Reflection on 6 Powerpoint materials.
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OutliersChpt3.pptxThe Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1
Chapter 3
Mega Geniuses Christopher Langan
“Smartest man in America” (maybe the world)
Average IQ = 100, Einstein 150, Chris 195-210
Speaking at 6 months of age
3-years-old taught himself to read
5-years-old questioned the existence of God
“In school, Langan could walk into a test in foreign-language class, not having studied at all, and if there were two or three minutes before the instructor arrived, he could skim through the textbook and ace the test.” p. 71
In spite of his enormous IQ, Chris Langan never won a Nobel Prize, never started a corporation like Bill Gates, never became a famous scientist, never achieved noteworthy success.
Lewis Terman in 1921 set out to study geniuses.
Geniuses appear to be the ultimate outliers. Nothing should hold them back from success.
But this may be a mistaken assumption.
Since Terman’s time, much research has been done using IQ tests to determine the relationship between high IQ and real life success.
Does high IQ lead to success in the real world?
Yes, to a degree.
“In general, the higher your (IQ) score, the more education you’ll get, the more money you’re likely to make, and – believe it or not – the longer you’ll live.” p. 79
After a certain level, higher IQ does not make much difference in terms of real-world success.
The connection with higher IQ and success works only up to a point.
“Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.” p. 79
Nobel Prize Winners
Come from good colleges/universities but not all are from the very top schools (i.e. Harvard)
“To be a Nobel Prize winner, apparently, you have to be smart enough to get into a college at least as good as Notre Dame or the University of Illinois. That’s all.” p. 83
You just have to be smart enough, above a certain threshold, to be successful.
If intelligence matters only up to a point, then past that point, other things matter more p.86
Divergence tests measure other things such as creativity.
“Being a successful lawyer is about a lot more than IQ.” p.89
In studies of graduates from Michigan Law School, minority students with lower IQ s were just as successful as white students who scored higher on IQ tests.
Just because a school’s minority students have lower scores on IQ tests doesn’t mean they don’t have other important traits. P. 89
“What I told you at the beginning of this chapter about the extraordinary intelligence of Chris Langan, in other words, is of little use if we want to understand his chances of being a success in the world.” p. 90
Questions
What other factors besides intelligence do you think are important for success? Why?
What factors/traits do you think you have? How have they helped you to succeed in life?
