This section aims at helping the reader understand where, he or she, stands compared to others in
the intelligence continuum.
The first segment of each subdivision is dedicated to the observation of the natural characteristics
of the members of each range, seen from an observer’s standpoint. You might recognize these
behaviors or functioning modes in people you know.
The second part (the quiz) is the inner vision, someone in that range, has of him or herself or
how, he or she, usually feels. It’s what one needs to focus on to discover, whether or not, one
belongs to that range.
In every chapter, you’ll give yourself a point for each time you agree with one of its 20 statements.
The higher mark will correspond to the range you most likely belong to. In case you find almost
the same number of points for two consecutive ranges, your score will presumably be close to the
boundary separating those two ranges (If, for example, you’ve given yourself nearly the same
number of points in the Superior Range (115-129) and the Moderately Gifted Range (130-144),
chances are, your score is close to 130).
I will strive to present each range with its own habitual characteristics. They are obviously
simply strong behavioral tendencies. Of course, some people may have, or appear to have, a
few dissimilar qualities that vary from the typical conduct or the classic inner feelings that I’m
describing. Furthermore, the more an individual is on the autism spectrum279 or suffers from
serious mental illness280 the less accurate this portrayal.
Events, taken from the lives of people, I have had the honor to repeatedly converse with, will
illustrate the particularities I’m commenting upon.
I will predominantly focus on the “above average” intelligence ranges, for most people who are
genuinely interested in that matter, are commonly under the impression they exceed the
intellectual norm, and that, with good reason.
Throughout this book, I equate an I.Q. score with its corresponding intelligence quantity and
quality, it doesn’t merely represent a rarity rank without substance.
You will notice a gradual shift in the abilities and personalities or the Neurotypicals255, “The
Normies”, whereas the Neuro-atypicals255-256, “The Gifted”, show divergent traits and skills.
If you're looking for an easy estimate of someone's cleverness, notice which I.Q. range his or her
friends belong to. A person almost always navigates willingly around peers sporting an I.Q. score
less than 20 points82, from him- or herself.
Chapter 1: The “Normies”, The Neurotypicals
(IQ: 70 to 129) 95%
The “Normies”, as opposed to the “Gifted”, are regular people. You will meet them almost
everywhere since they amount to 95% of a given population. They are considered neurotypical255
for their brains are “wired” in the conventional way and their cognitive abilities are average or
nearly average in all subtests120-122. They naturally show an analytical103, step by step, thinking
process and, being more detail oriented125, can’t see the big picture. As a result, they mostly shun
away from concepts. Except for members of the Superior Range, the “Normies” are, on average,
not particularly interested in intellectual or cultural matters123-137.
They embody the concept of “ordinariness”.
Because they are social creatures138 who display strong tendencies to pattern themselves after
those they interact with, they appreciate being around other neurotypicals with whom they share
many likings and values.
They tend to partake the general opinions and ethics of the majority124-153, not second-guessing
themselves much, feeling strong in the certainty they are respectable regular people and regarded
as such. Not being very creative or adventurous110-123, they never stray far away from their peers,
doing many conventional activities together, enjoying simple pleasures.
They exemplify the concept of group-thinking.
The “Normies" possess decent336 memory, essentially in what draws their attention, and are fond
of popular culture350. They don’t project themselves into loads of potential consequences123-124-137
that could shake their resolve; they’d rather bask in the present and work towards realistic
ordinary goals: a nice life, good friends, a family, health, money, and a lot of leisure time.
They symbolize the concept of conventionality.
Provided everything is fine with them and their loved ones, they are inclined to temperate
emotions121, serenity and nonchalance for they customarily feel accepted and understood by the
general population.
They personify the concept of belonging.
The whole entertainment industry, as well as the school system and many other structures have
been conceived for these people. Their likes, dislikes, ideals, and their aptitudes have shaped our
world.
They characterize the concept of “normality”.
The “Normies” comprise the Inferior Range, the Lower and Upper Normal Ranges, and the
Superior range, which serves as the link between Neurotypicals and Neuro-atypicals255-256 by
presenting qualities from both realms.
1. The Inferior Range (IQ: 70 to 84) 14%
People in the Inferior Range represent about 14% of the general population; their I.Q. score is
found between 70 and 84. Even if they exhibit difficulties123-142 with everyday life situations,
they are, in no way, considered mentally handicapped.
I will illustrate the matter at hand with situations taken from the lives of Kate, Kevin, Tom,
Sherman, Gian-Carlo and Chester, all members of that particular range. Of course, all the
names have been changed and these situations have been somewhat modified for privacy reasons.
Limited Thinking and Learning Abilities at the Inferior Range:
Inferior Rangers are not fans of intellectual efforts123, their brains being more sluggish than
average. They bask in total certainties123-124 rather than shades of gray and are very adamant124
about topics they know very little about, for they overestimate their capacities124 in addition to
having trouble understanding another’s viewpoint123. Their thinking remains superficial and
simplistic124 given that, they are not really aware of obvious connections125 between different
events, and they struggle with thought malleability123.
They are slow142 and reluctant123 learners, school being challenging for them, they seldom fare
much beyond junior high126-127.
Kate has trouble doing anything on her own; she makes the same mistakes over and over again,
taking a long time to learn from them, always asking how to do certain tasks.
Gian-Carlo was adamant his bike was broken until a co-worker let him know he had assembled
the handlebar backwards.
Lack of Independence of Mind at the Inferior Range:
Dependent upon others for opinions, Inferior Rangers commonly think like their peers124 or
family; every notion acquired at an early age is set in stone278 and remains valid for life
regardless of new information. Having a tough time distancing themselves from what’s
happening around them, they are unable to put anything in perspective enough to have actual
personal opinions277. They regularly exhibit a sort of hive mentality124.
Kate tends to wait for her peers to have an opinion before she ventures to speak, then she agrees
with what they just said.
Since these people very much depend on the opinions of others, they need to feel respected. To
reach that goal, they very much insist on being treated as politely351 as their culture allows.
Kate gets offended when she only gets a regular “Hello" instead of a “Hello M'am".
Lack of Intuition at the Inferior Range:
People at the Inferior Range are unable to infer277 anything from observation, parts of a same
occurrence being considered separate125. Consequently, they demonstrate no particular intuition
skill.
They absorb everything in a simplistic manner, never looking for answers123 or doubting what
they are told142. Inferior Rangers are sadly inclined to be gullible and easily deceived. Besides,
their innate sense of how to sustain a health-conscious and harmonious life is limited, often
prompting them to make the wrong interpersonal123 or diet-related decisions342.
Kevin buys sneakers and phones to show-off to his friends but lacks money to buy healthy food;
consequently, after a few years of pizzas and burgers, he is on the brink of having type-two
diabetes.
Sherman, who can go heavy on the bottle, fathered an unwanted child during a one-night stand.
People in that range are also impervious to sarcasm125 and higher forms of humor278.
Kevin only laughs at graphic humor and misses all the puns and witty remarks.
Lack of Empathy at the Inferior Range:
Unable to put themselves in other people’s shoes123, or to make sense of their own feelings125,
the individuals pertaining to that range, lack empathy123 and typically exhibit a vindictive
personality277, sometimes, coupled with a victim mentality.
They hate criticism123 but are frequently intolerant124 of those who think or act differently from
the values or customs of the social groups they belong to. They consider the world to revolve
around them278 and their kin, so, politeness and civility are pretty much alien to them.
Kevin listens to music really loudly on the bus, oblivious to the discomfort of the other passengers.
Nervous Issues at the Inferior Range:
The members of that range are very instinctive278 and impatient124, incapable of appreciating the
greater reward, one can reap, when taking the time to hone a skill, investing in a career, or
simply behaving responsibly.
Unable to curb their impulses124 they may come off as domineering and aggressive. Often putting
themselves first124, they don’t care much about others except their immediate family. They are
often heard quarreling with their relatives or innocent bystanders as they tend to make rash
choices123.
Tom loves his son but doesn’t seem to tolerate anyone else, he keeps shouting at neighbors and
passers-by for no obvious reason.
A sad consequence to their poor decision making123, their sometimes-rough behavior and tense
relationships125, is a higher risk of personality disorders128-129, schizophrenia128-129 and
depression129 than in the average population.
Tom and his wife suffer from depression and schizo-affective disorders, their place is a pigsty but,
having little energy to keep everything clean, they don’t seem to mind.
Ethics Issues at the Inferior Range:
Inferior rangers don’t always abide by the rules and may get themselves into trouble with the
law124 as they disregard or even misunderstand the consequences278-288 of their actions.
Assuming their sometimes less than satisfying life, is the result of mere bad luck, they may feel
entitled352 and, at times, try to get preferential treatment over those who put in the efforts.
Chester thinks his neighborhood should help him out even if he’s always been obnoxious to
everyone.
People whose I.Q. fall in that range tend to be, not only religious, but dogmatic124 and inflexible,
scrupulously respecting rites they understand little and especially making sure others follow in
their footsteps.
Extraversion at the Inferior Range:
Just like children, Inferior Rangers are, at the same time, dependent142 upon others, and self-
centered278. Surprisingly, in spite of that, they are no stranger to self-confidence123 for, having
been unable to notice any contradictory facts, they never second-guess themselves.
They may be dependent on friends and family for daily chores or tasks, having trouble using
appliances, filling out forms or doing anything a little unfamiliar on their own. Consequently,
extraversion144 is paramount to their psychological well-being. Seldom, does one see a member
of this range alone for a very long time (except in case of mental illness).
They are also more fertile130-131 than average, raising many children, sometimes from several
partners, regardless of their financial resources.
Kate already had trouble raising three children, but nevertheless she had a fourth one.
People pertaining to the Inferior Range generally chat about, for example, what they can’t cope
with; their problems; who wronged them; their chores; their habits; ready-made simplistic
opinions; sex; food; booze; sports … in vague all-encompassing few words, in short sentences
sometimes with emotional outbursts142. Their vocabulary is limited, and their grammar is poor124.
They frequently express words representing the positive or negative categories101-385, in which
they mentally put, people, events, items, entertainment etc.
Tom and his wife can’t stop talking about who they dislike and what they would do silence those
people.
Sherman spends most of his life saying how cool or how lame something or somebody is.
Lack of Creativity at the Inferior Range:
These people are not creative123, nor do they care much about anything that isn’t instinct-
related278 or based on elementary emotions.
Their imagination abilities are extremely restricted278; the notion that someone can conceive a
new tool, or an original concept is mostly alien to them. They rely on what they know, what is
tangible, what they can see, not what might exist.
Lack of Adventurousness at the Inferior Range:
These individuals need their world to remain unchanged123 as much as possible, for adapting to
new habits, or an unfamiliar environment, feels challenging.
They are deprived of intellectual curiosity123 and may be satisfied with doing the same simple
tasks353, over and over, for extended periods of time: they make suitable and satisfied blue-collar
workers. The idea of eating unusual food or going to unfamiliar places fills them with dread and,
besides, they don’t see the point.
When they yearn for stimulation of the senses, promiscuity354, and substance abuse124 are their
poison of choice, but they won’t be more adventurous than that.
Chester doesn’t see the point of leaving his hometown to go abroad because he thinks he has it all
where he is.
Limited Memory Skills at the Inferior Range:
Inferior rangers recall hands-on tasks but, due to weak short-term memory134, are rarely able to
remember anything that hasn’t been shown to them several times.
Their limited awareness278 of what’s going on around them, as well as their difficulty in
understanding matters globally125 hinders their memory skills. Besides, they regularly count on
others to remind them of what to do or to do it for them, in this way, triggering a deficiency in
retention training.
Kate has a tough time remembering how to use the coffee machine; it has to be explained to her
every day again and again.
Lack of Knowledge at the Inferior Range:
Not interested in anything except basic matters, the members of this range are not curious about
the world123 around them. They seldom read and have next to no cultural knowledge278. What
they don’t understand or don’t enjoy, they consider valueless or even inappropriate278.
Tom enjoys watching brainless TV shows and sometimes goes hunting but he’s not interested in
much else.
Kate is only interested in reality TV and soaps in which people fall in love at the end.
Life Goals at the Inferior Range:
These individuals are usually devoid of the vitality and the desire needed to sustain hobbies295 or
mere personal interests; therefore, their goals are mostly sensory278 and sustenance oriented: sex,
food, alcohol…
Tom enjoys booze, carbs, and telling people off noisily, sometimes he gets into fights.
Inferior rangers are overrepresented in unskilled labor, not at all unhappy to be performing
simple repetitive tasks353 in a familiar environment.
Since they are impulsive124, they don’t resort to any type of planning, living mostly in the now,
uninterested in the future278. Circumstances and fate decide their life outcomes, they hardly do.
Specific physical characteristics can be observed among these individuals:
Their features are often a little crude94 sometimes coupled with a small cranium26; their figure is
more asymmetrical26-132 than average, and their gait133 lacks vivacity. Since pupil size is
correlated to attention and brainpower, their gaze appears wandering or unfocused139.
If your I.Q. falls in the Inferior Range most of the sentences below feel like something you do or think: (Pay close attention to the wording before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)
1-You don’t like learning and had difficulty at school.
2-You are certain to be right all the time.
3-You often think other people are mean to you.
4-You think that what your parents taught you is always true and the right thing to do.
