>>13610697IQ is not an absolute test for intelligence, and everybody knows it, yet there is a correlation between great achievers and successful professionals and higher IQ scores. To say IQ is completely irrelevant is to deny a lot of collective knowledge and accumulated data about the subject. But when we say “high IQ” we are not speaking of enormous IQ scores, such as those of 160-170-180 and higher, but simply IQ’s that are superior to scores like 120. In fact, there are lots of people in the world with the capacity to excel in great creative undertakes.
One of the best phrases I ever read about genius is this one, by Havelock Ellis, on his book A Study of British Genius.:
>“Genius is the happy result of a combination of many circumstances.”That’s actually perfect. Yes, you need a relatively high IQ, but you also need a proper upbringing, the exposition of the person in the right time of her life to the area of creation that is actually her personal field, the many particular characteristics of personality, like ambition, desire to excel, curiosity, obsession, courage, hard-working capacity, and many other circumstances.
It comes down to this: Genius is so rare not because we have few people with high IQ, but because high IQ is only one of the pieces of the puzzle.
The best book I have ever read on the subject is this one:
>Before the Gates of Excellence: The Determinants of Creative Geniushttp://www.amazon.com/Before-Gates-Excellence-Determinants-Creative/dp/0521376998cont
