfit between the pilots’ bodies and the machines was the true culprit, not the pilots’ abilities. Once cockpits were made adjustable, crashes ceased. This story serves as a powerful metaphor for how designing for an “average” often fails to accommodate the reality of individual variation.
- The Root of the Problem: Industrial Era Thinking: Rose links the pervasive focus on averages to Fredrick Taylor’s approach to increasing the efficiency of manufacturing, which was subsequently applied to other domains like education. This industrial model, designed for mass production, assumed a uniformity that does not exist in human beings.
2. The “Jagged Principle”: Talent and Traits are Multidimensional:
A core concept in Rose’s work is the “jagged principle,” which asserts that human characteristics, including talent, are not one-dimensional but rather a complex interplay of various factors.
- Talent is Not Singular: “Talent (or any other “thing” we wish to quantify is not one dimensional. If we do treat it as one dimensional, Rise reasons, we are missing the variation that describes one’s real talents.” This means that evaluating individuals based on a single score or an aggregated average fails to capture the unique constellation of strengths and weaknesses that define their true capabilities.
- Context Matters for Behavior: The jagged principle also applies to behavioral traits. Rose illustrates this with the example of aggression: “While we might conclude that one who is labeled “aggressive” will always display that behavior, but researchers find context matters. A child may be aggressive at school towards peers who are bullying, but not towards other peers or towards adults.” This highlights the dynamic nature of human behavior, challenging the idea of fixed “essential traits.”
3. The Detrimental Impact of Valuing “Sameness”:
Rose argues that societies, businesses, and educational institutions that prioritize “sameness” and judge individuals against averages create a “lose-lose situation.”
- Unrecognized and Underutilized Talent: “The organization suffers because talent is unrecognized and un-utilized.” When systems are designed for the “average,” unique talents that fall outside this narrow definition are often overlooked or stifled, leading to a waste of human potential within organizations.
- Lost Opportunities for Individuals: “individuals miss opportunities to develop and apply their talents.” Individuals are forced to conform to a norm that doesn’t fit them, preventing them from discovering and leveraging their unique strengths.
- The Incompatibility of Sameness and Uniqueness: Rose explicitly states that “this cannot be communicated if we continue to hold ‘sameness’ as a value.” The very act of valuing sameness inherently undermines the recognition and celebration of individual uniqueness.
4. The Imperative of “Fit Creates Opportunity”:
The alternative to the “end of average” is creating environments where individuals can thrive through a better “fit” between their unique attributes and the opportunities presented to them.
- Adjusting the Environment, Not the Individual: Ackerman’s reflection on the book emphasizes this: “‘fit creates opportunity.’ My classroom, my work with colleagues, and my design of materials must adjust to the students.” Instead of trying to force individuals to fit a pre-defined mold, the environment (e.g., educational systems, workplaces) should be flexible and adaptable.
- Embracing and Leveraging Uniqueness: The ultimate goal is to “communicate the conclusion, ‘you are unique, and it is my job help you find that uniqueness and leverage it to our mutual benefit.'” This involves a fundamental shift in perspective, moving from a deficit model (where individuals are measured against an average and found wanting) to an asset model (where individual differences are seen as strengths to be cultivated and utilized).
In conclusion, The End of Average challenges long-held assumptions about human potential and organizational design. By dismantling the myth of the “average” and embracing the inherent “jaggedness” of human talent, Rose advocates for a paradigm shift that prioritizes individual uniqueness, adaptability, and the creation of environments where genuine “fit” leads to mutual benefit and success.