5-You don’t like reading or watching educational TV.
6-You don’t always understand what makes other people laugh.
7-You don’t care about what other people need or what they’d like you to do.
8-You think there’s only one way to do things.
9-You are easily angry or upset.
10-You are very impatient when you want something.
11-You think you are entitled to what other people have, regardless of the efforts put in.
12-You don’t mind doing the same things every day at home or at work.
13-You often rely on other people to fill out paperwork or use a device.
14-You see no point in trying new things or visiting new places.
15-You are not curious about what goes on in the world.
16-You only like a few activities a few types of food, a few people, a few places.
17-You don’t pay attention to your health, weight, appearance … and don’t do sporting activities.
18-You often quarrel with people.
19-You don’t know certain words that people use.
20-You have had trouble understanding what I have written so far.
2.The Normal Range (IQ: 85 to 114) 68%
Members of the Normal Range are perfectly regular people, they give an impression of acting,
thinking, dreaming, living like everybody else. They constitute most of the people you will ever
meet in your life unless you spend it in an intellectual bubble. They amount to 68% of the
population.
Just like Inferior Rangers, Normal Rangers are analytical thinkers103, albeit with more efficient
cognition373. They share many traits123-124 with the previous range along with more flexibility,
proficiency, and effectiveness. As a result, they come off as better adjusted and equipped to
tackle life struggles.
Normal rangers are structures absorbers103: to apprehend matters, they apply whatever concepts
they were taught at school or at home, never adding a personal outlook. Consequently, they
naturally harbor very mainstream views281, in just about any topic, situation, subject, field one
can envision.
They hardly ever think in abstract terms135-136, nor do they notice recurring patterns between
seemingly unrelated domains, leaving them at the mercy of the ideas generally accepted as truth
by their mentors, teachers, intellectual elite, parents, friends ….
Being unable to get past conventional ideas, any new piece of information that doesn’t fit the
concepts and values they have been taught will be disregarded282 as either false, crazy or a lie. A
consequence to that analytical cognitive behavior is a tendency to consider all matters in a black
or white281, yes, or no, good, or bad kind of way, with no room for nuanced point of views.
This rather inefficient cognitive information processing, compared to synthetic and integrated
thinking103, leads individuals, at the Normal Range, towards a life that doesn’t revolve around
intellectual prowess. They have to be cajoled into acquiring knowledge and prefer hands-on137
education with a teacher to self-taught learning. Similarly, unless they are pushed by an authority
figure at school, at work or within the family, their desire to learn remains low281. However,
some of them, especially at the top of the range (I.Q.: 105-114), explore certain domains out of
passion.
Since, people at the Normal Range, require the structures put in place by others to be fully
functioning, it is essential for them to be very social138. They will, generally, surround
themselves with lots of friends and family, easily creating lasting bonds over small talk, using
white lies or flattery to please, exchanging favors or matter of fact knowledge281.
Not being incredibly interested in the world around them, or the realm of abstract ideas, their
topics of conversation are habitually very concrete281, ranging from the necessities of the present
to exciting new trends as well as fashion, household matters, events, gossip, sport, the news, and
occasional hobbies. Furthermore, they display good-natured conventional humor which
facilitates that desirable connection with fellow range members.
Their being social animals drives Normal Rangers to feel confident282 about themselves and their
intellect, since they mostly meet like-minded people with the same type of neurological
functioning.
Their need for structure dictates their submission to those they recognize as figures of authority
according to their idea of morality, values, and ethics. They regard traditions and habits highly282,
are the victims of the fashions and trends of the moment as well as behavioral rules.
They feel normal and accepted by society, which they, undeniably, are.
Their inner life is not particularly abundant. They are infrequently creative and lack
introspection282, never considering themselves as they truly are, but as they believe others view
them.
They are prone to outbursts of aggressiveness when they disagree281 with somebody else’s
opinion. Similarly, they have trouble resisting temptation137 and cannot control emotional and
physical impulses137 well. They live in the present, never analyzing their behavior, thinking little
before acting309, consequences be damned.
These individuals display unsophisticated299-350 tastes, preferring basic easily attainable pleasures
and past-times over brainy ones. They are inclined to prefer rhythm to melody140, pizza to fine
cuisine, simple shows and books that don’t involve thinking. They will almost always value
physical attractiveness351 over shared values when choosing a mate.
They tend to have very gendered features and bodies94-141, and often show detached uninterested
gazes139.
2.1 The Lower Normal Range (IQ: 85 to 99) 34%
The people scoring at the Lower Normal Range are everything I mentioned in the preceding part,
aimed at familiarizing the reader with the Normal Range in its entirety, along with some
specifications. They display various characteristics of the Inferior Range in conjunction with
more effective reasoning skills and more self-reliance373.
They encompass about 34% of the general population; their I.Q. score is found between 85 and
99.
I will clarify their characteristics by means of situations taken from the lives of Jack, Burt, Lily,
Olivia, Brian, John, Ludovica, Sadie, Colleen, Vivian, and Annie all members of that range. I
remind the reader that all the names have been changed and all the situations have been
modified for privacy reasons.
The Thinking and Learning Abilities at the Lower Normal Range:
People at the Lower Normal Range are not naturally predisposed to enjoy learning123; they will
only study what is necessary for school and work. They think very concretely, leaving only little
space for abstraction135-136, therefore concepts understanding, and information processing are still
somewhat limited288 but less so than at the previous range. Their reasoning is more sluggish than
that of the average person, their conclusions simpler351, and they exhibit mental inflexibility123
about certain matters. However, they are rarely aware of those cognitive limitations, some may
even believe they are smarter92-124 than most people they know.
Jack thinks that everybody who thinks differently from him is actually stupid, even his physician.
Burt believes he can speak Spanish, as well as many other languages, because he knows a
handful of words, he keeps asking: “Eres bello?” instead of “Qué tal estas?” even after having been
corrected several times.
Few people, at that range, go to college206-373 where they would have a hard time graduating.
Colleen is immensely proud of never having been to college; for unknown reasons it makes her
feel superior.
Independence of Mind at the Lower Normal Range:
Dependence on analytic103 brain functioning (see 3.2.2) leads to restricted independence of mind.
At this range, values and habits acquired, at an early age, last forever282. Besides, these
individuals’ beliefs and opinions282 are usually those of their friends and families. The very
conventional opinions they harbor, as a consequence, are often coupled with a tendency to feel
abused by society278 at large.
Sadie, Vivian, Lily, and Annie believe that any change in their work environment will
necessarily be detrimental to them.
One day, Annie was so sure of having been handed “the short end of the stick” that she was
actually verbally fighting with someone who wanted to give her what she wanted.
Lower Normal Rangers show very little introspection288, being unconscious about the,
sometimes, lower quality of their job performance or, in any case, their lack of attention to
details288, they tend to overestimate their qualities288. But, just like the preceding rangers,
because the opinions of everyone they know is important to them, these individuals very much
care about the signs of respect351 they believe society owes them and expect to be granted the
same advantages as everybody else.
Lily spends her working days chatting with her coworkers while she pays very little attention to
her work, consequently making many errors. But, at the end of the year, she expects to get the
same bonus as her hard-working colleagues.
Intuition at the Lower Normal Range:
Lower Normal Rangers display next to no intuition352, being at the mercy of whomever they put
their faith in. Since they have difficulty discerning who they can or cannot trust, they are sadly
liable to be taken advantage of142 by unscrupulous and treasonous characters time and again,
albeit to a lesser extent than at the previous range.
Vivian and Lily keep getting disappointed in the people they befriend who always end up
becoming their worst enemies after a few years.
If these people have confidence in someone, they tend to believe almost anything they are told
until proven wrong.
Burt thinks the Germans are the most powerful people in the world and that everything is
wonderful there because a friend told him so. He would like to move there, with his family, but
his wife has to keep reminding him that it’s not true.
Sympathy at the Lower Normal Range:
A form of sympathy can be felt for the unfortunate. It stems from a fear of, one day, being in the
same situation as the person being pitied.
Burt and Vivian feel sorry for homeless people because they think it could happen to them
somehow.
Still, not really being able to put themselves into somebody else’s shoes, their compassion
remains superficial278-357.
Lily really likes people until she doesn’t understand them anymore which happens pretty fast
and leads to recurring conflicts.
John takes care of old people for a living, but being devoid of real empathy, he laughs when they
are struggling.
Colleen wants other people to take care of her but rarely reciprocates, for, disregarding the plight
of others, she believes her situation is always worse than that of her friends.
On the other hand, being very social350, they generally feel for loved ones who find themselves in
a sorry predicament but do not exert genuine empathy278.
Olivia always feels sorry for her friends and family when they are unwell or sad.
Nervous Issues at the Lower Normal Range:
Being unable to project themselves into the future and imagine what could go wrong, Lower
Normal Rangers often go through life as happy-go-lucky people, enjoying what it has to offer,
infrequently anxious164. The closer, some of them can get to being disturbed by emotions164, is
by being excited when anticipating a pleasant event.
Whatever happens, Olivia is always in a good mood and generally presents a sunny disposition.
Because they let their spouses deal with everyday problems, Vivian, Burt, Annie, and Lily are
only worried when one of their family members is in trouble or when under pressure at work.
However, when life has been hard on them, they are likely to develop personality disorders or
depression128-129.
Colleen lost her husband years ago and never quite pulled through, she expects to be helped
constantly by her friends and sometimes exhibits manipulative behavior.
Ethics Issues at the Lower Normal Range:
People at this range exhibit poor emotional restrain123. Their impulsiveness may, on occasion,
lead to low morality187-321 or diminished ethics. For example, the average I.Q. score of inmates26
borders on 90, so at the lower end of this range.
Jack thinks it’s okay to eat food he’s found in boxes, off supermarket shelves, without paying any
of it, he has even shown his toddler son how to do it.
Poor mental health and physical illness383 can be an upshot of this inability to control one’s
emotions and cravings.
Olivia, regularly, eats between meals without any regards for her health.
Lily developed type 2 diabetes from poor nutritional habits.
Still, their approach to morals commonly signifies forcing278 themselves and others, to observe
social habits and traditions that have been passed down for generations. Dogmatic
religiousness124 is to be found in that group and the previous one as well.
Vivian is adamant it is impolite to use somebody’s bathroom when she’s invited over, she spends
the entire evening waiting to go home to relieve herself.
Burt thinks one is expected to have children and tries to force anyone who wants to make another
choice.
Extraversion at the Lower Normal Range:
While the members of this range are more self-sufficient373 than at the Inferior Range, one may,
nevertheless, notice a great propensity for gregariousness350 in this population, given that, their
need for the help and support, provided by others, is elevated. They have a knack for bonding
with others on virtually nothing and spend a tremendous amount of time in social groups350. As a
result, they naturally marry young and have more children than average130-131.
They communicate verbally, in factual terms, very much, by means of imprecise melodramatic
statements288 taken from a restricted vocabulary288. They love using ready-made phrases, vague
trendy words such as “cool”, “swag”, “lame”, “sick” …, showing strong speech habits278 that
might give one the impression they keep saying the same things over and over under totally
different circumstances.
Annie thinks that the act of finding a dime on the floor, getting married or winning the lottery
can be expressed with the same word: “rad”; there are no words, in her vocabulary, to convey a
higher or lower intensity.
The simple sentences of the Lower Normal Rangers are not exempt from the occasional grammar
or vocabulary mistake305. Their conversations may be self-centered or revolve around their peer
group but aren’t based on concepts. Only tangible materialistic matters282 occupy their minds.
Olivia, Lily, and Annie generally talk about their children, what they want to buy and TV
programs.
Sadie and Brian are in the habit of stating the obvious in conversations.
The Limited Creativity of the Lower Normal Rangers:
Lower Normal Rangers aren’t really creators110 for they never generate truly personal outlooks.
Still, they may enjoy arts to some extent, especially popular arts305 that bring about primary
emotions. For instance, they favor rhythm over melodious or elaborate music140, reality TV over
brainy cinema.
Olivia enjoys rhythmic music she likes dancing to. She, also, adores reality shows portraying
people who yell at one another the entire time.
The members of this range will, however, be inclined to learn, to a certain extent, how to copy
the artwork created by somebody else. They may enjoy being taught a variety of handicraft, how
to draw, sing, dance, or play an instrument at a basic level.
Olivia took a few singing and dancing lessons in her youth.
Lack of Adventurousness at the Lower Normal Range:
These individuals only exhibit restricted proclivity for adventurousness123 due to a dependence
on comforting habits. Nevertheless, they may be persuaded to try something original, if part of a
group, that enjoys new experiences. Many people, in that range, are very particular352 about what
they eat, what they listen to, the places they go to, what they read, what they watch. They are
habit oriented278-352, just like the preceding range, but mainly because of a lack of familiarity.
Olivia, Brian, and John have difficulty trying food they are not used to eating, they are
apprehensive or flat out refuse to taste any.
The Memory skills of the Lower Normal Rangers:
Because of strong emotional neural associations, Lower Normal Rangers generally display good
memory of the life events of their peer groups, as well as what is related to their interests.
However, they exhibit poor memory of facts or concepts336, mainly, if they see no purpose in
remembering them.
Olivia shows good memory of the life events of the people she loves but cannot, for the life of her,
remember anything cultural or academic.
