I agree that long division measures some dimension of intelligence. But there are so many dimensions that knowing a coordinate in one dimension does not tell you much about coordinates in other dimensions. Taleb's point is that there is correlation, but it's mostly driven by the left side of the distribution.
"Unable to do long division" usually means that this person cannot solve differential equations. "Able to do long division" tells you very little about that person's ability to solve differential equations.
The speed of solving simple problems does not necessarily predict ability to solve really complex problems well. For example, a chimp named Ayumu easily beats humans in short-term memory tests: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/29/chimp-intell...
"Unable to do long division" usually means that this person cannot solve differential equations. "Able to do long division" tells you very little about that person's ability to solve differential equations.
The speed of solving simple problems does not necessarily predict ability to solve really complex problems well. For example, a chimp named Ayumu easily beats humans in short-term memory tests: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/29/chimp-intell...