An ongoing study suggests that drive and persistence can only take you so far. That's what a team of scientists at Vanderbilt found after a 45-year-long study.
In fact, some of the most influential leaders of our age had what it takes at birth: super intelligence. That means scoring in the top 3% on the SAT by age 13.
Kids who achieved this impressive feat had two main abilities in common: they could solve math problems they'd never been taught and they had exceptional spatial awareness - meaning they could remember spatial relationships between objects exceptionally well.
"When you look at the issues facing society now - whether it's health care, climate change, terrorism, energy - these are the kids who have the most potential to solve these problems." said, David Lubinski, co-director of SMPY, Vanderbilt University.
Reader Comments
I was very relieved recently, when I re-met a cousin after many years and found out that he had not become as intelligent as his father.
This made him much more likeable and a more decent person. We could definitely use more decent people in the world, today. And quite a bit less of the other.
This article is completely stupid.
The highly intelligent are completely stupid.
Now can anyone who is not highly intelligent see why?
ned, out
Questions that need answers: How many of us 'see' math problems in our head? How many of us know there are those that can and those that can't? What % of US babies as opposed to foreign born grow to 'see' math problems in their heads? This is what the researchers did not say but actually mean by spatial awareness. Can the ability be destroyed by stress or toxins? We now have 10% mental impairment of babies that grow up with autism and LD (mental retardation). Is there an epigene that turn off this ability? Science says that most of our genes are turned off. Were they turned off by environmental or man-induced (war) stress? Radioactivity or solar CMEs? In our history of humans we see fantastic cave paintings that incorporate the shape of the wall and the flow of the stone, modern in every way. And before that we suspect our ancient selves had extraordinary understanding of math and astronomical concepts. Was there a catastrophic event that emphasized the right brain over the left? That robbed us of our math ability and left us strong social and art awareness? As we are now, susceptible to media brainwashing?
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Einstein himself claimed that he thought visually rather than verbally. Professor Laurie Hall of Cambridge University, commenting on the study........
Albert Einstein never wore socks.
That's about the only two things I have in common with the guy.
When it comes to maths skills, all I can say is: It's a bloody good job I've got fingers.
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Was the h intended as an adjustment?