I chose these two passages of the book because they challenge conventional thinking along with the education system, two things that need to be reformed if we are to advance as a society. Gladwell makes two connections with IQ: IQ in comparison to intelligence and IQ in comparison to imagination. First, he uses scientific research and prior knowledge to explain what IQ means, highlighting the fact that IQ does equate to success. However, there reaches a line, where anyone with an IQ above 120 is smart enough and capable of anything because the extra IQ points after 120, don't "'translate into any measurable real-world advantage'". Here's a list of the IQ's I made based on Gladwell's passage:
- 0-70 = mentally disabled
- 100+ = average / college ready
- 115+ = graduate-program ready
- 120 = the line
From this information, Gladwell creates several different connections, such as basketball where a certain height is needed to exceed in the sport but someone taller does not mean they're better. In other words, as long as someone has an IQ over 120, they are capable of being more successful than someone with a higher IQ. He brings up Einstein's IQ of 150 as an example, a list of schools for "good enough" students, and the strict education system that uses rigorous exams to admit students into such "high-degree" schools.
While I agreed with most of what Gladwell had to say, he brought up a more important point which was the combination of intelligence and ingenuity. While someone can be extremely intellectual, a certain imagination and creativity is needed to execute plans in an efficient manner and for that reason, there are "divergence tests". This is where I started acknowledging the entertainment industry. While surgeries, operations and procedures can be taught from one doctor to another; the creation of worlds through books and films, the development of fictional characters and personas, and the invention of new ways of thinking and philosophies; cannot be taught through lessons and classes. That's not to say that doctors should be devalued, but there is an obvious lack of appreciation for authors, artists and inventors that isn't glorified as doctors, lawyers and professors. Gladwell does not directly say any of these things but the connection can be made to anything that requires retrospective thinking. There is no way to discover new things without being unorthodox and unconventional with the way we perform our careers. Doctors cannot find cures, authors cannot create worlds, technology cannot advance itself, without combining intelligence and creativity.
The only thing that schools take into consideration when admitting students is their IQ and GPA. They never look into their ability to perform in the arts and their imagination, which makes intelligence over imagination institutionalized. This is a horrible system because there is a big majority of people that work better in the arts and are instead put down and told they are not smart enough.
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