In the clinic, patients often talk about their children like this.

"Doctor, my child... solves difficult jigsaw puzzles all by themselves, could they be a genius?"

"My daughter learns English words so quickly; she's 6 years old and has an amazing vocabulary."

Then I smile and say.

"That could be true. But just because a child is good at puzzles doesn't mean they are Einstein."

Generally, being considered smart means having an IQ above 135, which is in the top 1% according to the Wechsler scale. Based on a world population of 8 billion, that's about 80 million people.

At this point, it's more 'many people than a minority.'

Of course, it's true that they have a much higher intelligence than average, but isn't it a bit unfair to just say, "Wow, that's smart!"?

When we think of high IQ individuals, we often picture people in movies who can solve riddles in an instant or speak Latin, Spanish, and Russian fluently... but in reality, most of those scenes are just fictional stories created by writers.

Even the superstar of mathematics, Terence Tao, has admitted, "I can't do anything when I'm tired."

He may learn math quickly, but it's only 2.5 times faster than an undergraduate. And... he doesn't know much about Chinese characters because he hasn't learned them.

The important point here: high IQ individuals are still human.

The brain is like a muscle. No matter how exceptional a brain is, it cannot be used indefinitely.

No one can maintain the same level of concentration for an entire hour.

Even Usain Bolt, who sprints 100m, cannot run 10km at that speed.

High IQ individuals also get tired, make mistakes, zone out, and struggle without caffeine.

Moreover, their brain structure and neural transmission mechanisms are the same as ours. When stressed, their brain function declines. They are swayed by cognitive biases.

There have even been reports of Mensa members falling into political conspiracy theories or engaging in absurd behaviors.

Just because someone has an IQ over 135 doesn't mean their judgment of reality is always correct.

Intelligence is more complex than we think. It is commonly divided into three categories: literacy, memory, and reasoning, but the IQ tests circulating these days do not reflect all three.

Especially popular tests often focus on shape reasoning, like the 'Raven's Matrices' type.

So, it's a bit premature to say, "Am I Mensa material?" just because you scored well on that.

A Mensa member once said.

"The ability to quickly grasp the essence of a problem → quickly infer results → and make logical judgments is IQ."

While this is not incorrect, it does not imply absolute superiority.

They simply think differently; it doesn't mean they always perform better.

The depth of specialized knowledge cannot be matched by simple intelligence.

For example, let's say there is a high IQ professor.

Can that person catch up to a carpenter's eye for wood in just one day?

Or the long clinical intuition of a nurse, or the instinct of a salesperson to read people?

Absolutely not.

No matter how smart they are, they will naturally be lacking in fields they haven't studied.

Even Terence Tao has said that to fully understand the cutting-edge research of his colleagues in mathematics, he needs study time.

In other words, everyone needs time and effort to develop their brain circuits.

Perhaps among you reading this, there is a friend like that.

Someone who speaks very logically and understands things quickly.

Or someone who has always been at the top of their class in any exam since childhood.

Yes, they could definitely be high IQ individuals.

But don't be mistaken that they excel in every field.

We all have our strengths and tendencies.

I am an internist, but I am slower at inserting IVs than nurses and cannot manage diets better than dietitians.

Once we acknowledge that, we can truly begin intellectual humility and growth.

IQ? Of course, it's important. But it's not the only criterion for judging a person.

Ultimately, life is determined by EQ, SQ, and the experiences and relationships we build day by day.

By the way, with 2 out of 100 people having an IQ over 135... there must be quite a few in our hospital as well.

But today, as I go through my rounds without a cup of coffee...

IQ or whatever, I'm just feeling drowsy.