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Belgian boy Laurent Simons heads off to university aged 8.
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Rick Law:

--- Quote from: VK3DRB on November 23, 2019, 02:14:32 am ---
--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 23, 2019, 01:13:44 am ---...In one of my earlier replies in this thread, I cited the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski) example.  According to Wikipedia, he has 167 IQ and started university early and graduated younger than average.  But his inability to handle the social interaction issues led him to eventual life-imprisonment.

--- End quote ---

Ted Bundy had an IQ of 136. Another killer, Nathan Leopold, had an IQ of 210 and graduated from Uni of Michigan at age 17. He apparently spoke 15 languages.
Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz) had an IQ of 136. But most criminals, contrary to popular opinion, have a low IQ and are dumb enough to get caught.

--- End quote ---

According to the article (OP's link on the 8 year old going to college), the father said: "If he decided tomorrow to become a carpenter, that would not be a problem for us, as long as he is happy,"

The criteria for happiness changes at different stages in life.  A kid may be happy driving a taxi for now, 10 years later with a wife, a mortgage, and a baby coming...  Now, driving a taxi is not as happy as say another occupation with twice the income.  A better education before becoming a taxi driver may make the difference now, and higher IQ certainly would be a helping factor then or now.

So, I suspect, if given a choice, anyone would prefer higher IQ rather than lower.  As for me, even with the risk of becoming another Ted Bundy or worst, I wish I have/had a higher IQ and a better education.  A risk free life is impossible anyhow.
EEVblog:

--- Quote from: VK3DRB on November 23, 2019, 01:55:46 am ---
--- Quote from: EEVblog on November 22, 2019, 09:58:38 pm ---
--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 22, 2019, 09:05:09 pm ---Here is where nature is playing a cruel game on us.  If you are very high IQ, you can go to college at a very young age with the older and more mature kids.  On average, you are not even as mature as people in your own age group and now you are up against the older and more matured college age kids...   But if you do manage to get there (there being your goal) even if immaturely, you can stay ahead and get further than others.
--- End quote ---

Yet there seems to be little to no evidence that the high IQ's who graduated super early go on to be be more successful?

--- End quote ---

Plenty of evidence. Education-wise they are definitely successful because they met their goals

--- End quote ---

Ok, so they met their goals early, great, congratulations. Now what?
It's 10 years later and they aren't special any more and they are just as "successful" as everyone else. Beating most other people in a 40-50 year career race by 5 years doesn't mean much in the scheme of things. It's like sprinting in an 800m race. You might be 100 yards ahead for a while, but eventually everyone of a similar capability catches up.
EEVblog:

--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 23, 2019, 01:13:44 am ---In one of my earlier replies in this thread, I cited the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski) example.  According to Wikipedia, he has 167 IQ and started university early and graduated younger than average.  But his inability to handle the social interaction issues led him to eventual life-imprisonment.

--- End quote ---

Like I quoted above, the previous world record holder hasn't fared great. He's into stand-up comedy now?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kearney
EDIT: Seems someone has removed the reference to standup comedy.

Found this, he's been doing, in his own words "whatever":

Halcyon:

--- Quote from: EEVblog on November 23, 2019, 10:07:35 am ---
--- Quote from: VK3DRB on November 23, 2019, 01:55:46 am ---
--- Quote from: EEVblog on November 22, 2019, 09:58:38 pm ---
--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 22, 2019, 09:05:09 pm ---Here is where nature is playing a cruel game on us.  If you are very high IQ, you can go to college at a very young age with the older and more mature kids.  On average, you are not even as mature as people in your own age group and now you are up against the older and more matured college age kids...   But if you do manage to get there (there being your goal) even if immaturely, you can stay ahead and get further than others.
--- End quote ---

Yet there seems to be little to no evidence that the high IQ's who graduated super early go on to be be more successful?

