Why do you think that this is an either-or proposition? If you have a high IQ, why can’t you also develop a strong work ethic?
Wouldn't high IQ people have to work less and have more fun just because they have that gift?
Sure,
foolish short-term thinkers may do that, but they’ll soon realize that
the world doesn’t reward doing easy things as much. Besides, you’ll get
bored with your life if you always do easy things. Learning a hard skill
does three things for you: (1) provides you with material comfort,
self-respect and pride in one’s work, and intellectual engagement, (2)
builds a strong work ethic, and (3) helps develop humility.
Education
is a great way to achieve all three. It builds grit and mental
discipline because the degree shows that you can stick with a
challenging multi-year commitment without quitting when the going gets
tough, and it gives you valuable skills if you pick the right course of
study for you.
Uneducated
high IQ people are usually useless for solving highly challenging
intellectual problems because they give up too soon since they were
never forced out of their comfort zone because everything was easy for
them in high school. They never struggled to solve novel and challenging
problems, and hence never develop the mental stamina. A challenging
university program is great training for developing and honing
intellectual skills.
It
will also build humility, like when you see other smart and brilliant
people (colleagues and professors) around you, when you see your test
scores, and when you fail at something. You will fail at some point if
you’re doing something that’s worth doing, and this will teach a lot of
lessons.
In
short, if you have a very high IQ, learn to solve harder problems
rather than coasting through life. It’ll bring you more long-term
satisfaction and will help you develop into a better human being.
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