The Trouble with Geniuses Part 1 and 2

In my Gifted and Talented class we have been reading the book, Outliers, and right now we are on the Chapter "The Trouble with Geniuses Part 1 and Part 2.  An Outliers, is person who is different than what is usually expected. In summary, it says how many even though a person may be a genius, there is one very big aspect of what makes them more successful than another Genius.  That one aspect would be, their background (where they live, culture, parents, family, etc.).  Even though you may have been born smart;with a large I.Q, and special skills, if you did not have a good basic foundation as a child, you wouldn't be as successful as another person with a large I.Q and skills.


In Chapters 3 and 4 of Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells us about the smartest man in the world, Chris Langan, with an I.Q of 195 (larger than Albert Einstein- 190).  Though this man has the highest I.Q ever recorded he, had a rough childhood, got kicked out of college (his mother didn't sign the papers), and worked as bar bouncer some time in his life.  Langan may have had book smarts, but with street smarts he was very lost.  


Malcolm Gladwell also says in Chapters 3 and 4, he states how someone who has had a better and richer lifestyle would probably be more successful, than a person who was born in the streets, and mostly had to fend for him/herself.


So, the question I must ask myself is, "Is Chris Langan successful?"  In my opinion, I DO believe that Chris Langan is successful.  I believe this because, even though he may not be rich and living in a mansion, he has a loving wife, a home, animals to take care of, and he is content.  Compared to where he could be right now, maybe still being a bar bouncer, or on the streets.  Chris Langan had turned his life from poor boy with a bad background, into a normal guy....... with a VERY high I.Q.  However, I do believe that Chris Langan could have done soooo much more with his life.  He could have gone back to college, or tried to extend his knowledge to others, instead of just hiding his brain in his own house, and reading books, and trying to find a theory of the universe.
Also, in these two chapters, they tell us about practical intelligence.  Practical intelligence is, the ability to know right from wrong. Also, how to survive in the real world.  In these chapters they also mention 'concerted cultivation,'  which is how a parent, or parents, raise the child.  The way that they raise their child will affect how he/she will be like in the future.  In other words, they "cultivated" the child, so that they will be better in the future.  Usually, more richer families get more "cultivation" than poorer families.


What I learned and will take away from these two chapters are: to always strive for greatness, and that I am very lucky to have been given such a wonderful life, because if I didn't I'd probably not be in a nice house, with family, or school, or friends; my life may have been turned upside down.  So, I'm much more grateful for the gifts I have been given.