Research has revealed that there is a high correlation among performance on IQ tests, SATs and achievement in abstract subjects such as mathematics and physics. For example, The figure below from the College Board gives the average SAT score by college major for the year 2014.
We see that the highest average SAT scores are earned by those in the STEM subjects. In their controversial, but seminal book, The Bell Curve, Herrnstein and Murray identify those in the “high-IQ professions.” These include accountants, architects, chemists, college teachers, dentists, engineers, lawyers, and physicians. They state:
The mean IQ of people entering those fields is about 120, give or take a few points. The state of knowledge is not perfect, and the sorting process is not precise. Different studies find slightly different means for these occupations, with some suggesting that physicians have a mean closer to 125, for example. Theoretical physicists probably average higher than natural scientists in general.
Subjects like theoretical physics require a high degree of abstraction and exceptional pattern recognition skills, enabling the identification of underlying links connecting what appear to others as unrelated entities. Those who possess such skills almost inevitably demonstrate a high IQ. In essence, a high IQ is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to achieve at the level of Albert Einstein.
Hard work, is indeed, another necessary condition for achievement at Einstein’s level. In 1905, during his annus mirabilis (miracle year) Einstein published 4 outstanding papers, each one of which would have earned him a place as one of the greatest physicists in history. These papers were the result of intense hard work over a prolonged period of time.
In addition to his high intelligence and strong work ethic, Einstein, as a young man, had the self-confidence, that some interpreted as arrogance, to reject the accepted beliefs in the community of physicists and challenge the idea that time is absolute and that light is a wave propagated through ether. Self-efficacy, a high IQ and a strong work ethic were three necessary components underpinning his achievements. In spite of the importance of a high IQ for certain endeavors there are some caveats associated with a high IQ (See: I know a 140 IQ is good, but what does it really do? – Intelligence and IQ )
