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This article is a bit of a mess regarding who it is talking about. It hops around and changes it's target constantly. Sometimes it is talking about people in t

This article is a bit of a mess regarding who it is talking about. It hops around and changes it's target constantly. Sometimes it is talking about people in the .01%, AKA, 1 in 10000, so actual geniuses. Sometimes discussing people in the above average range, IQ of 120+, which is about 10% of the population (depending on your test), as well as people in gifted programs, which again, depending on your test is the top 1 or 2%. These are three different cohorts with different needs. The top 10% need to be continually challenged so they can find satisfying careers. These are your class president types, people who really excel within the program, I think society serves these types well. The top 1% are your gifted people (again, I know definitions vary), and they usually need something extra. Depends on the person, but it might be extra math or extra latin studies, or the ability to do side projects, but they generally flourish with something special. The top .01% though? I have no idea. Most here on HN are in one of the other two groups (sorry, me too). The article seems to say that they just need to skip grades. But it's hard to tell if they are right since they are talking about a moving target. (Edit: Adjusted the % for IQ of 120 based on this chart: http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/iqtable.aspx)

mhurron 10y ago
> Most here on HN are in one of the other two groups What would make you say that? Since there is no actual filter and no one is actually forcing any requirement, it should be that most of any group are somewhat similar to the standard distribution of the population, so most on HN should be like most of any other group, bog standard average. I know I am.
- Practicality 10y ago
  The topics and the community are both a filter and forcing a requirement. From my own observation I would wager that a majority here are in that top 10% . People are not just randomly assigned to reading and commenting on Hacker News. It's an intellectual community that would naturally attract those who have such skills.
  - mhurron 10y ago
    > People are not just randomly assigned to reading and commenting on Hacker News No they randomly show up being either directly or tangentially associated with either technology or startup culture. That's it. And while those people really do love to think of themselves as more intelligent than the general population, I don't see it.
    - Practicality 10y ago
      The most recent data I can find on that is 20 years old so it's hard to say: http://sq.4mg.com/IQ-jobs.htm http://sq.4mg.com/IQ-jobs.htm If you go by the "engineering" part of that, then average would be 125, if you go by "computer occupations" then average is a little over 110. Regarding entrepreneurs, there isn't much data. I found this quote "A more recent working paper by Simeon Djankov of the World Bank, Yingyi Qian of the University of California at Berkeley, Gérard Roland of the University of California at Berkeley, and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya of the Center for Economic and Policy Research examined “400 entrepreneurs and 540 non-entrepreneurs of the same age, gender, education and location in 7 Brazilian cities” and found that the “entrepreneurs scored quite higher on cognitive scores…” http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/10/how-smart-is-the-average-entrepreneur-2.html http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/10/how-smart-is-the-average-e... Either way, the data does seem to agree that people on HN should be higher than average. I would also argue that the community here will tend to dissuade people who make nonsensical arguments from sticking around, which would filter out people as well.
      - mhurron 10y ago
        That intelligence can be distilled down to a single number is bullshit. IQ score is meaningless. http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00584-3 http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00584-3
        Practicality 10y ago
        That may or may not be true, but it's not what we were talking about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts#Logical_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts#Logical_f...
RhysU 10y ago
> The article seems to say that they just need to skip grades. +1 for skipping. Mentally, socially, and physically challenging.

mhurron 10y ago

> Most here on HN are in one of the other two groups What would make you say that? Since there is no actual filter and no one is actually forcing any requirement, it should be that most of any group are somewhat similar to the standard distribution of the population, so most on HN should be like most of any other group, bog standard average. I know I am.

Practicality 10y ago
The topics and the community are both a filter and forcing a requirement. From my own observation I would wager that a majority here are in that top 10% . People are not just randomly assigned to reading and commenting on Hacker News. It's an intellectual community that would naturally attract those who have such skills.
- mhurron 10y ago
  > People are not just randomly assigned to reading and commenting on Hacker News No they randomly show up being either directly or tangentially associated with either technology or startup culture. That's it. And while those people really do love to think of themselves as more intelligent than the general population, I don't see it.
  - Practicality 10y ago
    The most recent data I can find on that is 20 years old so it's hard to say: http://sq.4mg.com/IQ-jobs.htm http://sq.4mg.com/IQ-jobs.htm If you go by the "engineering" part of that, then average would be 125, if you go by "computer occupations" then average is a little over 110. Regarding entrepreneurs, there isn't much data. I found this quote "A more recent working paper by Simeon Djankov of the World Bank, Yingyi Qian of the University of California at Berkeley, Gérard Roland of the University of California at Berkeley, and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya of the Center for Economic and Policy Research examined “400 entrepreneurs and 540 non-entrepreneurs of the same age, gender, education and location in 7 Brazilian cities” and found that the “entrepreneurs scored quite higher on cognitive scores…” http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/10/how-smart-is-the-average-entrepreneur-2.html http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/10/how-smart-is-the-average-e... Either way, the data does seem to agree that people on HN should be higher than average. I would also argue that the community here will tend to dissuade people who make nonsensical arguments from sticking around, which would filter out people as well.
    - mhurron 10y ago
      That intelligence can be distilled down to a single number is bullshit. IQ score is meaningless. http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00584-3 http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00584-3
      - Practicality 10y ago
        That may or may not be true, but it's not what we were talking about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts#Logical_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts#Logical_f...

RhysU 10y ago

> The article seems to say that they just need to skip grades. +1 for skipping. Mentally, socially, and physically challenging.