Colleen cannot remember how to work the copy-machine, because all she has to do, is ask her co-
workers.
Brian doesn’t remember what to buy at the store when it's for his wife.
The Shallow Erudition of the Lower Normal Rangers:
Lower Normal Rangers tend to be interested in superficial282 matters: outfit, appearances, gossip,
trendy entertainment, sport, junk food… They don’t read much, rarely go to museums, or do
anything deemed brainy or educative for it’s not entertaining or pleasurable to them.
Olivia adores reality TV which make her laugh; she’s also fond of junk food. She and Lily love
fashion and buying clothes as well as accessories.
Lily and Colleen delight in nasty gossips but would resent anyone doing the same thing to them.
Vivian ran into co-workers who were talking about mathematics, when she pressed them to know
what they were discussing, she assumed they weren’t telling her the truth.
Life Goals at the Lower Normal Range:
At this range, due to a shortage of long-term self-projection278, life goals are few and very
conventional: a house, children, vacation in hot weather, watching TV shows, week-ends
activities. These people dream about an easy ordinary life but also of striking it rich, sometimes
by gambling.
Olivia, Lily, and Ludovica simply enjoy weekends and vacations out of principle, even if those
times are sometimes not as fun as chatting and laughing with their friends at work.
Annie gambles every week even if she is actually losing money in the process, she hopes for a
windfall one day.
These people's dreams feel unreachable as they are totally devoid of any connection with
reality288.
Annie believes she can live on a sunny deserted island, totally oblivious to the fact she will need
to eat and shelter herself from the elements to survive.
If your I.Q. is in the Lower Normal Range most of what’s below feels like you: (Pay close attention to the wording before
answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)
1-You had difficulty in high school with science and languages, the other subjects were easier to you but not easy.
2-You enjoy entertainment that doesn’t require thinking too much, such as: reality TV, sport, and shows with a straightforward story.
3-You do what you like to do, you do not follow all the rules.
4-You are almost always with people.
5-Many people have taken advantage of you.
6-You don’t especially enjoy museums, libraries, bookstores.
7-In life, you do not worry much.
8-You are a little apprehensive of trying new things and there are quite a few things you don’t like to eat.
9-You enjoy talking about fashion, how people look, gossip, cars, or sport etc.
10-You have poor memory of facts and cultural knowledge, but good memory of what interests you, and of the life events of the people you love.
11-Out of life, you mostly want an easy job, a house, a family, enough money, and leisure time.
12-You enjoy rhythmic music: reggae, pop, percussions, techno, dance, but not rock, metal, jazz, or classical music.
13-You dislike non-fiction books or non-linear stories.
14-You have, occasionally, been told that your grammar was not very good or that you were using the wrong word.
15-You don’t mind breaking the rules if you think you will benefit from it.
16-You married and had children young (or wanted to).
17-Your parents have taught you rules that everyone else should follow.
18-You use the same words and phrases a lot.
19-People often turn out to be different than you expected, and you get disappointed.
20-You think like most people you know.
2.2 The Upper Normal Range (IQ: 100 to 114) 34%
The people who score in the Upper Normal Range encompass everything I mentioned in the
preceding part about the Normal Range in its entirety, along with some characteristics of their
own. They exhibit some traits from the Lower Normal Range; however, not unlike Superior
Rangers (see next chapter), they display increased intellectual abilities373 and more openness to
the world147 at large.
They comprehend about 34% of the general population; their I.Q. score is found between 100
and 114.
To clarify, I will resort to situations taken from the lives of Richard, Ann, Michaella, Leonna,
Rico, Lynn, Magalie, Owen, Sylvia, Morris, Cathy; all these situations have been modified, all
the names also.
The Thinking and Learning Abilities at the Upper Normal Range:
This is the level of high-school and college graduates in social science and most humanities
majors143, for people in the Upper Normal Range struggle with abstract topics143. Concrete
thinking281 is always privileged, causing these folks to shy away from theoretical subjects such
as fundamental research and hard science.
Leonna went to college but, being averse to committing dates to memory, she graduated with
difficulty in U.S. History.
These individuals are brainy enough to be low-level managers353. As they possess an intelligence
level not too removed from that of the average employee they are effortlessly understood and
followed.
Interested in matters that simply require short-term focus59, and a small amount of intellectual
effort, Upper Normal Rangers, compared to the preceding range, appreciate intellectually
undemanding59, although more sophisticated334 books, films, shows, sports, and activities.
Morris enjoys watching more elaborate sports than his friends in the Lower Normal Range;
unlike them who only watch local football, he’s also fond of tennis and rugby, in addition to
supporting many exciting teams and players.
Ann doesn’t enjoy intricate plots; she’d rather watch straightforward TV-shows.
In spite of their somewhat intellectual laziness, if Upper Normal Rangers are passionate about a
particular topic, they will be prepared to acquire some knowledge in that area even if the
information collected may sometimes remain minimal.
Independence of Mind at the Upper Normal Range:
Not very independent in their thinking process, Upper Normal Rangers borrow opinions,
attitudes and principles282 from peers and family. Consequently, just like members of the lowest
ranges, but to a lesser extent, they are prone to intellectual bias282 and strongly committed to
ideological beliefs282 hardly based on personal experience, but rather, gathered from the social
groups they gravitate towards.
Owen, Leonna and Ann, being unaware of their own bias and other people’s, rarely question
what they are told; they tend to think like their friends on political and social issues.
Ann, Leonna, Magalie and their friends always agree on who is right, who is wrong, who is nice
and who isn’t, using the same half-baked reasons and thinking them to be totally logical.
They frequently emulate their friends’ lifestyles and routines. They may overuse the speech
habits that run in their environment as ready-available, thoughtless, knee-jerk reactional words
and phrases that prevent them from engaging their cognition into the conversation too much.
Although still showing fairly good vocabulary and making few grammar mistakes360-373, they
rely on low-energy interaction with these speech habits, especially at the lower end of the range.
Michaella keeps saying “it’s heavy” during conversations to express her feelings of powerlessness,
because it’s a phrase her peers use a lot.
Leonna and Magalie keep saying “I could of” instead of “I could have”, thus, imitating many of
their friends.
Intuition at the Upper Normal Range:
As Upper Normal Rangers exhibit very little independence of thoughts and emotions, they also
show little intuition. Often not being aware that one can guess, to some extent at least, the
consequences of actions or behaviors, it takes them a while to notice any inconsistency between
what a person says and what a person does or really thinks.
Owen cannot tell when he’s being lied to even when it’s obvious that something is amiss.
It took Michaella and Leonna months to notice the suspicious behavior of one of their co-workers
who was taking advantage of them.
Sympathy at the Upper Normal Range:
Just like at the previous range, a form of sympathy is present for the poor and the unfortunate;
however, only a restricted amount of deep emotional connectedness is felt by the Upper Normal
Rangers when they come in contact with other beings, may they be humans, plants, or animals.
Ann laughs it off whenever someone is in a sorry predicament thinking that it’ll pass and it’s no
biggie, sometimes she even jokingly makes fun of that person.
Richard, even if he enjoys joking, is in the habit of telling everyone how little he cares for his
fellow humans and, what’s more, regularly downplays people’s difficulties.
Sylvia connects easily with children but has trouble reading adults; as a result, she gets
frustrated with them at times.
Nervous Issues at the Upper Normal Range:
Unless stricken by hardships, the Upper Normal Rangers’ emotional state remains mainly
positive for they, just like the previous range, do not project much into possible challenging
future outcomes and don’t overthink the present.
Their senses being under-reactive compared to those of the ranges above them, they generally
show little anxiety164, except in case of turmoil in their own life or that of their family and
friends. On the other hand, they may have trouble taking care of important matters, and
procrastinate.
Rico never worries much, except about his children and about spending his vacation time with
his mother-in-law.
Leonna and Magalie’s main concerns are about their children, husbands, and parents.
Ann never seems to be anxious about anything and neither do Richard and Morris.
Whatever the task is, Richard and Leonna love to procrastinate until their spouses take over.
Morality Issues at the Upper Normal Range:
While they put themselves, as well as friends and family first, these folks are, nevertheless,
predominantly law-abiding, and moral. However, they will, at times, bend the rules, especially at
the lower end of this range, if they feel it might benefit them or those their love. Under those
circumstances, they don’t shun away from lying or cheating, seeing no harm in that, often being
in the mindset of “us” against “them”.
Leonna is ready to lie for her friends thus risking damaging her relationships with other people.
She is also ready to bend all the rules at her workplace to accommodate herself and her friends,
oblivious to the likely adverse consequences. When she is rightfully blamed, she pins the whole
situation on the blamer and never on herself.
Ann sees no harm in lying to her boss once in a while.
Ann, Leonna, Michaella and Sylvia really don’t mind being behind with their work, if their boss
makes a remark; they never think they are to blame, it’s always someone else’s fault.
Unless raised by a pious family, unlike lower ranges, because they follow society’s trends, the
individuals in the Upper Normal Range are hardly ever religious, nowadays.
Lynn and Harriet, as they put it, only go to church for weddings and funerals.
Extraversion at the Upper Normal Range:
Few introverted personalities144 are actually observed at that range, Upper Normal Rangers
requiring a lot of emotional support from friends and family. Because they tend to be down-to-
earth and easily satisfied, these people have a propensity for being great reliable friends.
Ann prefers to do everything with her friends even if it means changing her plans at the last
minute and being unable to do what she wanted to in the first place.
Whether it is about shopping, leisure, or going to the movies, Ann, Leonna, Sylvia, Magalie, Lynn
and Harriet never do anything on their own because they all feel the need to share their personal
experiences whenever they can.
Rico spends hours chatting about his problems with whoever is ready to listen.
Upper Normal Rangers enjoy talking about films, TV-shows, books, or music in addition to
clothes, food, vacation, leisure, and sport, using factual knowledge281 and some insights373
beyond simply conveying likes and dislikes.
Creativity at the Upper Normal Range:
These people are usually not that creative110 and rarely pursue a career in that domain, except in
artistic families. However, Upper Normal Rangers are sometimes attracted to hobbies requiring
the use of their imagination, to some degree, when they try to reproduce the works of more
accomplished artists.
Magalie and Leonna both want their respective children to learn how to play a musical
instrument without being, themselves, interested in music.
Cathy loves anything that requires drawing, painting or even cooking. She’s quite good at it as
are her brothers, members of the same range.
Adventurousness at the Upper Normal Range:
Upper Normal Rangers may, now and again, be a tad adventurous if pushed by peers. They may
enjoy certain new, albeit not too extravagant savors, some unusual trips, some out of the
mainstream art …
Ann agreed to go eat sushi with her friends but had to be convinced first, finally barely tasted the
dish and ordered something else.
Leonna is a little adventurous in her food tastes because her husband is a chef. He gets her to try
lots of diverse cuisine.
Lynn flew to Europe with her best friend on a whim.
Morris and Owen, who are at the higher end of this range, travel a lot every year, even often on
their own.
No matter the selection of drinks at the bar, Owen always orders pretty much the same drink, at
times, he tentatively ventures beyond his comfort zone if nudged by friends.
The Memory Strength of the Upper Normal Ranger:
The general recollection aptitude of Upper Normal Rangers is reasonably good for matters of
interest and emotional life events, but their recollection is superficial rather than profound. They
are normally not that focused on what’s going on around them, this habit leaving only sketchy
imprints on their brains.
Morris and Owen recall many details about their favorite football teams’ games, however,
nothing about the coaches’ strategies.
Richard likes to read about matters that interest him, but when he reads fiction, he sometimes
mixes up real facts with what happened in the book. He also mixes up sayings and ready-made
phrases such as “you can make a horse drink but can't bring him to water”.
Leonna regularly forgets the titles of the films and the names of the actors she likes and when she
wants to quote a sentence from the film, it’s always the wrong one.
Artistic Awareness at the Upper Normal Range:
These individuals may be casually interested in going to a museum, a library, a classical concert
whereas their main kick is popular culture. Some people possess quite extensive knowledge
about readily accessible cultural topics.
Owen loves the popular music of his youth in which he is deeply knowledgeable, he goes to
concerts a few times a year and occasionally enjoys going to a museum when he’s on vacation.
Richard mostly enjoys going mountain-biking, however, once in a blue moon, he’s in the mood for
a click trip to the local museum.
Leonna enjoys libraries and movies a lot but rarely recalls anything specific.
Many Upper Normal Rangers are good at practical skills, such as, handicraft or cookery which
they frequently appreciate.
Cathy is known to be a good cook; she’s also an accomplished gardener.
Richard and Ann enjoy cooking for their families.
Quite a few Upper Normal Rangers enjoy reading fiction, so their sentences are well constructed,
even if not exceedingly long or very precise. Occasionally, a technical or fancy word is used. An
interest in more high-brow culture or easy scientific facts373 may be present, especially at the
higher end of the range.
Richard recalls TV programs he watches about marine biology and regularly recounts them to
his friends.
Ann and Rico regularly borrow fiction books at the library.
Life Goals at the Upper Normal Range:
Upper Normal Rangers’ goals are often occupational and family oriented but, sometimes, dreams
may be envisioned and later pursued, usually with the help of a group of friends or a spouse.
Leonna has studied in college to land a good, interesting job.
