No argument with what you say. But I believe that Mr. Cocks is correct in that IQ is the foundation for success. Absent the ability to grasp and make use of abstract concepts, success is elusive in an increasingly technology-based society.
In this context, I would also classify a society of primitive hunter-gatherers as "technology-based."
Obtaining the materials necessary to fashion, e.g., flint implements and then actually doing the work of fashioning them - and then also organizing a hunting party and successfully hunting down the prey, dividing the spoils, "putting up" left-overs for later consumption, etc. - are all complex tasks requiring plenty of brain power.
Regards,