I am repeating smart comments from other people but there are some reasons why such astounding results happen: Let's look at the article >Like how much the dif

I am repeating smart comments from other people but there are some reasons why such astounding results happen: Let's look at the article >Like how much the difference between my income and yours, for example, is based on our relative IQs. ... >But Heckman's research reveals something else entirely. Innate intelligence plays, at best, a 1 to 2 percent role in a child's future success. Intelligent people might have a different understanding of success than the author. Further down in the article: >But what you can control is how conscientuous you are. How diligent you are. How persistent you are. > >How hard you work. And there's one of our Elephants. For me it seems obvious that working hard can only make you happy if you love your work. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that smarter people tend to optimize for their own happiness, health, well being etc. Or of that of their family and friends instead of "working hard". Or to put it like @CJefferson > Maybe highly intelligent people don't care about being rich? Another Elephant was pointed out very well by @hyper_reality >but the article doesn't mention the huge role that being born to a rich family and having good opportunities plays We live in a time of income inequality like no other generation ever before us. Having the right parents is responsible for most of your success. Overall the article seems to have only one message. "Work harder or you don't deserve success." That's terrible and terrifying because it implies that if you are not successful. Then it's your fault for not working hard enough. At this point we should go back to the start. Smart people are more likely to understand how incredible rigged this whole thing is. So smart people avoid playing this rigged game. They don't compete with you over financial success, they are playing a different and more fulfilling game. I don't know if you guys had this, but when i was in school there were always these stupid "games" in the break, where the bullies would call anyone who didn't participate as a looser in terms of the game. It never made any sense to go to other people do something and say "I got your", "You lost", when they didn't even play the game. This didn't change when we grew up and it makes sense to handle authors of articles like this one like we did back in school. Ignore them, play our own games, don't invite them for it.