In the early 20th century, Lewis Terman studied a group of child geniuses (his ‘Termites’) and followed them into adulthood. He expected them to be incredibly high achievers – Nobel laureates, CEOs, and heads of state. But what really happened? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn the truth about Lewis Terman’s termites here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that intelligence has limits. In something called the \u201cthreshold effect,\u201d once you hit a threshold and you\u2019re \u201csmart enough,\u201d then opportunity plays a larger role in determining your success<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The advantage of IQ can be likened to the advantage of height on a basketball court.<\/strong> A 6\u20193\u201d player has a clear advantage over a player who is 5\u20196\u201d. But a player who\u2019s 6\u20193\u201d and a player who\u2019s 6\u20195\u201d are probably pretty equally matched. When the height difference is so small, other factors, such as speed, agility, and strength, more heavily impact success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that their IQ does not make<\/em> some geniuses outliers, although a high IQ helps. As we\u2019ve seen in previous chapters, what truly turns someone into an outlier are the opportunities he\u2019s offered.<\/strong> After WWI, Lewis Terman, a psychologist at Stanford, decided to do a long-term study following a group of extraordinarily intelligent children, whose IQs averaged 140. He called them the \u201cTermites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terman believed that no personal attribute was more important than a person\u2019s IQ. He was excited to prove how intelligence in childhood correlated to success in adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, Lewis Terman tracked the Termites\u2019 physical, academic, and psychological developments. He was convinced that his Termites would be the great leaders of their generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nExample of the Limits of Intelligence: Lewis Terman and his Termites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n