I know a dude who’s 6′ 7″
I am either 6′ 2″ tall, or 6′ 3″ tall, depending on who you ask–it’s hard for me to say conclusively since I can’t actually measure myself, and reports differ. Trish is 5′ 10″. All indications are that Sarah will grow up to be at least a six footer.
So, what I read in Slate today pleased me. Here’s a bit from the beginning:
It is well-documented that short people earn less money than tall people do. To be clear, pay does not vary lock step by height. If your friend is taller than you are, then it’s nearly a coin toss whether she earns more. But if you compare two large groups of people who are similar in every respect but height, the average pay for the taller group will be higher. Each additional inch of height adds roughly 2 percent to average annual earnings, for both men and women. So, if the average heights of our hypothetical groups were 6 feet and 5 feet 7 inches, the average pay difference between them would be 10 percent.
But wait… that’s not the good part. The good part comes later (emphasis mine):
This sets up the study’s major finding. While height, on its own, bears a strong relation to pay, when adult height is included along with measures of childhood intelligence in pay analyses, it no longer does the explanatory work on its own. Height appears to matter, when intelligence is not included, because taller people are, on average, smarter.
I’m sure everyone reading this can come up with examples of extremely smart short people, and extremely dumb tall people, as with any statistical measurement… but if the statistics are going to show a preference for salary or intelligence, I’m glad I’m on the right side of it. I’m also glad I got to read this article this weekend, while Trish’s dad (who is a couple of inches taller than me, at least, and who has a whole pile of university degrees) was here.
Now I have to go pull out a Randy Newman CD to get the song out of my head, thanks to that article.
Kira
September 3rd, 2006 at 1:19 am
And how smart is it to have back problems ’cause you’re too damn tall? If you want to fit efficiently into the world, shoot for a smart 5′8″.
Oh, is that my height? Darn.
Einstein was only a couple of inches taller than me. NOT 6′. If being under 6′ is good enough for the smartest guy in the 20th century, it’s good enough for me.
Mind you, some of my best friends are tall people. I do not disrespect anyone for genetic inefficiency.
Bunch of goddamn Godzillas.
September 3rd, 2006 at 7:06 am
Having just spent two long sessions in a “regional jet”, I am forced to admit that there are many ways in which the world would be more comfortable for a more compactly designed person.
The well-paid, smarter tall people should organize and force some changes, I say!
September 4th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
It’s because IQ tests are culturally biased in favor of tall people; they’re full of questions like “Can you see the top of your refrigerator?”
Actually, I suspect that the explanation is better nutrition. (The Slate article mentions this possibility too.)
September 4th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Hmm, everyone seems to have missed the implication of a key word- “childhood.” “when adult height is included along with measures of childhood intelligence.” In other words, height and pay are not correlative to adult intelligence or were not studied in relation to adult intelligence. Considering the apparent scope of the research I would bet on the former.
September 5th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
ug. me tall smart guy. Me want squish short people good! ug.
September 13th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Chris, first the small head article on intelligence and now this. You are not being very subtle
September 15th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Yeah, yeah, yeah. AINC. JSMill yadda yadda blah. So there.