Anonymous wrote:It's also about how you study. If you just reread or highlight, you will not do nearly as well as if you focus on active recall and other evidence-based techniques
This.
My brother was an All American athlete and 4.0 and Phi Beta Kappa in math at a respected university.
He would tutor his teammates (some of whom were not well prepared) on active recall and synthesizing work to adduce critical thinking. He recently passed away, and at the memorial service several of his athletic colleagues said he was the reason they graduated. I used his techniques and did extraordinarily well with them, way above my ability.
A PhD econometrics guy, he discounted IQ more than I would have guessed - averring that executive function, work ethic and behavioral stability mattered more than IQ. Psychometric testing experts typically analyze large populations, and while their conclusions have some validity, they don’t matter much when it comes to individuals. One thing the IQ tests don’t do well is measure the “spiky” nature of intelligent as it relates to particular skills. Many high IQ people are far better off not knowing their scores and should just focus on being productive and happy.