What Happens to High IQ People and What To Do If You Do Not Have a Super IQ

Lewis Terman, a professor of psychology, asked teachers in California schools to nominate their brightest children for an IQ test. Among 168,000 children of average age 11 who took the test, 1521 children who scored 135 or above were selected (called “Termites”) for a longitudinal study that tracked their life outcomes. This was in 1921.

35 years later, their intellectual achievements were significant: many of them had published books and articles in science, art, and literature; many had patents granted in their names. They were also healthier, taller, physically well-developed, and socially well-adjusted compared to a comparison group of low-IQ children.

It took sociologist Pitirim Sorokin to show that higher IQs did not cause these life outcomes. It was simply the fact that they were all wealthy. Terman could have randomly picked up any child from a wealthy family and been done with it. Terman’s sample of children was mostly white, middle—to upper-middle-class children with access to resources.

So, wealth determines what you end up achieving? Wait. Despite this wealthy background, none of the Termites came close to achieving any elite scientific status. None of them obtained a Nobel prize, whereas 2 of the rejected (low IQ) students went on to get Nobel prizes in Physics.

What if we ignore the intelligence scores of children and allow all the children access to resources and help them cultivate their unique characteristics?

The Posse Foundation, founded by Deborah Bial in 1989 in the US, works on the simple idea of sending an entire posse of students together to college to support each other. Posse works with students while they are at high school through an eight-month training program and then supports them throughout their college years.

The results have been highly impressive: Posse-trained students, mostly from racial and ethnic minorities, have secured employment at prestigious firms and have risen through the ranks to become accomplished individuals.

Reviewing the work of the Posse Foundation and the results of longitudinal studies of intelligence and giftedness, Scott Barry Kaufman, a cognitive scientist at Columbia University, says that all kinds of minds are capable of achieving extraordinary results in their lives.

A landmark study of 120 creative geniuses, including mathematicians, sculptors, tennis players, neuroscientists, etc., found that a large majority of them were not talented in their childhoods. Reviewing the study, Adam Grant, a professor of organizational psychology, makes the point that high achievement does not depend on how early in life you start.

It only depends on how far you go developing your skills. Both Grant and Kaufman note that with the right opportunities, motivation, and willingness to learn the skills required, greatness is within everyone’s reach. Judging someone by where one stands on their life path today is severely underestimating their potential. Don’t worry if you don’t belong to the high IQ group.

Research by Professor Karen Arnold shows that although top school performers achieve reasonable success in their lives, they do not grow up to be great in any field. This is because schools reward students who do consistently what they are being told to do, thus encouraging compliance with the system rather than a proclivity to shake things up. School valedictorians do well in life, but don’t go on to change the world.

School test scores are simply a predictor of self-discipline and ability to conform to the rules, according to these researchers. Further, schools are places where students' natural creativity is laid to rest. Studies show that teachers dislike students who exhibit creativity.

You suspected this all along, right?

IQ matters, but only a little. High-IQ folks end up where others end up: Reading LinkedIn articles.