My answer is none of the above. I don't think S or N has anything to do with "smarts", nor are they equal.
Originally Posted by
FDG
Think about what people think as "smart".
It's not a mechanic.
An N person could make a very good mechanic actually. My husband (ENTp) was amzing at anything mechanical. He could see how it worked in his head, and then know exactly how to fix it. It was fun watching him build computers and stuff, and he had topographic maps in his head, from what he did for a job and the guy he worked for said he'd never met anyone who had such capabilities to understand the possibilities and workings of things. He had these maps, tied in with the well locations and a whole access database, and wow, I wish I could explain it, very complex and amazing. He always said his dream job would be an idea-man, just coming up with new ideas, inventions, possibilities for things, he was extremely good at this. And, so was my grandpa. My dad has said that if they had ever met, it'd be non-stop ideas, and neither of them would ever stop. My grandpa was a tool-designer for Douglas Aircraft, but also worked as a gardener on the side. He was in high demand because he really knew his plants, very well, above and beyond what most did. They moved to CO and he became a farmer, and then later to TX where he became the head of the paint crew at a local college. So, even though his job was painting, that doesn't mean he wasn't extremely smart. And my dad is a carpenter, but I've never met anyone who understands physics like he does, or most science and history. He taught science and history for awhile, took every single class offered in both subjects when he was in college, but got his degree in theology. And my grandma, was an artist, you'd think sensory right, but she was also a mathematical genius, arriving at answers to complex problems, just by knowing the answer not having to even work it out. Her abilities scared her, so she never did anything to develop them any further.
Point is, people have different talents and abilities and "smarts" are not tied to type.