luis is a co-founder and social software architect at SyndeoLabs, and a director at Exist Global. he likes building small web toys a whole lot. More ...

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    guttervomit

    • 6

      Genius and Success

      9 Nov 2008

      In Malcolm Gladwell’s wonderful new book “,” the notion of genius and its correlation with success is fascinatingly disassembled. It’s not exactly news that having a high IQ does not guarantee that you’ll be successful in life. It’s one of the first things they tell you when you try to apply to MENSA after all. But what’s great about Gladwell’s take on it is that he’s more specific. IQ does matter, but only up to a certain point. It’s much easier to correlate success when you’re comparing someone with an IQ of 100 (a little below what you’d need to appreciate college) with someone with an IQ of 130 (approaching the “gifted” threshold). However, it doesn’t seem to matter as much beyond 130. Here’s the killer snippet:

      “A mature scientist with an IQ of 130 is as likely to win the Nobel Prize as a scientist with an IQ of 180.”

      The idea that resonated most with me is that if you are naturally gifted with a high IQ (and 130 is by no means “exceptionally high,” it’s just above average), it doesn’t matter that you could be competing with real one-in-a-million geniuses one day. Beyond 130, the disparity becomes almost insignificant.

      So what does matter, past that 130-IQ boundary? Social skills, it turns out. The term Gladwell uses (and he’s really quoting Robert Sternberg here) is “Practical Intelligence,” which is explained thusly:

      “It is procedural: it is about knowing how to do something without necessarily knowing why you know it or being able to explain it. [...] It’s knowledge that helps you read situations correctly and get what you want.”

      Even more interesting is the fact that general intelligence (what we measure with IQ) and practical intelligence are “orthogonal,” i.e., the presence of one doesn’t imply the presence of the other. I think we’ve all met really smart people whose personalities are disappointingly flat. They come off as socially awkward, or just plain abrasive. We can’t imagine them making any kind of dent in society because they don’t have the skills necessary to communicate the things going on in their heads. Gladwell’s theories validate that feeling.

      I haven’t finished “Outliers” off as I write this, but it’s shaping up to be my favorite of his three books. There’s a fascinating exposition about the 10,000 hour rule (i.e., how many hours of practice it takes for a human to become an expert in something), and how the most brilliant minds of the past few centuries all managed to finish off their 10,000 hours at a pace faster than most anyone else in their field. There’s another great chapter wherein he theorizes that most star athletes are born between January and March, and another where he posits that the school that you go to is not nearly as important to your later success as some people think. I highly recommend that people check this book out; it’s a great read and is a really interesting new way to think about success and the things we do to achieve it.

      6 Responses to “Genius and Success”

      1. Willex Perez Says:
        November 10th, 2008 at 8:08 am

        I believe the other factor is called EQ ( emotional quotient ). Having both IQ and EQ gives one a better chance of success in society.

      2. Jonas Lim Says:
        November 12th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

        Sounds like an interesting read. I find the 10,000 hour rule quite an interesting concept.
        My take on IQ scores is I see it as just an indication of which “league” you’re playing not how well you play (i think this is where EQ and other practical knowledge comes in).
        i.e To be in the NBA one must have certain level of playing skills (IQ) but to do good one needs much much more (ie. passion, determination, the force)

        my 2 centavos

      3. gabu/sch Says:
        November 16th, 2008 at 10:02 pm

        So Luis, have you done 10,000 hours for Rails yet? :)

      4. luis Says:
        November 17th, 2008 at 7:50 am

        Haha, well I don’t think anyone apart from the dude who built it has clocked over 10,000 hours at this stage. It was only released in 2005 after all ;)

      5. ExTriL Says:
        January 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 am

        А на повестке дня только глянцевый гламур или всесторонний охват? А то вот я мыслей имею всяких много, а визуализировать их не умею…

      6. Chatelain Says:
        February 7th, 2010 at 2:55 am

        Very informative, actually, I really enjoy my reading and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing. I bookmarked it and will be back time to time.

      Leave a Reply

     

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