In activities where constant repetition is possible and productive, reliable progress can be achieved. Training in this way dominates even intelligence. An average IQ chess player, karateka, language student, or tennis player who has trained for thousands of hours will be far more effective at the activity than a genius level beginner.

One problem with rationality is it is hard to practice. If you want to train for a marathon, you get up at 6am every morning and run ten miles. Is there an analogous training method for rationality? If so, it is not obvious to me. This lack of an effective training method is probably why intelligence appears to be the dominant factor in rationality contests.

I also complained about the lack of a practice method in "The Martial Art of Rationality", my very first post here on Overcoming Bias.

But your suggestion that this is why rationality-contests are dominated by intelligence is very, very deep. I'm not sure how true it is (a little true or a whole lot true) but it's definitely truly deep, in the good sense of the term.

(What else could we generalize this to?)