If I reflect upon the life outcomes of the truly gifted people I have kept up with, I can divide them into a few broad categories: -A few went on to have stell

If I reflect upon the life outcomes of the truly gifted people I have kept up with, I can divide them into a few broad categories: -A few went on to have stellar careers in academia, science, medicine, law, IT, engineering, or other fields. -Some had more modest aims and settled for more ordinary work--big fish in small ponds. -Some got stuck closer to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder--some are creative types and/or have a history of addiction and self-destructive habits. I don't think there is any question that highly intelligent people learn new things quickly and grasp complex, nuanced, abstract concepts better and more readily than most other people, but the connection between intelligence and achievement, much less happiness and mental well being, is far from clear. An awful lot of very bright people simply fall through the cracks, and we will probably never know how many. I would guess that most profoundly gifted people are pretty lonely. There just aren't enough of them around, and at times it must be like seeing colors nobody else can see.