Rico, Owen, Morris, and Cathy have invested time and efforts in their respective careers.
Magalie and Richard are working hard for a promotion.
Owen and Morris dream of traveling to more exotic places.
Doing sport regularly is a consistent trait of that range, at which people are more health-
conscious145-146 than at preceding levels and, subsequently, don’t mind putting in the effort for a
short-term goal.
Owen, Leonna, Richard and Magalie train regularly to stay healthy.
Ann goes swimming during her free time.
If your I.Q. level is to be found in the Upper Normal Range most of what’s below reflects who you are: (Pay close attention to the wording before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes).
1-While being moral and ethical, you sometimes bend the rules a little for your own benefit.
2-You think that most people are pleasant and interesting.
3-You have lots of friends you enjoy meeting regularly.
4-You have graduated high school but had trouble with abstract topics (such as math, biology, and physics).
5-You enjoy leisure a lot but only have a couple of areas of interests.
6-You almost only read fiction, never non-fiction.
7-You don’t overthink the consequences of people’s actions or behavior.
8-You are not that interested in science or highbrow topics.
9-Your main focus is on your friends, your family, your job; you aren’t idealistic.
10-You enjoy arts but aren’t really a creator yourself.
11-You are willing to listen to a bit of classical music or jazz but don’t genuinely enjoy that.
12-You are only able to recall a few general facts out of what interests you, but not the underlying theory or explanation.
13-You usually don’t use big words, but your vocabulary is fairly good.
14-You are not that adventurous with new tastes and unusual activities but may enjoy them if pushed by peers.
15-You aren’t always that focused, you may occasionally forget things and your memory is average unless you get particularly interested.
16-You are slightly health conscious and regularly work out or do sporting activities.
17-You believe you think like most people and most people think like you.
18-You have never contemplated changing the world as an adult or wouldn’t know where to begin.
19-You are good with your hands (handicraft, cooking, gardening, decorating etc.…).
20-You don’t enjoy TV-shows and movies when the plot isn’t straightforward.
3.The Superior Range (IQ:115 to 129) 14%
People in the Superior Range are the link between the conventional crowd of Neurotypicals255
and “the Gifted266”.
They are very much alike the previous range in most ways, but already close to the Moderately
Gifted Range in some of their interests. Some authors even consider them “mildly gifted”148, but
given their analytical103 thinking type, I believe they’d rather be assigned the label “bright287”
instead.
They comprise about 14% of the general population; their I.Q. score is found between 115 and
129.
As usual, I will resort to situations taken from the lives of members of that range: Rosie, CC,
Vincent, Alistair, Carly, Michael, Magdalena, Georgia, Marcelle, Jules, and Bonnie. As usual,
all the names have been changed and all the situations have been modified.
The Learning Skills of the Superior Rangers:
This is the range of doctors, lawyers, managers, CEOs, engineers, teachers and most intellectual
occupations149-155.
Individuals in the Superior range are analytical thinkers103 whose brains are a little quicker than
Upper Normal Rangers’ for, they learn by skipping small cognitive steps150. Typically, they are
particularly smart in one general field295 which becomes their strong domain and frequently their
profession. They understand concepts well in this area of expertise while showing a high degree
of competence.
Rosie, Magdalena, Georgia, and Bonnie learned the skills required for their job faster than
average; they are considered very dependable personnel.
Commonly, Superior Rangers display intellectual passions related to their elevated curiosity337-
384 and good managerial skills373 linked to being blessed with an I.Q. level removed by fewer
than 20 points from most people82-83.
Rosie has always been a particularly good employee manager, showing both empathy and
authority.
The rest of their cognitive realm remains very average; as a result, they have difficulty with very
theoretical concepts151 and will seldom hold eminent positions in science.
Bonnie, CC, and Magdalena have trouble with anything related to math and statistics; they keep
asking people for help.
At the same time, their thought process being sequential287 and logic oriented101-385,
understanding intelligence which doesn’t rest on pure logic is a struggle. This leads them to
overlook intelligence based on deeper cognitive strategies such as those used by gifted people288.
Rosie believes that whoever thinks differently from what she was told or taught lacks knowledge
in that area.
Independence of Mind and Ego at the Superior Range:
Frequently, very certain of their knowledge and intellectual superiority in certain areas285-286, for
they never question what they are taught103-151, superior rangers fail to acknowledge other
people’s point of views, especially if presented with dissenting opinions. Logically, they tend to
be unwilling to change their minds, even if offered contradictory facts, for they are used to
holding unwavering intellectual positions attributable to an immature ego179-333.
Michael, who is a doctor, is in the habit of waving away any fact he wasn't taught at Med school.
Marcelle, who is a teacher, only listens to people who share her academic knowledge.
Bonnie believes most people, besides herself, to be incompetent and that there’s only one way to do
things.
Alien to truth seeking283-287, unless they feel they have been lied to, Superior Rangers may
question certain facts, but usually stop the inquiry when only a few pieces of information have
been found, regardless of their actual value. These people are likely to repeat over and over
alleged facts, heard from a dubious source, or superficial knowledge gathered from a supposedly
trusted source, to try to modify peers’ opinion with very little to stand on.
Rosie hates being contradicted or shown that the sources she has faith in are untrustworthy.
Magdalena, who is fond of literature, heard one should say « I sneaked » instead of « I snuck »
and yells at whoever contradicts her.
Intuition Skills at the Superior Range:
These people may appear intuitive at first glance, but that intuition, based primarily on logical
facts, generally turns out to be incorrect356. Being unaware of the possibility of deeper
intuition356 skills, they disregard their own failings all the while attributing others’ enhanced
intuitive results to mere luck.
Rosie, CC, Magdalena, and Bonnie are almost always wrong about the outcome of a situation.
Sympathy and Empathy at the Superior Range:
There is definite sympathy for the plight of certain social groups, usually those regarded as
victims by the general public or those the Superior Ranger shares a form of connection with.
They may, to a certain degree, put themselves in other people shoes357 but never really sense
other people’s feelings; as a result, their empathy skills remain superficial357 and linked to an
external collective viewpoint, such as ethics.
Rosie, CC, Georgia, and Marcelle regularly pity the ill-fated and those born on the wrong side of
the track.
Allistair and Magdalena, who follow the viewpoint of the higher-ups, tend to punish all of their
employees instead of trying to find out who is at fault.
Nervous Issues at the Superior Range:
These people feel anxious358 or stressed-out in difficult situations, but typically, overcome it
rapidly because the meaning of life, for them, is mostly found in the outside world287 (job, status,
money, accolades, prizes …) and not very much inwardly (feelings). However, some may find
themselves guilt-ridden, agonizing over what should have been done, to much higher degrees
than at the preceding ranges.
Rosie and CC often feel guilty about not caring enough for their parents, even if they are always
doing their best.
Georgia, Marcelle, Jules, and Bonnie feel guilty about not spending enough time with their
children.
Superior Rangers, who, on occasion, may act self-important, are typically more easily annoyed152
with someone else, or even themselves, for stupid mistakes, than individuals in the Upper
Normal Range. They are also readier to judge333 those who make the wrong decision or who
aren’t competent enough.
Rosie and especially Bonnie keep finding faults with their co-workers, no-one is ever experienced
enough, or hard-working enough.
Morality of the Superior Rangers:
Morality, at this range, follows the rules of society153 picked up, at a young age, within the
family. Superior Rangers hardly ever stray much from these guidelines, seldom questioning their
reason for existing, never doubting their foundations. Yet, religiousness and, sometimes even,
faith are ordinarily rejected154, in that range and the next, as they are considered unscientific and
therefore, viewed as the choice of dim-witted folks.
CC, Alistair, Michael, Magdalena, and Marcelle can’t stand churchgoers, whom, they picture as
knuckle-dragging dullards, and surprisingly, unethical individuals.
The Social Extraversion of Superior Rangers:
Superior Rangers are habitually socially savvy, at ease in social situations150, particularly, if they
can shine in front of a captivated audience. Being considered smart or at least educated, they
customarily enjoy being the center of attention or, at any rate, particularly esteemed for their
achievements287.
Bonnie and CC, in a social setting, want everybody to know how good and efficient they are at
their jobs and give advice to their audience.
Marcelle likes to hint at how many languages she understands even in front of strangers.
Michael and Vincent like goofing around and evoking their many work-related stories in front of
their friends.
Men in that range are often seen as a catch157 for they embody the idea of a successful
professional life; women are often regarded as intimidating156.
Although at ease in social realms, Superior Rangers don’t shun away from spending time
alone359 to read, watch an obscure film in Swedish, or rearrange their key-chain collection. They
are “mild nerds”: their inner world is rich enough to keep them satisfied but their outside life
(work and friends) is where their contentment lies (especially at the lower end of the range).
Alistair enjoys rearranging his collection of old jazz LPs and his many avant-garde films.
Georgia spends time alone reading the latest thrillers.
Often in position of leadership149-155, these people are regarded, by their peers, as leaders and
intellectuals283-284. In addition, because they sport an I.Q. score only 5 to 30 points higher than
most, they are perceived as clever but still understandable, so, in short, leader material.
They enjoy talking about cultural knowledge, the arts158, newsworthy events, what they know,
where they’ve been; their job… their vocabulary is good360-373, precise, varied, and even
technical in their area of expertise.
Allistair enjoys talking about his many trips, often recounting anecdotal events and cultural
differences during dinners with his friends.
Magdalena loves talking about what she’s reading and how highbrow it is.
The Artistic-Minded Superior Rangers:
They are usually extremely interested in the arts158. Sometimes a little creative, they may dabble
in music, painting, drawing, dancing, cooking, photography etc.
Rosie loves reproducing, on canvas, the paintings, or the images she enjoys, may it be still-lives or
landscapes.
CC and Jules take dancing and music lessons every week.
Allistair talks non-stop about movies, jazz, and classical music to whomever wants to listen.
Marcelle goes to plays, concerts, museums, or theaters whenever she has a day off.
Carly, who is a foodie, enjoys talking about trendy chefs.
Adventurousness at the Superior Range:
Superior Rangers can be quite adventurous158-361-362 in groups of like-minded acquaintances.
They tend to enjoy travelling, mingling with the locals, tasting new food, but within the
heartwarming security and the emulation of a small group. Regularly, they attempt new activities,
new savors, and new encounters, provided, they live in a neighborhood in which those things are
available.
CC goes trekking with her husband every year, always somewhere different.
Allistair regularly travels to exotic countries and enjoys the local specialties with friends.
Georgia and her family have moved many times around the country as well as abroad.
The Memory Skills of Superior Rangers:
Superior Rangers exhibit good memory skills287 in certain fields, especially if they are passionate
about the matter. They may look for documentation in their areas of expertise and retain those
facts as long as they feel useful or interesting. In addition, the memory of their life-events is
remarkable292, for, it’s linked to strong emotions and repeatedly recounted, time and again, to
attentive peers.
Rosie remembers events from her early childhood vividly.
Allistair and Michael remember all the details of their crazy expeditions around the world as
well as the biographies of their favorite authors and composers.
Magdalena easily remembers the plots and the characters in the books she has read.
Marcelle, with the help of her diary, remembers in great details, most of the events she has
attended.
Bonnie remembers the gist of every file sitting on her office desk.
Cultural Matters at the Superior Range:
Fascinated with cultural knowledge158, Superior Rangers always have a few matters of interest
they love to share with like-minded individuals. In addition to literature, the members of this
range generally enjoy museums, plays, classical or jazz159 concerts, avant-garde or classic
cinema, ethnic cuisine, conferences, or exhibitions often with a small group of friends or their
significant other.
Rosie enjoys talking about classical music and history whenever she is in a social setting.
Magdalena and Allistair love talking about the books they have read and classic movies.
CC goes on and on about the ethnic music she loves.
Marcelle is well-versed in history, literature, and classical music, she sometimes knows more
than the guides at museums.
Some of them feel a sense of superiority285-286 in these educational pursuits, both because of the
intellectual aura they provide, but also because these activities are essentially financially
accessible to higher social classes.
Life Goals at the Superior Range:
The life goals of Superior Rangers are mainly occupational149-155 and typically take years to
achieve. Their objectives require patience, dedication, and the courage to live up to their
potential. These individuals often experience the need to aim for a gratifying and lucrative career
and somehow feel they possess the resources to achieve it. However, seldom does one witness
totally selfless or idealistic goals at this range, these individuals being more matter of fact than
those in ranges above them.
Michael spent his younger years studying to become a physician and help people.
Georgia studied relentlessly to become a middle-school teacher.
Marcelle became a literature teacher at college.
Rosie, CC, and Allistair became top managers after graduating.
If your I.Q. level is found in the Superior Range most of what’s below reflects who you are: (Pay close attention to the wording
before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)
1-You know quite a lot about, no more than a couple of separate topics, that have become your passions or your job.
2-You don’t mind spending time alone to indulge in your passions, but other than that, you enjoy being with cultured people.
3-You are annoyed with individuals who don’t think like most people you know or value.
4-You are really interested in certain cultural matters (music, paintings, history, geography, literature, cinema etc.…).
5-You want to be or currently are in a managerial position or an intellectual profession.
6-You usually feel intellectually superior to dissenting voices in your field of expertise.
7-You are interested in scientific matters but barely knowledgeable or competent in them.
