The Role of I.Q. in Academic Success

[Visigoth]

Kortaggio, either your sense of humor is amazing, or Proton Soup's comment (expressing his dumbfoundedness at the fact that you actually gave such an example to further illustrate your point) went completely over your head. Either way, I've got a big, toothy grin of amusement on my face right now. :D

I agree with gladwell's (and your) sentiment on IQ. Your mathematical example is spot on, too.

Personally, I don't think that potential success is the most valuable benefit of a high IQ. Granted, I don't place much value on success... That being said, I really think that IQ allows you to live more than you otherwise could. The mental life of someone with a high IQ is both more acute and more accelerated than the average person's. What might have taken a normal person an hour to ponder and figure out might take less than half that time and be done in twice as much depth. I'm being vague, but I imagine that you can see where I'm going.

I suppose you could say I do think that a high IQ is indeed a very important thing. It simply allows you to live longer than your years.

Your value judgement on mental longevity is rather subjective. :)

And it's nice to see you Kortaggio. I have much to discuss with you!

 

[Mathnomalous]

I don't fully understand "IQ" but it seems like "predetermination" to me. What would a person with an alleged IQ of 90 - 100 do for a living? One gives that person a chart with professions a 90 - 100 IQ person can perform, should that person follow one of those professions even if they dislike it?

What if a person such as R. Feynman would had followed that kind of advice, to focus on something appropriate to his IQ? Sometimes I think the amount of information we possesses nowadays is detrimental. We had people in the past discovering cures for polio, how to land on the Moon, how to measure the circumference of the Earth, etc. and I doubt many of them were that worried about their intelligence.

In contrast, our focus on IQ, "genius", reputation or whatever other nonsense gets us idiots spilling oil in the Gulf of Mexico, morons crashing probes because they failed to convert to the metric system, or fools that think the economy can grow forever. I personally believe the scientists, intellectuals, and engineers of the 18th, 19th, and mid 20th century are more capable than their counterparts of today.

 

[Kortaggio]

And it's nice to see you Kortaggio. I have much to discuss with you!

Go on...

What if a person such as R. Feynman would had followed that kind of advice, to focus on something appropriate to his IQ?

Which is why it is so dangerous to try and categorize people in this way. Reminds me of this: http://www.ted.com/talks/viktor_frankl_youth_in_search_of_meaning.html"

 

[wrongusername]

I'd definitely agree that blog posts like that in 8th grade are impressive accomplishments.

But I think Kortaggio's precociousness comes from his hard work and how he was brought up, perhaps coupled with some above average intelligence and maybe even sprinkled with a bit of luck, rather than simply the sole result of his IQ.

I remember reading about 2 (or was it 3) siblings who were all chessmasters because their father brought them up playing chess at a young age. While I do think that some people are naturally better than others at certain skills (just like some people are stronger/taller/faster than others), I think they still have to develop those skills well.

 

[Kortaggio]

in 8th grade.

Actually, for future clarity:

In Canada (outside of Québec), "junior" in "secondary school" = 11th grade