The IQ test is a very good estimate of ones intellectual intelligence but what about common sense? We all know that friend or someone who is intellectually smart, but lacks that common sense. Street smarts or common sense can be defined as an action that relies on differing the good from the bad. Does intellectual intelligence have any correlation with common sense? I believe it does because to make a "smart" or right choice on a decision requires some sort of intelligence. But to what degree does intelligence play a role?
One idea that has been presented is which intelligent people often share similar characteristics that often classify them as "intelligent". People with higher IQ's are often analytical of situations and ideas and often analyze something too much that hinders smart choices in life. Being overly analytical of things may cause people to perceive you as less intelligent when it comes to common sense because the thing that you are being analytical about may be very simple. Also, being overly analytical to a situation can result in inappropriate behaviors and actions.
Here is a website that dives deeper into this concept:
http://www.science20.com/rogue_neuron/does_superhigh_iq_superlow_common_sense
It is very interesting to try and distinguish the difference between "book smarts" and "street smarts". Maybe one way to think about the different "smarts" is how intelligence is applied. For example, someone can be very intelligent, but if they do not apply their intelligence they will not appear "smart". So if someone is book smart, but they fail to apply their intelligence to social situations, they will lack street smarts. I don't know if this makes sense, but I find it very interesting to see different types of intelligences. In my family, my dad is extremely book smart, while my mom is very street smart. It is interesting to see their intelligences play out when we run into various situations. (Usually each of them thinks they are right of course!)