8-You have tried creating works of arts or craftsmanship.
9-Aside from your family, your main life goals have been occupational.
10-You enjoy refined food and melody in music.
11-You don’t shun away from unfamiliar activities or savors.
12-Most people consider you cultured and smart.
13-Most of your friends are in a managerial position or an intellectual profession.
14-You are absolutely certain to be right about the matters you know well.
15-You enjoy traveling abroad with your spouse, a few friends, or a small group.
16-You enjoy museums, plays, conferences, exhibitions, classical or jazz concerts.
17-You agree with most people on what is ethical or not.
18-You always trust scientists and experts.
19-You are easily annoyed with incompetent or slow people.
20-You feel dogmatic or traditionalist people aren’t very smart.
Chapter 2 : The “Gifted”, The Neuro-atypicals
(I.Q. above 130) 2.5%
Countless books already exist on giftedness266;however, they are habitually written by
psychologists who offer their knowledge as outsiders.
As an insider, I wish to provide a glimpse into what being gifted entails, the resulting advantages,
and struggles. Clearly, gifted people still remain a mystery to most Neurotypicals and even
sometimes to themselves.
Essentially, there are really TWO main types of gifted individuals, for psychology and cognitive
behavior become particularly unconventional around the 145 mark160:
1- The Moderately Gifted who present an I.Q. level between 130 and 144 and comprise
approximately 95% of all gifted individuals.
2- The Highly, Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted who display a score superior to 145 and are
the remaining 5%.
1. What Do All the Gifted Have in Common?
The brain structure of the Gifted69-169 differs from that of the Neurotypicals, in this manner they
are considered neurodivergent256 (distinct from the neurological standards).
The higher the I.Q. rank, the higher the discrepancy between all the mental abilities178 exhibited
by the same person. This leads to uneven cognitive profiles, with stronger and weaker domains
(not necessarily demonstrated in sanctioned I.Q. subtests), particularly at the Profoundly Gifted
level. In addition, the higher one is positioned on the giftedness spectrum, the less intelligence is
specialized180.
Among the gifted population, extra interconnections between certain key areas of the brain169
coupled with faster neurons69 are present, in this way, enhancing effectiveness and speed.
Similarly, atypical sleep patterns161 which enable brain flexibility and better memorization161
facilitate early development in speech, movement and reading in infants.
Undeniably, gifted individuals show a very distinctive sleep pattern of six cycles161, instead of
four, along with a higher rate of REM (paradoxical) sleep161 and greater frequency of rapid eye
movement161 during dream phases. During REM sleep cycles serotonin production gets stalled161.
This may partly explain the higher chance of depression among gifted people.
The Gifted also exhibit strong memories of personal life events filled with many sensory details
and emotions292.
In a nutshell, gifted individuals have the flexibility of a child’s brain in a fully-grown body.
Gifted people exceedingly resort to abstract thinking293, they tend to overthink370 and analyze
every possible outcome. No matter the topic, their brains never stop churning.
Excruciatingly self-aware and conscious of their own limits294, usually interested in science and
difficult topics, quite well-read in matters they are passionate about, they love intellectual
stimulations190 and even show craving for knowledge162 in the upper ranges. Their raw brain
power permits them to conduct several tasks simultaneously293 (for instance, studying while
listening to a conversation).
They display what is known as low latent inhibition61-63 of the brain: their mental functioning
being more adaptable, most sensory stimuli are continuously taken into account by the brain. In
that way, the brain keeps processing data, even if not necessarily fully consciously; nonetheless,
it creates a constant state of vigilance61 of the entire nervous system which augments its fragility.
Gifted people show difficulty letting go and falling asleep163, being hypersensitive they are also
prone to frustrations173.
This aforementioned early and rapid brain development occasions greater predispositions to
mood and anxiety disorders164-179-180-202, as well as some neurological dysfunctions164 such as
dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and many other learning disabilities which tend to be somewhat
balanced by high intelligence343 so as not to be that conspicuous to the untrained eye.
The Gifted have higher occurrences of immune dysfunctions the “hyper-brain / hyper-body”164
link which triggers unusual body responses. There’s intensified existence of high functioning
autism164-165 in that population as well.
Goals, in the gifted ranges are wide-ranging, life altering and may take a lifetime to achieve
learning one or several foreign languages, authoring a book, understanding quantum physics,
inventing a new device, finding a cure, protecting the environment etc.
Of course, gifted people don’t always complete these goals, but they linger on their minds,
whether in imagination or in reality.
Gifted individuals, in the higher ranges, display some degree of social awkwardness linked to
harboring a distinct set of values and interests321-324 from those of the average person. So, unless
they are lucky enough to work in a high-brow field, full of high I.Q. peers, they will find
themselves in a group, whose functioning feels unnatural, which can be overwhelming,
especially with the inconsistencies in most people’s behaviors and ethics. Moreover, their
difficulties in the workplace, are magnified by their inability to follow authority blindly166.
In spite of those struggles, gifted people’s connections to others are strong and innate178-179-180,
they are easily chosen as confidents. Similarly, feeling that humane kinship deeply, they are
generally more helpful and kinder than Neurotypicals167, unless aggravated by somebody or
something.
On the other hand, the Gifted apply dark humor168, wit and irony a lot to communicate so as to
put a safe distance between themselves and others.
Since they care a great deal about everything and everybody to the point of constantly being busy
analyzing, examining, scrutinizing, inspecting, searching, checking etc…the gifted are always
more impassioned and emotional than average121. Their nervous system is ceaselessly assaulted
by stimuli that are difficult to ignore, creating what is known in psychology as
“overexcitabilities”108 and the resulting emotional and mental intensity.
However, surprisingly resilient170 in spite of their habitual emotional distress, they tend to show a
lower rate of serious psychiatric illnesses but, then again, a higher frequency of anxiety disorders,
depression, allergies and autism164 than in the average population.
Extremely realistic about themselves and life in general, they seem to be in a sort of constant
sorrow about what might have been or deprived of the existence they had dreamt to lead. Yet,
very idealistic in their hopes and dreams, they often fantasize about greatness or power to change
the world to their liking, usually for the common good.
Important projects are preceded by some kind of anxious anticipation, for gifted people have
trouble staying in the present, constantly thinking about the future or the past, thus triggering
hyperactivity or boredom together with strong impatience363-370.
Almost equally masculine and feminine111-141 in their inner feelings and sometimes even in their
appearance, they are both geared towards action and sensation.
The most noteworthy quality, as I.Q. scores grow, is an increasing openness to experience147-162.
It doesn’t necessarily mean risk-taking, but it denotes quite an adventurous propensity for trying
new food, discovering new places, encountering new persons, new cultures, traveling etc….
At the same time, these folks are natural-born creators171-172-179 or very interested in the arts,
harmony, and aesthetics293. They frequently display strong artistic talents in music, drawing,
painting, or story-telling etc…. furthermore, extremely creative, and inventive people almost
always enjoy remarkably high I.Q. levels171-172.
Morality and selflessness293 come with the territory in giftedness, the higher one's I.Q. level,
usually the higher one's moral principles179-234. Yet, some famous villains were gifted365, but
seemed to have chosen a distinct set of values to abide to, so as to still regard themselves as
decent folks.
A word about Gifted people’s physique and their development as toddlers:
Their bodies are fitter and more symmetrical132, their faces are more androgynous111 and
expressive302, with a more focused and intense gaze114, than those of Neurotypicals, thanks to
heightened emotions293.
A slightly higher proportion of them are taller than average175. They also tend to display messy
handwriting174 due to asynchronous development210 of their brains and bodies as well as a
propensity to daydream175.
As infants, they frequently started standing up and talking earlier175-176 than the average person,
never resorting to baby-talk207. They were highly curious293 toddlers, with an intense gaze,
always asking why things are the way they are. They learned how to read years before176 their
age peers, sometimes by teaching themselves195. They matured intellectually before the
emotional component of their personality was able to measure up293.
What sets them apart?
Apart from these shared characteristics, one may notice greater differences among the Gifted
than among members of other ranges298-307. This is due to their higher intelligence in certain
particular fields122. Since intelligence is never evenly distributed across different domains in a
person's brain, some individuals may be, for example, excellent at math while others are more at
ease with psychology or languages. This creates, among gifted individuals, specific profiles with
uneven skills, occasionally, making it hard for the untrained eye to perceive overall aptitude.
2.The Moderately Gifted Range [MG] or [HIQ]
(IQ: 130 to 144) nearly 2%
Moderately gifted people (MGs), also known as “High I.Q. People” (HIQ) represent nearly the
entirety of gifted people. While they comprise only roughly 2 % of the general population, they
characterize 95% of “The Gifted”. Their struggles and skills are depicted in all the books about
giftedness266.
There are two underlying reasons why psychologists usually portray moderately gifted
individuals. First of all, they represent a very high percentage of “The Gifted”. Second of all,
they are more likely to seek professional help, being more social291 and closer to the average
health professional's intellect level89 than individuals in higher ranges.
They are overrepresented among famous people, may it be in the arts, because of their natural
creativity179 and intuition179, or in sports thanks to their higher stamina179-204, or even sometimes
in politics by means of their greater motivation181. However, they don't necessarily hold
prestigious positions such as doctors, lawyers, managers, engineers who are primarily occupied
by smart Neurotypicals89-90 (see chapter about The Superior Range) still, many may be found in
academia366-373.
Moderately Gifted people (MGs) display a type of psychology that is reasonably close to that of
the Superior Rangers except for a few peculiarities.
They amount to about 2% of the general population; their I.Q. score is found between 130 and
144.
Here as well, I will resort to situations taken from the lives of members of that range: Cecilia,
Roger, Wolfgang, Aldric, Frank, Thomas, Noel, Igor, Gerald, Mary, Mario, and Gloria.
All the names have been changed and all the situations have been somewhat altered.
Cognitive Abilities at the Moderately Gifted Range:
Moderately Gifted individuals [MGs] are much smarter than average, but not as much as the
untrained eye might believe, for, their cleverness in mainly focused on a couple of strong
areas178-181-186.
They tend to be good or even excellent at those fields, in which their attention293 and memory292-
293 are tremendous, yet their cognitive performance is regular in most other domains.
In their average-skilled spheres, their perception and opinions are usually both uninformed and
lazy179. Overall, it gives an impression of high pervasive intelligence along with a surprising lack
of reflection179 suddenly appearing, from time to time, during the course of a conversation. The
closer their score is to the bottom of the range (130) the more they tend to exhibit this surprising
inconsistency.
Consequently, they often suffer from the “impostor syndrome”179 in their strong domains
(estimating they perform much worse than they actually do) coupled with a complex of
superiority in their weaker fields92-93, (thinking they are right while basing themselves on
dubious facts or inferences).
Not unlike Superior Rangers, MGs show a fervent desire to know181 certain matters, but not
strong enough to bypass their sometimes natural narcissistic need to be right179-290 or their
emotional necessity to join very mainstream-thinking179 intellectual groups.
Cecilia would tell everybody she is always right while carefully forgetting each time she had been
wrong in the past.
Similarly, Roger thinks he knows very little about science (although he knows quite a bit) but
likes to school his friends on geopolitics although all he knows he heard it from a handful of
talking heads on TV.
Aldric has a knack for history but no real grasp of scientific concepts although he thinks he
knows better in that realm.
Mary is very competent at her job but lousy at expressing herself in written English, nevertheless
she keeps correcting other people’s perfectly grammatical sentences.
Unlike the average person who reflects primarily in an analytical103, step by step, fashion, the
Moderately Gifted think in images, intuition, feelings179 ... taking one thought and extending it in
all directions at once179. Their efficient information processing enables them to synthesize
several parts of an idea into one single step103. Being equipped with a more conceptual brain than
the “Normies”, they are able to extrapolate ready-made notions189 into an enhanced broader
understanding and expand those views further.
That peculiar brain functioning may present problems for students who, in spite of knowing the
right answer to a question, may show difficulty in explaining their reasoning179.
Wolfgang once thought his geometry problem was so obvious that he was unable to explain his
answer to the teacher and was awarded an F.
In spite of their enhanced cognitive style, MGs are still reliant on binary logic189-217 (right/wrong),
seeing many matters in black and white instead of shades of grey.
Frank is adamant that, in every conflict, there’s always a right side and a wrong side that some
of the combatants are honorable while others are immoral.
Aldric believe that whoever disagrees with him is necessarily wrong.
Independence of Mind at the Moderately Gifted Range:
The openness of mind and curiosity of Moderately Gifted people stops at what can be considered
a random point by higher ranges. Out of laziness or lack of interest179 in gathering their own facts,
MGs are no stranger to ready-made ideas189 they may use as a weapon in conversations with
anyone who dares think for themselves or share opposing views (especially at the bottom of the
range). Likewise, they may ignore facts when their mind is already made up.
In most intellectual domains, these individuals keep inner models179 acquired before adulthood,
may they originate from relatives or society, and readily endorse anything that might make them
look noble or accepted by their intellectual sphere. Often needing the social cushion of
conventional ideas, as if anxious about thinking for themselves, they adhere to very
mainstream179 or trendy concepts, advocating any opinion considered cool or widely recognized
as respectable by their intellectual bubble. If for some reason the group evolves, they are likely to
change opinions accordingly. Fearing the judgement of their peers179-294, they regularly strive to
appear politically correct but not as much as people in the Superior Range.
