{"id":613,"date":"2019-07-28T11:40:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T15:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=613"},"modified":"2022-03-04T16:27:07","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T20:27:07","slug":"christopher-langan-outliers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/christopher-langan-outliers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Christopher Langan So Unsuccessful? (Outliers)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christopher Langan<\/strong> is the smartest man alive, with an IQ of 195 (for comparison, Einstein\u2019s was 150). But he has spent most of his life as a bouncer in a bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Oppenheimer<\/strong> was also a genius. The theoretical physicist and father of the atomic bomb was one of the most important figures of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are the career trajectories of these two geniuses so dramatically different? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Money certainly played a role\u2014Langan grew up in poverty and Oppenheimer\u2019s family was well-off. But beyond the direct advantages of wealth, Oppenheimer benefitted from wealth\u2019s indirect advantages<\/strong>, including being raised in the \u201cconcerted cultivation\u201d style and learning the practical intelligence<\/a> needed to talk his way out of numerous controversies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, Langan was raised in the accomplishment-of-natural-growth parenting style. He never developed the practical intelligence<\/a> that would have given him opportunities to succeed.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Langan\u2019s Lack of Practical Intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When he was a child, Chris Langan\u2019s intellectual feats were astonishing. Among other talents, he could speak at six months, read at age three, and question the existence of God by age five. He got a perfect score on the SAT, even though he fell asleep during the test. He could ace foreign language exams by simply skimming a textbook minutes before class. He loved to learn, studying math, languages, and philosophy for hours on his own each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Chris Langan\u2019s early life lacked the support and opportunity necessary to nurture and develop his gifts.<\/strong> Gladwell suggests that Christopher Langan\u2019s family experiences failed to instill in him the practical intelligence needed for success. <\/strong>He didn\u2019t know how to ask for what he wanted and get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He grew up in poverty and remembers owning a single outfit as a child and wearing shoes covered in holes. His stepfather was physically abusive, and even after Chris Langan seemed to have escaped his dismal life, arriving at Reed College, he experienced a series of setbacks. His lack of practical intelligence prevented him from overcoming the setbacks:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setback #1:<\/strong> Although Chris Langan earned a full-ride scholarship to Reed, his mother neglected to sign the financial aid forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n