The post below was written in response to a question from Leslie.
Leslie, a person of average student can raise their performance in school or college by immersing themselves in their studies and developing a deep interest in the content. When you are excited by the content of a subject, you can invest long hours in its mastery. That will yield you much higher grades than passively attempting to pass tests or complete assignments. It’s about going that extra mile or kilometre. The same recommendation applies to getting into strong physical shape, or perfecting your performance in a sport.
While a person of average IQ cannot increase their IQ by 30 or 40 points through hard work, it is possible to make substantial gains. A significant part of IQ is genetic and genes cannot be changed dramatically though work or practice. The good news is that recent studies in epigenetics suggest that certain genes can be “switched on” or “off” by environmental factors, so it is possible that you could increase your IQ a little during your formative years, i.e., before adulthood. A recent study suggested that some teenagers were able to change their IQ’s by as much as a standard deviation through intense work. (See: Post: Can You change your IQ? – Intelligence and IQ.)
Intense focus, combined with high interest, as well as high IQ can go a long way toward yielding results that some would perceive as “genius.” Today (January 11) is the birthday of Alexander Hamilton, one of the major contributors to the creation of the US federal government. As Secretary of the US Treasury, he founded the first US bank and the US mint, but never regarded himself as a genius, merely stating:
Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.
