High IQ is over rated! Or is it?

Think about it.  

There are no negative or even neutral words to describe an IQ that is more than two standard deviations from the mean.  People have a High IQ, they are Gifted, Exceptional, Above Average, etc. 

The CIVIQ Society, which accepts people with an IQ of over 145, explains: 

"That high intelligence is a gift with only positive implications is a common misconception: it brings up facilities (talents, strengths and interests) on one hand, but often also specific difficulties and needs on the other."¹

IQ falls in a bell shaped curve with long tails on either end.

Two standard deviations below the mean is considered to be low IQ or mentally handicapped. We accept that people with low IQ fall outside the norm and may need additional assistance to adapt and be successful in society. 

Sadly, the same compassion and understanding does not often exist for people more than two standard deviations above the mean.  The existence of only "positive" words to describe IQ on the higher side is an example of that.

A big difficulty for people with high IQs is that the are sorely in the minority.  Though there is a long tale to the bell curve it is a narrow one.  96% of all people fall within 30 points of the mean IQ of 100.  For someone with an IQ of 146 they are 1 out of a 1000 or in other words for each person with an IQ of 146 there are about 999 people that have a lower IQ. Therefore "gifted" people are very much a minority. The world is not set up for them!  By the term "world" I mean school, the workplace, and even many social situations.  

Plus there is the additional burden of that it is not alright to talk about having a high IQ.  If you mention it you are thought to be boasting.  It cannot be discussed on any sort of equal, unemotional, and realistic footing. In fact, it is considered more politically correct to discuss hemorrhoids than IQ!  So a "gifted" person often struggles in silence; not understanding why they don't fit in and why their experience doesn't match what everyone else is telling them.

"After a particularly tough day of feeling "different", a 9-year-old, who is thinking of going underground with her abilities, says "I don't want to be a purple leaf, when the rest of the tree is green." ¹

And a child describes herself as a cube, "in a world of flat squares." ²

Things are slowly improving in the "Gifted" arena.  There is much more awareness in schools.  Children are tested at an early age for giftedness and there are many gifted programs even in public schools.  There are also many resources on the web for parents, educators, and kids to access.  (See the footnotes below for some links.)

So, back to the title of this post "High IQ is overrated! Or is it?"  I don't know if overrated is the right word.  "Koyaanisqatsi" is a Hopi word. It means "life out of balance".  (It is also the name of an avant-garde 1982 film about the frenetic speed of modern life.)  It is how I feel about the overrating of having a high IQ.  The rating is out of balance.  It exaggerates the positive aspects of the IQ without respecting the difficulties.

Footnotes:

1. The Civiq Society
2. The quotes come from the "You know you're the parent of a gifted child when . . ." page of Hoagies' Gifted Education Page.  Hoagie's is probably the very best site for parents of gifted kids and for the kids themselves.  It is a labor of love done by one couple.
3. The is cartoon by Jeff Gregory of Jagged Smile and is used with permission.  I love his blog and his cartoons!