--- End quote ---

Plenty of evidence. Education-wise they are definitely successful because they met their goals

--- End quote ---

Ok, so they met their goals early, great, congratulations. Now what?
It's 10 years later and they aren't special any more and they are just as "successful" as everyone else. Beating most other people in a 40-50 year career race by 5 years doesn't mean much in the scheme of things. It's like sprinting in an 800m race. You might be 100 yards ahead for a while, but eventually everyone of a similar capability catches up.
Kinda happened to me BTW, I was qualified and working in industry by the time I was 17. Meh.

--- End quote ---

I can also relate. I worked in the IT industry when I was 14 years old. By the time I was 18 and going for jobs in large national organisations, I was up against everyone else. In a way, my age was a disadvantage and in some ways it still is (I'm now in my 30's). Even now I have to work harder and achieve more because my rank/position is atypical for someone of my age and people have this impression that at certain ages, you should be achieving or earning x. I was always the youngest at school and am generally the youngest among my peers and colleagues. I frequently sit in meetings and on panels with people old enough to be my parents and even though I have the experience, qualifications and certifications to prove my worth, I'm still looked down upon by some.
Rick Law:

--- Quote from: EEVblog on November 23, 2019, 10:11:34 am ---
--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 23, 2019, 01:13:44 am ---In one of my earlier replies in this thread, I cited the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski) example.  According to Wikipedia, he has 167 IQ and started university early and graduated younger than average.  But his inability to handle the social interaction issues led him to eventual life-imprisonment.

--- End quote ---

Like I quoted above, the previous world record holder hasn't fared great. He's into stand-up comedy now?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kearney
EDIT: Seems someone has removed the reference to standup comedy.
...

--- End quote ---


--- Quote from: Halcyon on November 23, 2019, 10:14:29 am ---...
...

--- Quote from: Rick Law on November 22, 2019, 09:05:09 pm ---Here is where nature is playing a cruel game on us.  If you are very high IQ, you can go to college at a very young age with the older and more mature kids.  On average, you are not even as mature as people in your own age group and now you are up against the older and more matured college age kids...   But if you do manage to get there (there being your goal) even if immaturely, you can stay ahead and get further than others.
--- End quote ---
...
...
I can also relate. I worked in the IT industry when I was 14 years old. By the time I was 18 and going for jobs in large national organisations, I was up against everyone else. In a way, my age was a disadvantage and in some ways it still is (I'm now in my 30's). Even now I have to work harder and achieve more because my rank/position is atypical for someone of my age and people have this impression that at certain ages, you should be achieving or earning x. I was always the youngest at school and am generally the youngest among my peers and colleagues. I frequently sit in meetings and on panels with people old enough to be my parents and even though I have the experience, qualifications and certifications to prove my worth, I'm still looked down upon by some.

--- End quote ---

Here hides the irony of the "cruel game", isn't it.  High IQ gives you a head start and higher potential, but high IQ is not an assurance of success.  It is a cruel irony that one with higher IQ will be up against worst odds - by likely being behind one's peers in maturity, experience, and perceived stature.

I don't think we can find a definition of success that we can all agree on.  Someone may just see being a stand-up comedian as what he/she wants to be and thus a being one is a huge success.  Others may want to be a auto-mechanic and being that would is a huge success.  Both being comedian or being mechanic likely could have been accomplished equally well by someone with much lower IQ, but what the heck, the guy is happy so he succeeded.  Right?

I used to be in the camp "as long as he/she is happy" but then I came to conclude that one may eventually asks "who moved my cheese".  So I came to conclude that availability of options is an important criteria for sustained happiness.  So, the more options one has, the more successful one is.

Having a good education (job qualification) and resource (money) is probably a good way to have more options - money to last till you find the moved cheese and acceptability (job qualification) when you do find it.  Better yet, once one stores up enough resources (money in the bank), one has one's own stock of cheese that no others can move.  Now one can spend one's time planning for the next expedition to the Himalayas, or the next trip to the local pub, or even buy your own pub so you can be the stand-up comedian there without ever worry about being kicked out.

Having higher IQ helps both in education and income, so from my perspective having higher IQ increases the potential of being happy, but it is not a guarantee to happiness and the probability of success is probably lower than average due to nature's cruel game.
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