Aldric thinks that if someone starts questioning what he was told, they necessarily are idiots and
should not be included in any further conversation.
Roger, Gerald, and Noel who think of themselves as very upright, like to insult anyone who
disagrees with them on politics.
Frank repeats blindly, his beloved movie stars’ opinions, as he believes they are always right.
Fairly Good Intuition and Introspection at the Moderately Gifted Range:
MGs show instincts and intuition179 about situations, events, other people, but also occasionally
about themselves. However, for especially narcissistic MGs, introspection may occasionally
cause distress, for they intermittently get a glimpse of how others view them when their
behavior is less than pleasant.
Frank feels bad when he realizes he’s hurt someone’s feelings by putting them down, but that
doesn’t prevent him from doing it again and again.
MGs frequently guess the likely adverse consequences of a behavior or what the synergy of a
conversation will translate into.
Frank can tell whenever two people are at odds with each other, even if no word is being
exchanged, just by noticing body language and tension in the atmosphere.
Some Moderately Gifted individuals even exhibit psychic faculties, such as lucid dreaming184 or
having a hunch of what is going to happen a few hours or days before the event.
Cecilia dreamt her grandfather was going to die a couple of days before it happened.
Roger is very intuitive even if what he foresees doesn’t always occur.
Gerald, who dabbles into esoterism, experiences lucid dreams regularly.
Enhanced Empathy at the Moderately Gifted Range:
MGs are more naturally in tune with their environments than the previous ranges, they perceive
nature and other beings more intensely.
They display strong compassion for the underprivileged, together with a propensity to sense
people’s feelings and emotions, to such an extent that, they sometimes attempt to save the world
with humanitarian179 endeavors.
Mary has many compassionate qualities and once thought about helping the poor.
Frank always tries to help a friend is distress but complains about it afterwards.
MGs’ superior empathy, or rather their predisposition to being overwhelmed by other people’s
feelings179, is often noticed in their life goals (see end of MG chapter).
On the contrary, when they don’t resort to empathy, male MGs especially, frequently appear
conceited and arrogant189. This behavior may be explained by unexpected low self-esteem179
(due to the “Impostor Syndrome294-367”) combined with high self-confidence179 due to having
their opinions and skills regularly praised by family and teachers.
Cecilia can show incredible empathy at a moment and be insufferably full of herself the next.
Aldric is very indulgent with people in difficult situations but not with someone who disagrees
with him.
Noel is very smug but always ends up supporting his friends.
In addition, MGs may, at times, feel threatened or exposed179-294 by those who appear more
intelligent or knowledgeable than them. Depending on their level of insecurity during the debate,
they either feel humbled or prepared to intellectually destroy that person.
Roger shows empathy for the little people of the far lands he travels to but needs to humiliate
anyone who disagrees with his views during the course of a conversation.
Of course, due to elevated sensitivity293, if an MG hasn't been raised in a supporting environment,
he or she is bound to exhibit very low self-confidence and humility.
The “Overexitabilities” of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
Moderately Gifted folks are impatient, easily frustrated181 and excessive179 in everything they do,
think, plan, hope for, love etc… It’s one of the most reliable signs of giftedness.
They are highly intelligent in a few fields only178-181-186, all other skills being close to average.
Therefore, they regularly exhibit a feeling of inadequacy, or illegitimacy in their achievements,
either questioning their intelligence or feeling obnoxiously superior to everybody else,
sometimes at the same time. With one foot in the neurotypical255 world and another in the gifted
realm, their discrepancy in neurological abilities exacerbates their anxiety179.
Gloria, Frank, Thomas, Wolfgang, Roger, Aldric, Gerald, Mary and Cecilia have a tough time
sleeping at night because of their easily excitable brains and their pervasive anxiety.
Fearful of their thoughts and emotions, because of incontrollable mental excitabilities, they are
inclined to succumb to any type of addictions179. Those can range from gaming to drugs,
anything to ease their often-tortured self. As it has been remarked that alcohol transitorily lowers
one’s intelligence182, at least during the drunkenness phase (and maybe also permanently if
heavily absorbed) some MGs resort to drinking, in the unconscious hope of bridging the gap183
between the Neurotypicals and themselves.
Roger, Thomas, Frank, and Gerald drink alcohol every day to relax, Mary resorts to yoga.
Thomas collects comic books as if his life depended on it, carefully categorizing them in many
ways and making sure nobody reads them lest a page is slightly creased.
MG's brains being more easily excited108 than those of the “Normies”, they are sensitive to a
large number of stimuli. Usually bothered by strong lights, noises, smells, rough fabrics,
comments they consider stupid, they are known for outbursts of annoyance at people for
seemingly no reason whatsoever.
Frank is in the habit of putting people down for nearly no reason when he gets annoyed, of course
he doesn’t accept this behavior towards him.
Cecilia attacks people whenever she feels overwhelmed by a situation, becomes jealous of them
because she feels she’s losing control and finally attacks them constantly.
Similarly, MGs’ inquisitive curiosity and their propensity to oppose what they don’t value spur
high resistance to authority166.
The Shifting Ethics of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
Morality179, at this range, can be quite elevated, at least in certain areas. Surprisingly, this noble
stance may suddenly transform into very fluctuating ethical standards to accommodate a strong
wish, a personal opinion, or to reject a person whose views are too alien to comprehend.
Frank, who is pretty ethical and law-abiding, loves TV shows. Consequently, he thinks he’s
entitled to download them for free on illegal websites, even though, he would feel really bad if he
were to be in a theater without a valid ticket.
Roger, Aldric, Noel and Gerald are very civilized, until they face someone who disagrees with
them on anything they hold dear.
Cecilia believes it’s okay to be horrible to someone as long as she feels annoyed by that person.
Still, MGs generally unwaveringly advocate the causes they believe in, especially in their youth.
The Semi-Introverted Lifestyle of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
Being around the limit of “perceived intelligence”94 (an I.Q. score of 140), these people are
regularly praised for their intellectual abilities, but not necessarily challenged enough to doubt
themselves much (as opposed to individuals with a score above that threshold).
Still, many male MGs feel emotionally insecure179 enough to regularly compete189 with others so
as to convince themselves of their intellectual superiority. Moreover, many MGs are inclined
towards stubbornness and emotional immaturity179 as well as prone to self-sabotaging tantrums
or at least harsh unsolicited remarks.
Aldric, Cecilia, Frank, Thomas, and Roger cannot think past their cherished opinions, becoming
frustrated and attacking dissenters rather than pondering what they just said.
As a rule, MGs remain loyal179 to their loved ones but highly unreliable, able to endanger their
relationships over meaningless squabbles. Besides, because they value intelligence291 and
knowledge186, they customarily exhibit deep-seated frustration with others, in short, they don’t
“suffer fools gladly”.
Noel relishes in putting down those who, according to him, hold illogical standpoints.
Frank is annoyed at incompetence and ignorance.
Additionally, some MGs dread the judgment of their peers179-294. They may appear terrified at the
idea of being socially rejected or not perceived as part of the “smart and cultured” group.
More at ease in the neurotypical world than in the realm of highly gifted individuals, MGs'
natural Boolean (right/wrong) logic189-217 is always a sad surprise for people of higher ranges
who assumed they had run into an intellectual peer and are left frustrated.
Frank, Cecilia, Thomas, and Roger usually think in a black and white, right, or wrong, yes, or no,
logic with no place for very nuanced points of views.
Roger rejects anyone who does not subscribe to scientific theories he barely understands, because,
according to him, replacing older flawed theories with better ones is, somehow, being against
science!!!
Whereas MGs usually spend prolonged periods of time by themselves293 exploring their many
areas of interest293, most of them enjoy the company291 of the professed intellectual crowd:
members of their own range and the Superior Range. Like the latter, they are likely to enjoy
being regarded as the knowledgeable one186 at a dinner party.
Frank and Aldric spend inordinate amounts of time watching TV shows and reading comics. In
spite of that solitary tendency, they often spend entire evening chatting with their like-minded
friends.
The Moderately Gifted enjoy talking about knowledge, facts, science, ideas, traveling,
mainstream opinions, food or wine in a gourmet fashion, experiences they’ve had, occasionally
how they shut somebody up. Often very talkative in their preferred fields293, their speech is
elaborate179-180-293, sometimes intricate and shows substantial knowledge186.
Aldric can talk for hours about arts or politics rarely letting his audience squeeze in a word
edgewise, when that happens, he swiftly thinks about it, answers briefly and goes back to his
grandiloquent speech.
Frank, Cecilia, and Thomas dominate conversations by staying on their preferred topics
regardless of the interlocutor.
Creativity at the Moderately Gifted Range:
A consequence to MGs’ emotional and intellectual sensitivity is a tendency to be creative171-172,
or at least, to be extremely interested in the arts293. Many writers, many musicians, many chefs,
many actors and so forth are moderately gifted179. They frequently need that fame or recognition,
for heaps of praise give them the validation they seek290. When they are interested in something,
their strong energy level helps them get in the flow and keep their focus293 going for extended
periods of time, thus, facilitating the creative process. That’s one of the main traits of giftedness.
Cecilia and Noel write stories; Roger’s hobbies revolve around the movie industry; Wolfgang
plays piano and composes scores; Frank is into symphonic music; Gerald draws and paints
regularly; Gloria dances and cooks.
Many MGs are what is colloquially referred to as nerds293. They are big fans of music, TV shows,
movies, games, comic books etc… that they frequently collect from an early age and know
everything about.
Wolfgang and Frank collect anime and TV shows; Cecilia and Aldric collect children’s books;
Gerald collects seashells; Mario collects comic books; Noel collects old LPs albums.
The Adventurous Way of Life of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
Very adventurous147-162, ready to dive into new experiences of many types, Moderately Gifted
individuals are fun to be around while they keep their congenial and playful mood.
Noel, Wolfgang, Roger, and Frank love traveling to faraway lands, sometimes on their own to
better mix with the locals. Cecilia went to China on her own because it had been her life-long
dream.
Mario and Mary go to many places to do many exciting activities, but always with their spouses
and children.
Wolfgang and Frank love trying very exotic foods and drinks as well as unusual sports.
However, if they start seeing the glass half-empty, the adventure, may on occasion, take a more
frustrating turn of events for the rest of the group.
In social settings, Frank keeps noticing every little detail that is not to his liking or rather like
knowledgeable or cultured people are supposed to do it, according to him.
Cecilia throws a tantrum when she doesn’t get what she wants.
On the other hand, certain MGs are too terrified179 by improbable unpleasant outcomes to let
their adventurous self take over and choose a sheltered lifestyle.
Gerald, on the other hand is overly cautious; he rarely leaves his home, his adventurousness is
only witnessed in his many passions; Aldric doesn’t travel either.
The Selective Exceptional Memory of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
MGs retain a large quantity of factual knowledge thanks to their highly observant293 minds as
well as their stupendous memory185-293 in their domains of passion, but also in any matter
attracting their attention because of its noteworthy quality. At times, they are able, years later, to
remember a figure or a fact and mention it to an astonished audience.
Frank and Aldric can name actors, film titles, directors, book authors, music composers, the
number of seasons in a TV show along with what happens to the characters, the year it was
released etc.…
Gerald remembers many scientific facts and, at the drop of a hat, is able to start lecturing
whoever happens to be in his vicinity.
Mario can cite the publishing year of every comic book he owns out of thousands.
Noel remembers all of the games played by his favorite football team.
At the same time, what they are not interested in may slip their minds altogether, even if it’s
common knowledge.
Thomas can remember many details about the cases he’s working on, many more than his co-
workers but one day he forgot which city was the capital of Canada.
Frank once forgot some of the names of the planets in our solar system.
The Extensive Culture of the Moderately Gifted Rangers [MGs]:
Since MGs possess impressive memory in their fields of interest, they are quite learned and
exhibit encyclopedic culture186 in at least a few fields. Their cultural knowledge is often located
in the arts but may also be scientific, historical, geopolitical etc… It can either be focused on
certain aspects or all-encompassing, mainstream, or niche. Because of their intellectual intensity,
MGs’ culture frequently extends further and deeper than that of Superior Rangers.
Noel, a writer, is at the same time truly knowledgeable about football, music, literature, and
political figures from the last decades.
Frank knows his way around classical music, Flemish painters and Sci-fi.
Mary’s culture revolves around sculptors, portraitists, novelist, and chefs.
Cecilia is into anime, manga, and the Japanese language which she speaks well.
Life Goals at the Moderately Gifted Range:
Because they aren’t that emotionally removed from them, MGs’ life goals are frequently close to
those of Neurotypicals289, but artistical and idealistic selfless aspirations exist as well.
Igor studied to become a surgeon and repair injuries to improve people’s lives.
Cecilia’s goals involve buying a house and moving to Japan.
Noel wants to be a successful novelist and inspire people.
Gerald and Aldric, who are in their 40’s, still want to heal the world.
Roger wants to become a famous actor.
Gloria wants to build a large mansion to be able to share it with her whole family.
School subjects being sometimes unchallenging for them, MGs show a tendency towards poor
self-discipline179 if they’ve never had to work hard at anything. As a result, they may well show
incredible laziness and procrastination179 in every situation they don’t value enough. I’m told
there is even a habit among members of Mensa (I.Q. level in the MG range for most adherents)
to promote a purposeless lazy lifestyle204.
