Intelligence vs Hard Work: What Matters More for Success?

[ModusPonens]

Hello

I am looking for scientific research done on the topic of "what is more important to success: talent or hard work?"

I've been plagued all my life with the idea that "since I have a very good talent I don't need to work much". It backfired really bad. So I would like to ask if anyone here knows of either individual research papers on this, or compilations of such papers. Scientific facts have a lot more weight in convincing me, than opinions.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only guy here with this flawed thinking, although perhaps the most severely affected. So if you have something pertinent to say on this, please share. Even if it's not what I am asking above.

:)

 

[Jameson]

No scientific papers to reference right now, but I do have some comments for you since I can relate.

It's not just you and I don't mean to be presumptuous but I think it's very likely you aren't experiencing the worst of laziness backfiring. For smart people it can be hard to accept that there are others out there orders of magnitude smarter, but it is important to realize if you think that intelligence alone will get you everywhere. This was something I had to come to grips with my first time through college (I graduated by the way, but was a bad student). I never thought I was a genius or the smartest person in my peer group, but I implicitly thought that I had gifts that would carry me to great places on that alone. (No)

More to your point though, in my experience at the beginning of life intelligence outweighs hard work but there is a tipping point, usually in college, where this changes. The best combination is obviously smart plus hard working.

Interested to hear from others and to see if someone can reference a paper on this.