For the super smart, there's definitely work for them to do, but it's pretty limited stuff and you really have to like physics or math to do it. Are you sure?

For the super smart, there's definitely work for them to do, but it's pretty limited stuff and you really have to like physics or math to do it. Are you sure? Who's to say the super-smart couldn't help us with other more mundane problems like understanding each other better, being more productive, thinking more rationally, etc.? I've had useful insights on these three topics that seemed very clever to me and I know of friends who have also had such useful, clever insights. At the top of any HN comment thread, you're likely to see some clever, apt insight on a topic unrelated to science & math. Regarding your examples, Marilyn vos Savant's IQ seems pretty sketchy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant#Rise_to_fame_and_IQ_score https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant#Rise_to_fam... I don't know what evidence you have that Scott Adams is supersmart; he's a Mensa member, but I suspect many HN users could become Mensa members if they wanted to (an acquaintance reports that the intellectual caliber of a Mensa meetup is around that of a science fiction convention; the top 2% of the population is simply not that high of a bar). I do agree that after you reach a certain IQ, determination, habits, ambition, rationality, etc. become larger determining factors in your level of success. But if you are smart enough you can optimize those manually for yourself ;)