Some People Are Simply Born Smarter Than Others Essay

Is it true that some people are simply born smarter than others? Does one's intelligence affect their success? Intelligence is how well one's brain works, essentially their cognitive ability. Intelligence can best be evaluated through IQ tests (Karson, "Aren't Some People Just Smarter Than Others?"). Some people may argue that previous knowledge can alter the results of an IQ test. However, it is simply impossible to develop a test that is not altered by previous knowledge; therefore, an IQ test is the optimal method to measure one's true intelligence (Kaufman, "What do IQ tests test?"). To track the relevance of IQ in one's life, a study was conducted by Lewis Termin. Termin identified the brightest children around the nation, whose IQ scores ranged between 140 and 200. He then proceeded to track these children for the rest of their life, measuring their success. Over time, these children became some of the most successful individuals within the United States. In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell concludes Termin's study by claiming, "the higher your score, the more education you'll get, the more money you're likely to make, and - believe it or not - …show more content…
Although IQ gives a general idea about future success, there is still a decent amount of hard work necessary for success. People with high IQ's do not achieve their success simply by watching Netflix all day. Researchers often discuss the ten year rule: it takes a minimum ten years of hard work in order for anyone, including geniuses, to become successful in any occupation (Gorny, "Ten-Year Rule"). Although IQ is very important for success, hard work is also a necessity. An IQ simply determines how hard one will have to work in order to achieve success. A person with a lower IQ will have to work harder to achieve their success. Whereas, a person with a higher IQ will only have to put in minimal work to achieve success. (create a stellar