The Forrest Gump Paradox

Why Being Dumb Might Actually be Genius

You are certainly smarter than Forrest Gump, right? Forrest is the beloved fictional character portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 1994 film "Forrest Gump." The character is from Greenbow, Alabama, and is depicted as having a below-average IQ and limited intellectual capacity. Maybe you can hear his southern drawl in your head:

I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is.

So, as long as you believe that you have average-IQ, you likely think you're smarter than Forrest. But, come on. The answer is far from that simple. In fact, that’s the paradox of Forrest Gump.

Everyone’s so confident!

We’re living in a culture that champions certainty and confidence. I can’t say that I’m not attracted to this myself and strive for it. From cable news to social media to the conversations among the folks at my local beach, they have this binary definiteness to them. They’re smart. They’re intelligent. And if you ask me if those opinions are correct, my response usually mirrors a Louis CK standup skit; “of course, but maybe [not]….”. While black and white seems to exist for others, gray is my predominant color. I feel like Forrest.

Below-average IQ.

With a limited intellectual capacity.

What is intelligence?

Hold up. Am I confusing confidence and assertiveness with intelligence? What is intelligence, really? Theoretical physicists have been iterating on this question for decades. Bobby Azarian, riffing on Alex Wissner-Gross’s ideas, writes in his book The Romance of Reality:

Intelligent agents seek freedom, and that freedom comes from an ability to respond adaptively to a greater diversity of challenges. Simply put, life does not like to get stuck.

An intelligent agent maximizes future possibilities. And preserves future freedom of action. In other words, they keep their options open.

Intelligence is more aligned with indecision than certainty.

The power of not thinking

On the surface, Forrest Gump may seem like an unlikely hero. He’s not particularly bright or articulate, and he doesn’t seem to have any special talents or skills. Yet, he manages to accomplish great things. There’s a method. Forrest didn’t plan to run across the US, he just felt like runnin. That action led to a football scholarship at the University of Alabama. While at UA, when Forrest was approached by an Army recruiter, it didn’t take much for Forrest to join the armed forces where he earned a Medal of Honor. What’s the pattern? He doesn’t know what will work and what won’t, so he tries the opportunities that cross his path which lead to more opportunities. 

He’s not constrained by the same limitations as the rest of us.

Staying consistent with his identity doesn’t distract him.

He doesn’t shut future doors.

The ironic result is that his lack of thinking creates more possible futures.

An alien looking down at Forrest’s actions would likely classify him as the most intelligent.

While we may think that being uncertain or indecisive is a sign of weakness, I think it may actually be a sign of intelligence. As Nassim Taleb puts it, “The best way to maximize serendipity opportunities is to maximize the number of trials.” But if you already think you know with certainty, you will limit your number of trials.

Put it into practice

So, how can we apply this paradox to our own lives? Here’s some ideas:

Take a detour. In my early 20’s, I took a detour from the Long Island career path that, for a long time, I thought was the only direction (college → 9-5 job → house → family → 9-5 job → death). Instead, I went to San Francisco. I discovered that there were other ways to live. It opened up a whole slew of future possibilities I didn’t even realize existed! 

Lead like a Darwinian. This perspective of Forrest as the intelligent agent has made me more comfortable embracing ambiguity and uncertainty as a manager leading teams. I’m quick to test out ideas that might improve team operations; trial org structures, varying meeting schedules, or writing 1-pagers. This is imperative because a team and its responsibilities are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. You must keep sampling (I think 😉).

Lead with kerosine. I focus my attention on the what & why of the problems we are solving, and let my team focus on the how. When attempting to forecast ocean shipments in 2021, I looked at Hitesh Danturty to drive how we did that including the development of the algorithms and delivery methods. As much as I wanted to dive into the code, my role was to be the kerosine igniting Hitesh’s curiosity engine. It created more future options for me. It created more future possibilities for Hitesh. 

The paradox

So, are you smarter than Forrest Gump? Of course, but maybe [not]. While our social norm paints Forrest as dumb, his actions would paint him as very intelligent. It’s a magnificent reminder that uncertainty and ambiguity are not weaknesses, but strengths. They encourage us to try things. By embracing the unknown and being open to new ideas and perspectives, we can achieve great things and maximize our potential for success.