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Knowledge does not automatically lead to being skilled

Although cognitive intelligence correlated strongly with academic grades, it correlated less strongly with success in life.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Johnny Depp, Quentin Tarantino, Henry Ford, Richard Branson, Jack Dorsey, Walt Disney and many more dropped out of university at the latest, or even left school much earlier, and yet went on to achieve professional success. Were they all overachievers?

Then there are the famous underachievers, whom we all encounter at some point: they are known as those who, given their intellectual potential, should really have become airline pilots or surgeons, but things turned out differently. The overachievers, whom we didn’t think much of, yet who still performed well at school or, at the very latest, in their professional lives. The latter have suddenly gone on to found a successful and innovative company. Their teachers are then surprised. The scientific community is somewhat less taken aback.

Whilst a good intelligence test is indeed a good predictor of academic success (correlation up to r = 0.51), IQ fails much more significantly when it comes to predicting professional success (the correlation drops to r = 0.51). Even with the best correlations found in scientific research, 70% of the differences remain unexplained. There are therefore obviously a host of other factors influencing professional and life success, some of which are stronger than measured IQ.

Without delving into the lively debates surrounding IQ – whether it is innate or not – and, above all, the numerous and significant cultural, social and economic influences: knowledge clearly does not automatically translate into ability. The writer Thomas Mann had to repeat two years at school, whilst a Nobel Prize-winning physicist had to leave secondary school.

The findings from the Marshmallow Test – albeit not entirely uncontroversial – regarding life success have already hinted at this. Numerous empirical findings confirm the vital importance of non-academic, personal, social and emotional skills for success in life and career. Perseverance, ‘grit’ (a term popularised by Angela Duckworth), the ability to organise oneself, ambition, determination, creativity, a problem-solving mindset and many other cross-curricular key competences are increasingly able to compensate for cognitive prerequisites in a traditional, formal school context and are crucial even for those with high IQs. It is therefore essential to develop these skills systematically. This is a responsibility and a shared task for schools. This applies particularly to schools, as social background also plays a role in the development of these skills.

Sources and recommendations:

Prof. Stamm, Margrit (Univ. Fribourg CH): Überdurchschnittlich begabte Minderleister. Wo liegt das Versagen? - In: Die

Deutsche Schule 100 (2008) 1, S. 73-84 - URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-272409 - DOI:

10.25656/01:27240

Prof. Stamm, Margrit (Univ. Fribourg CH): Praktische Intelligenz. Ihre missachtete Rolle in der beruflichen Ausbildung. Swiss Education. margritstamm.ch

Duckworth, Angela. Grit. Why Passion and Resilience are the Secrets to Success. (2016)