Frank would have liked to be a musician except he has never been dedicated enough to learn how
to read a score or play an instrument, he wishes knowledge would enter his brain by osmosis and
he would know how to play violin instantly.
On the contrary, because of their many skills, these individuals may also be tempted to carry out
too many projects simultaneously204. Certain MGs alleviate their anxiety that way by being too
busy to think.
If your I.Q. is in the moderately gifted range, most of what’s below reflects who you are: (Pay close attention to the wording
before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)
1-You are often annoyed by stupid comments or behaviors.
2-You are passionate about a couple of topics, you are very knowledgeable about, in which you show strong memory skills.
3-You don’t mind being alone to enjoy your passions.
4-You often feel smarter and more knowledgeable than others, but also feel lacking in certain intellectual areas.
5-You think scientists are always right and people who think differently are dumb.
6-You are a keen observer and notice many tiny details all day long.
7-You can remain engrossed in a task you enjoy for hours without losing your focus or feeling tired.
8-You value culture and knowledge but most importantly intelligence in other people.
9-You are afraid someone might notice how little you know about (or understand) certain topics.
10-You are always ready to try something new.
11-You can tell how people are feeling just by looking at them.
12-Some of your dreams are larger than life or difficult to achieve.
13-You feel misunderstood by most people.
14-You either feel full of energy or really lazy.
15-You are very interested in arts and sometimes are an artist yourself.
16-You rarely doubt yourself but fear being judged by people you consider intelligent.
17-You are easily bothered by noise, light, rough fabric on your skin….
18-You are regarded as condescending or harsh by lots of people.
19-You have innocuous addictions such as: gaming, binge-watching, collecting, researching topics etc.
20-You understand and know a lot more than most people without really studying much.
3.The Highly Gifted [HG] (IQ: 145 to 159); The Exceptionally
Gifted [EG] (IQ: 160 to 174) and The Profoundly Gifted [PG] (IQ:
175+): 0.1%. Collectively [VHIQ]
Very High I.Q. people [VHIQ] include the Highly Gifted [HG] presenting an I.Q. score from 145
to 159, the Exceptionally Gifted [EG] with an I.Q. score from 160 to 174 and the Profoundly
Gifted [PG] boasting an I.Q. score above 175 (180 according to certain psychometricians who
use a 16-point standard deviation188).
These people all fall into the gifted category, but their psychology and mental abilities are utterly
different from what is witnessed at the moderately gifted range. With the VHIQs, we are really
entering the world of the purely Neuro-atypicals.
At 3 standard deviations (3SD) above the intellectual norm, so roughly above 145 or 150 a
strange phenomenon occurs. People are no longer specialized180 in a couple of knowledge areas.
They display global insights and intuitive356 understanding in all parts of their lives: they are
integrated thinkers138.
The overall emotional and intellectual functioning of Very High I.Q. people [VHIQ] is similar in
many ways. Nevertheless, the higher the I.Q. level is, the greater the brain performance, the
stronger the “overexcitabilities”230, the more unusual the behavior, the more prevalent the
cognitive disorders199-343. Apart from an increase in raw brain power, social complications138,
and susceptibility to autistic traits193 as one lands further on the right end of the bell curve, these
individuals, who show very dissimilar personalities239-314, are nevertheless reasonably
homogeneous in their difficulties, needs, drive, and brain biology compared to the previous
ranges all-together. In a nutshell, PGs have deeper, more intricate thinking and more relational
issues than EGs who also possess stronger abilities to reason and more emotional troubles than
HGs.
Their overuse of the brain regions involved in abstraction191-194 causes VHIQs to be less at ease
with words180 than their MG counterparts. Nonetheless, they are better suited than MGs for
visual and spatial logic180 and present stronger skills in patterns discernment and connections187.
VHIQs’ reasoning, as well as their sequential, analytic, deductive, and inductive treatment of
information is more effective. Their brain is more potent, it requires less glucose59 to complete
the same task, its neurons are faster69, and the connections between both encephalic hemispheres
are more efficient58. When they take traditional I.Q. tests, such as the WAIS for example, unless
stricken with twice-exceptionality121-368, all their subtests homogeneously fall within gifted range
or nearly178.
Understandably, this different brain also translates emotionally and psychologically. To
demonstrate it, I will explore the VHIQs as a whole before addressing the specificities of the
Exceptionally and the Profoundly Gifted Rangers. To sum it up, the higher the range, the
stronger the characteristics234 I’m reviewing in this next chapter.
VHIQ people add up to about only 0.1% of the entire population and about 5% of the gifted ;
their I.Q. score is found above 145.
I will employ situations taken from the lives of members of these ranges: Cameron (HG), Sasha
(HG), Dick (HG), Donald (HG), Helen (HG), Zach (HG), Teddy (EG), Tony (EG), Javier (EG),
Wilfried (EG), Ezekiel (EG), Walter (PG), Kyle (PG), Joshua (PG) and Nathan (PG).
All the names and situations have been transformed, as usual.
The Extraordinary Mental Abilities of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs are integrated thinkers138 with high desire to know who create their own concepts187 in a
few or many domains. Integrated thinkers both use analysis369 (from a single concept to many)
and synthesis369 (from many concepts to a single) at the same time: they find patterns in intricate
data187, perceiving elaborate connections between what appears as unconnected pieces of
information187. Subsequently, VHIQs create their own matrices to organize data and tend to work
in terms of metaphors, analogies187, and paradoxes.
They resort to holistic180 and probabilistic189 thinking to extrapolate these concepts. Unlike other
ranges, they revel in thinking for the sole pleasure of thinking198, and that, especially in
metaphors198.
They are endowed with very efficient information processing except when emotionally disturbed.
Their interests, thought patterns and humor stack several strata of meaning187;likewise, their
capacity for abstraction191 is tremendous.
Their thinking is deeper, personal, coherent, and generally objective as opposed to MGs who
tend to be both excessive and conformist in their ideas.
Kyle makes a point of remaining as objective as possible whatever the topic.
VHIQ individuals are meta-thinkers180-187, meaning they tend to be mindful of their own mental
processes in order to focus their thinking purposefully: they could be speaking, be attentive to
their arguments and their position in space, be analyzing their behavior and the wording used, be
thinking of a counterargument someone could point out, and all the while noticing every possible
angles of their opinion as well as a conversation nearby.
Wilfried is aware of the conversation he’s having at the same time as possible counterarguments,
and of what the listener may think of his point of view.
An impressive learning aptitude:
Integrated thinking gives VHIQs strong learning capacities but also, prevents them from
recalling distinct pieces190 of knowledge, as, they learn by linking information189 to the concepts
they already know.
Thus, they can be oblivious to matters that are of little significance or value to them but may
appear paramount to the non-gifted and MGs alike.
Wilfried didn’t remember it was Sunday and drove to work, he noticed something was off when
he found out he was the only one in the office .
Kyle believes it doesn’t matter if his theories appear not to be 100% true as long as they work
most of the time.
VHIQs are able to understand an explanation before it’s finished, and frequently, heed complex
implications194 or perceive myriads of alternate meanings187-194-198 in a question, hence their need
for great precision. This ingrained functioning increases their perception, as seen from somebody
else’s point of view, all-the-while enhancing nuanced viewpoints.
They show a tendency to be autodidacts210, able to study better by themselves, at their own pace,
than they would with a teacher.
Unlike other ranges VHIQs literally crave knowledge138-180-190 in all their domains of interest.
Wilfried taught himself French as a teenager and quickly surpassed all his classmates and even
the teacher.
Sasha learnt a foreign language as a child and speaks it now like a native.
Ezekiel read the greatest authors as a teenager and now wants to understand everything about
psychology.
They create their own theories:
One aspect that sets VHIQs apart from people of lower I.Q. levels is the urge to put everything
into a greater theory187 as if every situation, event, or fact existed, as a piece of a jigsaw puzzle,
that had to fit together. Aided by their holistic brain functioning180, they are able to see the big
picture more than anyone else. That process involves putting together subjects, events, facts, and
measurements deemed isolated187.
Whereas Neurotypicals and MGs clarify a situation, or a thought, by expressing details179 and
particulars, VHIQs present perfectly crafted theories180-187 to the listener.
Wilfried and Cameron form theories about every interesting topic which they test against reality.
Ezekiel almost always knows why a person behaves in a particular way because he is able to see
the link between all the different psychological knowledge areas.
Unlike everybody else, when VHIQs witness a detail that doesn't fit their theory they amend
their worldviews189 to reflect that new information. Consequently, they keep improving and
honing these models all their lives. Since they are able to hold different possible explanations for
a single occurrence in their intricate mind, they simply switch to a more plausible theory to fit
the outcome and toss aside the incorrect interpretation.
Cameron, who is really interested in astrophysics, revamped his whole theory, of the beginning of
the universe, when his friend remarked that Dark Energy was pushing galaxies away faster.
VHIQs have a deep-seated need to understand329 nearly everything. Their brains must make
sense of each element of importance. They are in the habit of noticing slights differences or
similarities between people, facts, and events while obsessively wondering about the underlying
reasons. That’s how they come up with new breakthroughs.
As children, their gaze looks more inquisitive114-175, they notice their surroundings more180 and
make their family ill at ease with their questions or smart comments. They never use baby talk175-
176-207, often talking in full sentences at an early age180-188 (at 8 months old on average for PGs).
They read earlier than other children188 and some have been known to teach themselves to how
read195 (mostly EGs and PGs).
Wilfried, at 3 years old, was told by an adult that a “moo-moo” was in a meadow, a term he
didn’t use, he came home thinking the adult had meant a “mammoth”, which word he was
familiar with.
At age 4, his parents found out that Teddy had taught himself how to read with his brother’s
books.
The Definite Independence of Mind of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
At these ranges, one exhibits a weaker tendency to blindly repeat facts189, studies, theories …
established by others. Unwilling leaders in their own disciplines of passion, VHIQ people like to
challenge commonly accepted beliefs187 even if confronted to the wrath of those comfortable in
the consensus. At the same time, there’s a decreased tendency to revise a question194 into a form
one feels more comfortable answering or more knowledgeable about, thus, leading to more
precise and controversial answers.
VHIQs frequently lean libertarian200: they are ready to protect freedom in every shape or form, as
well as in politics, in this way, going against the pure left-wing/right-wing dichotomy.
Sometimes, against all expectations, they choose not to go into intellectual professions204-206, or
elect not to embrace a specific career because, such a choice, would curb their thirst for
knowledge by restraining the time allocated to writing, learning, studying, thinking, reading etc.
Cameron, Sasha and Wilfried have never chosen a high-status career, they hold regular jobs
while they study and create on the side.
In addition, VHIQs won't try to fit in204, as would most people, in the hopes of making friends,
but will look for the friends they can learn or gather experience from.
Wilfried tends to choose friends who speak a language he doesn’t speak well, so as to
continuously learn from his pals during the course of a conversation.
Still, HGs, unlike EGs and PGs, attempt to adjust to the needs of their family, friends, and co-
workers. In spite of their propensity to think for themselves, they are still very influenced by the
norms of society328 as a whole, plus, their values remain closer to those of the general population.
Even if he tends to think for himself, Cameron still tries to be the person others want him to be.
Donald feels he should follow his family’s inkling to get married and have kids.
The Elevated Intuition Skills of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
With their finely tuned senses, VHIQs are able to detect tiny details others don’t notice and
aggregate them into a theory320 of what the future might hold. They often get the big picture right,
if not most details.
Dick intuitively knows what’s going to appeal to the customers when he develops his software.
In addition, these individuals are introspective186, seeing themselves as they truly are, with their
flaws and qualities, their strengths, and shortcomings, besides, they frequently reflect on how to
improve themselves (particularly for EGs and PGs).
Donald and Ezekiel are able to guess what the future has in store for them just by analyzing the
present.
The Elevated Empathy of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs display high capacity for empathy180. They exploit some type of self-projection185-191 into
somebody else’s psyche to know how that person is feeling, but also, into objects or situations.
This is how VHIQs artists embody their art, so as to produce a more profound creation (for
example a writer who lives through the eyes of her characters or a chef who can already imagine
the taste of the dish he is creating).
Cameron and Wilfried, authors, imagine themselves in the shoes of their characters to give them
a more lifelike existence.
Wilfried embodies every note he plays, deeply sensing the pitch, the duration, and the harmonies
he creates.
These individuals are more tolerant, more compassionate, more interested in cooperation186 than
the non-gifted and MGs. Unlike the latter, they exhibit more self-esteem180 since they
customarily perceive they understand and know a great deal, therefore, they don’t feel the need
to prove their level of intelligence to anyone.
Kyle and Walter are not afraid to acknowledge they were wrong about an issue.
Thanks to heightened empathy180, VHIQs are also better equipped to deeply perceive who others
are210, easily identifying intelligence, talent, qualities, and flaws.
Wilfried, Ezekiel, Kyle, Walter, and Javier can intuitively tell people’s intelligence levels. They
also know who’s being honest and who’s lying and how people are feeling.
