Three mistakes we make when relating intelligence and success

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Exceeded a certain threshold of intellectual quotient, emotional management skills or our determination are much more important

 

Intelligence fascinates. Many parents want their children to have high IQs and there are companies that still select their candidates based on diagnoses of this type. We were wrong. The intellectual quotient does not guarantee success and, much less, in complex environments such as the current ones, as demonstrated by endless research. Let's see what are the most widespread po[CENSORED]r beliefs and how studies end them.

First erroneous belief: the intellectual quotient (CI) is accompanied by success. The first study that dismantles this correlation of ideas was carried out by Lewis Terman, a professor at Stanford University, in 1921. Terman became obsessed with identifying and recording the evolution of the most intelligent children in the United States. He reviewed the records of 250,000 primary and secondary students and selected the 1,470 with the highest IQ. In some cases they exceeded 200 points. To get an idea of the intellectual potential we must remember that the estimate of Einstein's intelligence is marked around 160. Terman called the group of students as The Termites because, in theory, they were going to eat the world. However, the results were not as expected.

After decades of careful monitoring of his termites, which he collected in his books Genetic studies of genius, Terman found that children, already adults, had not obtained the expected public notoriety or made significant contributions to society. It is true that among them there were two judges of higher courts, some prominent civil servant, businessmen of certain success ... but most had normal careers and some, even, had failed. The standard of living of Termites was high, but not as much as expected. Moreover, it seems that if he had chosen 1,470 children at random, they would have achieved similar results. Therefore, a very high IQ does not guarantee success. This is where the window of opportunity opens for most of us, who do not even reach the 200 points of CI.

The second misconception is to think that the intellectual quotient is fixed. We believe that we play roulette when we are born. The ball falls into a number and from there we do not move. Interestingly, it was the creator of the concept of CI, Alfred Binet, who in the early twentieth century received a commission from the French Government to assess the children's ability to learn. The authorities were alarmed by the huge school failure. Binet carried out this work in collaboration with other experts and his conclusion was clear: the intellectual quotient changes and varies over time. It depends on education and other attitudes. However, years later the pattern was standardized and we fell into the error of turning it into the game of genetic roulette. Decades later it has been proven that the growth mentality or the abilities of teachers and educators influence the scores. Obviously, it does not seem that it can be duplicated, but the intellectual quotient can vary over time.

Third mistaken belief: the intellectual quotient is sufficient to achieve significant success. Happiness does not depend on intelligence, but it does seem that to achieve certain relevant objectives you must have a minimum IQ. The po[CENSORED]tion average is 100 points, but to highlight, different authors suggest exceeding the threshold of 120. Others place the bar below, as Malcol Gladwell beautifully describes in his book Out of series. As we see, the IC does not guarantee significant success, which depends more on other factors such as creativity, emotional intelligence or the ability to manage the emotions that American psychologist Daniel Goleman po[CENSORED]rized.

Success also depends on our abilities to find practical solutions to everyday problems, as José Antonio Marina proposed with his executive intelligence; or the strength of determination, which causes a person not to give up on their efforts. In summary, over a certain threshold in the IC, to succeed in life, emotional management skills, our strengths or our determination are much more important than intelligence itself. Extraordinary achievements are less due to talent than opportunity.