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Furthermore, in adulthood, actual life outcomes are generally known and, consequently, a predictive tool is of limited value. Save as a diagnostic tool for very high IQ individuals, it is not sufficiently predictive to be reliably used on an individual case basis. However, because of the moderate r values of its correlates, IQ is primarily of value in understanding the characteristics and interactions of large populations. It has also been shown to accurately measure what people mean when they use the words 'intelligent' or 'smart'. It is directly correlated, over most of its range, with positive life outcomes and inversely correlated with negative ones. A very large body of scientific evidence shows that IQ tests measure a polygenetic trait, g, that exhibits moderate phenotypic variation. The science does not support either assertion. Gould's book, 'The Mismeasure of Man' subscribe to the assertion that IQ is a useless oversimplification that primarily measures how well a person takes IQ tests. For example, it was widely reported that Garry Kasparov has an IQ of 190. Many people credulously accept that the eminent have very high IQs and that people of ordinary accomplishment have ordinary IQs.
![the polymath the polymath](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*CTrf1C4kIB3DNymx2WWoQw.png)
In the popular culture, IQ has become a point of contention. Consequently, remediation should focus on creating more appropriate environments. However, the evidence that exists suggests that it is not the result of a compensatory flaw, but rather the result of inappropriate educational and productive environments within which the high IQ person must strive to succeed. In order to be explanatory, the flaw would need to increase with IQ. The very limited research that has been done on this phenomenon has focused on possible flaws in high IQ people that might explain the exclusion.
![the polymath the polymath](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/593ae6089f7456e1d8c41f8d/1497036994013-RH1ZGDARHZUNCMYE4OSS/Polypic.png)
The above statistics are the result of dividing the Gaussian distribution of 126 with a standard deviation of 6.7 by the IQ distribution of the total population. For the high IQ person it is a personal tragedy, commonly resulting in unrealized social, educational and productive potential. For society, it is a horrendous waste of a very valuable resource. This benefits neither the excluded group nor society in general. By 150 IQ the probability has fallen from its peak by 97%! In other words, a significant percentage of people with IQs over 140 are being systematically and, most likely inappropriately, excluded from the population that addresses the biggest problems of our time or who are responsible for assuring the efficient operation of social, scientific, political and economic institutions. The probability of entering and remaining in an intellectually elite profession such as Physician, Judge, Professor, Scientist, Corporate Executive, etc.