August 22, 2025
I have often spoken of my experiences as a gifted child, and I have to say most of it was negative.
In the way of definition, a gifted individual clocks in with an IQ of 130 to 145. Near genius/genius at 146 and above. Sometimes, IQ can be extrapolated by accomplishment. Thus, Einstein at 160-180, Sir Issac Newton 180-200.
For those who didn’t read the Tuba piece:
I was undiagnosed until by accident, in my early 20’s, I took the GMAT exam (Graduate Management Admissions Test) to qualify for graduate school. I scored 98th percentile in math and 99th percentile in verbal. Mensa allows various proctored exams to count, not just an IQ test. There is an ironic cruelty to it. I was undiagnosed in part because I was a very average student…who would test C student for IQ? Talk about a negative feedback loop!
High IQ is not all encompassing. For example, I am so terrible at directions, I have for most of my life taken a picture of my hotel room number and the hallway leading to it, so I am not lost. I will consistently take the wrong turn in a car. I once spoke at a professional investment conference with two left shoes on.
The best: I was recently giving myself a Muonjuro injection and simultaneously thinking about a trading problem I had. I held the wrong end and as I pressed down, the plunger went into my thumb. My immediate thought was “I wonder if my thumb will get skinny.” Sorry, that’s screwed up.
Throughout my childhood and right through to graduate school, I often felt out of place with my peers, bored in school, always seeming to teeter on the edge of failure. I just didn’t fit. It contributed to a social awkwardness (read: various embarrassments) that I finally shed, but my friends will attest that I can still be awkward.
I never did well enough in any subject to quality for advanced placement. This is not pleasant.
IQ is rarely discussed, in great part, because people learn that it’s not generally welcomed positively. I mean if you say it, then are you bragging about it? How attractive is that? In my experience with Mensa, the answer is no. Mensans do not discuss their IQ let alone brag about it. If anything, they hide it. In great part, it’s a pain point.
I’ve often spoken of this to people (as here), to encourage them to take a new look at the kids around them who share these characteristics and who, like me, are undiagnosed. To help them avoid the painful aspects that giftedness can create.
Gifted kids trade off IQ for social difficulties. It’s not a one-way happy street. You hear about a 12-year-old taking a college freshman course. Wow! Smart! But think about that 12-year-old trying to relate to 18-year-olds…her classmates.
So, a three-part series on giftedness in kids. If you have no interest, you can skip all of it…it’s a fairly narrow field of interest and I will clearly label the pieces.
But if you read it, and it resonates in a kid you know, then have him/her tested. Absolutely. Because once they know, and you know, you can tailor solutions for them to ease the load and make life a better one for them.
That’s worth the effort, without any doubt.
Part 1 follows this introduction, the final next week.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
