Many of us probably wish that we were natural born geniuses at one point in time or another. We wish that we could quickly and easily master whatever we try. In the next segment of the Outliers (http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922) Malcolm Gladwell explains why being qualified as a genius does not necessarily make someone more successful in life. We are introduced to Christopher Langan, a man with an IQ of 195 who happens to be working on his own theory of the universe. Later we learn that Langan’s IQ can only get him so far in life, the same fate suffered by other geniuses as well.
Lewis Terman, psychology professor at Stanford University conducted a research project on hidden child geniuses, dubbed his “termites”. The termites were selected from California schools based on their tested IQ levels. Terman spent an extensive amount of time watching over the kids and eventually wrote a series of books on the Genetic Study of Genius (http://www.birkittsbooks.com/si/110205014.html). For a while he truly believed the “termites” he had discovered were destined to be the future elites of the United States. However Terman was very wrong on his prognosis, as he did not understand what a real outlier was.
The relationship between success and IQ only works up to a certain point. Once a person reaches an IQ of 120, adding more knowledge does not translate to any real world advantage. An example was provided of the last twenty five Americans to win the Nobel Prize, along with their accompanying graduate schools. The list includes many good school (Holy Cross and Gettysburg), not just Ivy Leagues as expected. Past the point of a graduate school level, 120 IQ, other factors start to matter more in predicting an individual’s success. Factors such as creativity and drive were lacking in many of the “termites” described earlier, as Terman would eventually discover. In fact, very few of them actually became nationally know figures. Meanwhile, two students rejected as “termites” because of lower IQ scores went on to become Nobel laureates. Terman concluded his results with a statement that, “intellect and achievement are far from perfectly correlated.”
One factor that can provide success in the real world is “practical intelligence”. Psychologist Robert Sternberg describes this as knowing what to say to whom, when to say it, and how to say it for maximum effect. It is the knowledge that helps you read situations correctly and get what you want. And this kind of intelligence happens to be separate from analytical ability that is measured in IQ tests. This idea of being social savvy is knowledge, the set of skills that have to be learned. And whether or not one attains these social skills is due to their family culture. In a study of third graders conducted by sociologist Annette Lareau, it was discovered that two distinct parenting philosophies existed among the different social classes.
Wealthy parents were found to be heavily involved in their children’s free time. Intensive scheduling and daily questioning were a part of these kids’s everyday life. Meanwhile middle class parents talked and reasoned constantly with their kids, not just issuing commands. These kids were expected to negotiate and question the authority of adult figures. “Concerted cultivation” is the term given to this type of parenting. It is found to have enormous advantages in teaching kid’s entitlement and how to act on their own behalf in order to gain advantages. And finally, the poor parents left it up to the teachers to educate their children. These types of parents simply let their children grow up on their own. It is the wealthy and poor children who grew up with a sense of distance, distrust, and constraint towards authority figures. And this is the type of family situation that Christopher Langan grew up in. With a poor home life and an angry drunken stepfather it was no wonder that Langan developed distrust in authority and an urge to be independent.
Upon reading this much of the Outliers, I have realized how hard it is to be an outlier. Christopher Langdan was quoted saying, "I don't think there is anyone smarter than me out there, nobody with better powers of comprehension." Just moments later he admits his own defeat in saying, "I have not persuaded mainstream publishers as I should have (referring to his theories)." At the same time other people out there have been able to accomplish this with help along the way. It is this assistance or "push" that Chris never had. And as Gladwell explains quite well, it is not an excuse, but a fact of life. Chris Langan had to make his way alone. And nobody ever makes it alone.
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