The Intense “Overexcitabilities” and Sensitivity of the HGs, EGs and PGs [VHIQs]:
The term that defines VHIQs’ psychology best is intensity; “overexcitabilities”180-198 (heightened
mental, physical, and emotional tension) are omnipresent in their lives.
Definitely, these people ponder everything very passionately and their emotions run high causing
their nervous system to remain on alert61-190. Their intensity, focus, rigorousness, and social
difficulties resemble autistic behaviors208-209 nonetheless these conducts are rarely pervasive
enough to warrant a professional diagnosis193 of autism. To alleviate some of this intensity
VHIQs may resort to addictive behaviors180.
Tony, Walter, and Kyle show many signs of ADHD and autism. Wilfried has a few autistic traits.
For many individuals beyond the VHIQ threshold, the senses are inclined to merge331-373, it’s a
phenomenon also known as synesthesia192: seeing sounds or numbers in color, feeling their
texture etc.… it’s the consequence of a brain endowed with a wider and more elaborate network.
The higher the I.Q. score, the greater the likelihood of these odd, possibly incapacitating,
sensations370-371.
Because of these overwhelming “overexcitabilities” certain EGs and PGs prefer to hold low-
stress, low-responsibility positions180-198 so as to avoid debilitating anxiety in their lives.
Teddy cleans the offices of a law-firm for a living because it gives him emotional stability and
time to think.
Cameron holds a menial office job by day and writes during his time off.
Sasha has never wanted to have a real career so he can keep doing what he likes on the side.
VHIQs show more emotional and mental “overexcitabilities”234 (thinking in circle or over-
analyzing) than MGs, hence, a greater disposition to existential depression180-202. At the same
time, they show superior thirst for knowledge190, spending hours on end studying a topic they
consider fascinating.
All gifted people I have ever met show, at least, covert signs of mild depression304-306-310; these
usually increase with I.Q. scores.
Bothered by “overexcitabilities” to the point of appearing dumb:
The sensitive nervous system164-306 of VHIQs can easily be overrun by too much information,
creating an overflow of neuronal messages overwhelming the brain228. Under these
circumstances, these individuals have trouble functioning normally. Not being able to focus their
attention properly180, they may appear foolish or half-witted to the uninformed observer. This
condition mimics ADHD symptoms193-203 in many ways.
It’s not unusual for VHIQs to have a hard time being detected as gifted because of all the
comorbidities199 (mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD, ASD…) associated with high giftedness.
These people show a higher propensity to be noticed for their negative traits than for their greater
intelligence.
Tony often enters a room without remembering what he came to do in there; he also mixes up
words or garbles them, too often sounding like a clueless person.
Donald suddenly becomes overly quiet for no obvious reasons and Zach bangs onto furniture
when emotionally overwhelmed.
Crippling anxiety and high sensitivity:
VHIQs demonstrate an important level of anxiety180 and need for control to the point of, on
occasion, craving to do a task that stresses them as soon as possible, so as to put it behind them,
and feel some sort of emotional relief. It is the opposite of procrastination.
Tony is in the habit of blurting out what he needs to say to a person in the first minutes he sees
them in order to get it over with.
Moreover, Very High IQ folks tend to be sensitive to violence and negative feelings towards
themselves and others, causing them to feel terrible were they to witness such an incident.
Tony witnessed a verbal clash between two employees at a local supermarket; he felt the negative
emotions of these people so deeply that he felt overwhelmed.
Sasha feels terrible when he notices he has hurt somebody’s feelings unpredictably.
VHIQs have a rational approach to life, shunning away from strong emotions180 that could harm
them. Even when that objective is met, emotional peace still seems unattainable. Somatization
runs high180 among this population. This elevated level of anxiety180 translates into muscle-spams,
colon troubles, memory loss, attentional difficulties even panic-attacks.
Tony keeps forgetting the words he’d like to use in conversations; his co-workers think he’s not
very smart.
Donald shows recurring stomach issues and Helen has skin allergies.
Joshua has ADHD as well as other cognitive issues.
VHIQs are not above addictions, but theirs are not linked, like MGs, to a need for limit testing,
but frequently, to a deep emotions avoidance strategy180.
Joshua is addicted to pain killers.
Wilfried needs a lot of sugar every day to feel grounded.
Cameron loses himself in role-playing videogames for entire weekends.
Afraid of their thoughts and emotions because of overpowering mental processes164-306, they
subconsciously strive to balance it all with perfectionism187 all the while abhorring repetitive
tasks190.
Zach takes an awful lot of time to do his assignments because he checks everything several times.
A deeper connection with themselves and the universe:
VHIQs have a good sense of self-preservation; they are frequently able to sense what’s
happening inside their body180, notice if something's wrong or if a particular food is good or bad
for them. Some of them even notice if a particular type of food, they ingested, is being stored as
fat or if they are losing weight. Likewise, they are more mindful of alcohol or caffeine190
wreaking havoc to their nervous system by noticing their blood pressure rising even just a little.
Certain VHIQs are extremely sensitive to substances such as nicotine, caffeine, alcohol which
impact the nervous system.
Wilfried and Walter get really anxious and cannot sleep well for several days when they absorb
even a tiny amount of caffeine.
For fear of emotional and physical consequences, Sasha, Dick, Donald, Helen, Zach, Wilfried and
Walter never drink alcohol.
Consequently, they unconsciously often take better care of their health than the average person
or even MGs.
Their relation to the outside world is similarly intense. They are very aware of subtle changes320
in the atmosphere of a room or when someone’s mental state is modified due to anguish or
illness. Some of them sense the energy190-191 of animals and plants. They experience the life force
of these beings and are capable of emotionally connecting180 to people so as to understand who
that person is at a deeper level.
They are sometimes prone to a certain level of precognition180-190 of main events or at least future
emotion pertaining to those events.
Cameron can feel other people’s pain when he touches them physically.
Wilfried can sense people’s energy and know exactly who they really are deep down.
High Morality in the HG, EG and PG Ranges:
Omnipresent morality and honesty:
Something really strange happens when you reach the higher realms of intelligence: integrity and
morality become more prevalent191. People find it harder to be dishonest, hurt someone or simply
tell a white lie. Some VHIQs become physically ill with guilt and dread when they notice they
have wronged somebody else.
They are profoundly conscious of the collective interest. In addition, they are uncomfortable
being less than straightforward with others. They feel they owe their peers an important level of
honesty322 and trustworthiness. It is presumably why, by spluttering what everyone else only
dares think, they regularly make the average person uncomfortable.
Unless they find a noble reason behind an unlawful behavior, they will usually remain law-
abiding and respectful191.
Teddy and Tony hate being dishonest; they tell people what they think of them too easily and end
up hurting their feelings.
Because speaking his mind has always stirred up trouble, to avoid strained relationships,
Wilfried bites his tongue when what he thinks would be disparaging to his co-workers.
Donald and Cameron often get in trouble for being too candid.
Helen avoids dishonest people.
VHIQs embody moral integrity and personal responsibility; these people resist temptation
more211 than members of the previous ranges. They feel their purpose is to make things, easier,
healthier, and better for everyone. Unless they are too harshly treated, they tend to be altruistic
and considerate individuals186 (especially at the EG and PG ranges).
Cameron, Sasha, Dick, Wilfried, Walter, Joshua and Kyle always try to do what’s best for
everyone, even if it means more trouble or more work for them.
The truth is stronger than their pride:
Critical thinking180 means being open to new facts, being able to distance oneself from one’s
opinions, being ready to reason objectively. This process is more likely to be initiated by VHIQs.
While they are liable to have their feelings hurt by others, at the same time, these people are able
to put their ego aside180 in their quest for the truth when exchanging with someone who respect
their views and knowledge. It means they are able put their heads together to look for a better
way of understanding the world, while respectfully listening to everybody's argument, changing
their minds and sometimes worldviews187-189-190 when sufficient facts have been given.
Dick, Donald, and Zach would rather acknowledge that they were wrong than avoid an
interesting and eye-opening conversation.
Wilfried doesn’t mind passing for a nitwit when speaking a foreign language, he wants to learn.
Spiritual beings:
Because of their strong principles and inquisitiveness most VHIQs are spiritual186 but
infrequently religious, on the other hand. If so, they generally view scriptures and rites in a
philosophical and universal manner.
Many are into new age philosophies. Many are theists. All look for answers.
Numerous VHIQs are moved by a higher calling to improve the world, striving to save humanity
with arts, science, mysticism etc.
Cameron strives to improve the world with his creations.
Dick endeavors to help the elderly with his software.
Zach wants to bring knowledge to people with his articles on history.
Teddy and Walter want people to know more about giftedness.
Ezekiel wants to make everybody think more deeply about world issues.
Kyle uses spirituality to change the world through his transcendental meditation classes.
The Loneliness of the HG, EG, and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs are lonely outsiders; they are virtually never in synch with anyone. The main reason is
known as the threshold of understandability81. Indeed, above a certain level, intelligence is
unfathomable to most people. That threshold is roughly at 140: right under the VHIQ mark.
Above that, almost nobody is able to notice any increase in intelligence94. Even worse, when
someone's I.Q. level is way above 140 that person’s thinking appears so alien in his or her
functioning, that his or her perceived intelligence decreases in the eye of an observer.
The reason is simple: no one is equipped to fully comprehend another person if the I.Q. gap,
between the two, is greater than 30 points (2SDs)81. As a result, a person with a score of 100 is
capable of grasping another with a score between 70 and 130 but can never apprehend a VHIQ's
thinking process because it feels crazy or stupid to an average person.
VHIQs recurrently sound dumb to people of average intelligence; they must truly achieve an
amazing feat to be regarded as the intelligent persons they truly are205.
So, while Neurotypicals (score under 130) are understood by 96% of humanity, an HG can only
be fathomed by someone at least in the Superior Range (16%). Similarly, an EG can only
connect with 2% of the population (people with an I.Q. score above 130), a PG with 0.1%
(people above 145), it is no wonder they feel lonely.
VHIQs are often engrossed319 in a task or busy daydreaming308; they are not always ready to
communicate. During a conversation they may come off as inquisitively curious (if interested) or
completely bored190.
Their speech is precise198, intricate372, sometimes circumvoluted; besides, due to emotional
difficulties speech impediments may be present. They try conveying all the nuances they feel,
never talking in absolutes, always keeping in mind they might not be 100% right.
Many had imaginary friends201 and regularly think up parts of their lives190 to the point of having
make-believe conversations with thinkers or interesting characters.
Zach, Wilfried, Ezekiel and Walter often imagine the interesting conversations they could have
had with famous scientists, or creators.
VHIQs don’t necessarily talk a lot, except with I.Q. peers as they delight in exchanging deep
thoughts, hard science concepts, unusual opinions198 they harbor, holistic theories187 they came
up with.
In addition to their natural tendencies to isolation, satisfying their knowledge craving138-180-190
may take up a good part of their free time to the detriment of socialization.
Wilfried spends a good chunk of his time learning science and foreign languages.
To add insult to injury, these individuals tend to lack self-confidence180, oftentimes to the point
of being push-overs. Subsequently, they avoid bullies, everybody who make them feel insecure
or pull them down.
Helen avoids people she feels unconformable with. Sadly, that's most people.
Despite looking balanced and often being better accepted than MGs180-311-312-334, who display
sometimes-antagonistic tempers179-333-334, VHIQs like to keep to themselves a lot for emotional
safety204. They get others talking so they don’t have to divulge too much about themselves, thus
avoiding judgement.
Cameron, Sasha, Dick, Donald, Tony, Wilfried and Walter resort to humor a lot to keep people at
bay and avoid feeling uncomfortable.
There are typically 3 strategies used by VHIQs to avoid being rejected and socially isolated
according to Grady Towers81:
1- Getting several PhDs and becoming a renowned scientist, psychologist, or historian etc.
2- Leaving school without graduating and not following the rules of society.
3- Holding a position devoid of responsibility and creating, learning, and researching during
one's free time.
Dick, Donald, Helen, Kyle, Zach, and Ezekiel have chosen path #1.
Cameron chose path #2 but has started a writing career now.
Sasha chose path #2 as well but went to live abroad.
Teddy, Tony, Wilfried, and Walter have chosen path #3.
The Otherworldly Creativity of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
Purposeful creator:
The need to create is something VHIQs have in common with MGs. But whereas MGs are
frequently artistic, VHIQs’ creativity is more ubiquitous190 and can also be witnessed outside of
the arts. These folks create highly original academic work and spot humorous situations
everywhere.
They are tireless workers and learners197-198 in the fields they hold dear and go to great length to
reach their goals. Rarely competitive or interested in praise180-189-206, they solely aim at
improving themselves and the world180-198 around them.
They strive to leave their mark onto this world one way or another. They relish serving others,
not only by satisfying material necessities, but also, philosophical, and spiritual ones through,
generally unsolicited, advice. They try correcting what they believe is wrong with the world. To
do so, they detect the root cause198 of what's actually ailing the globe in a philosophical and
scientific way (mostly PGs).
Dick creates digitally automated processes to help the elderly cope with the modern world.
Helen has written a book so as to help the Gifted understand themselves better.
Zach and Wilfried strive to help everyone see the big picture in every issue.
Ezekiel has authored many philosophical books in the hope of helping humanity.
Walter loves to teach people about learning disorders and their consequences.
The specificity of VHIQs’ creativity rests on their capacity to get immersed in their creation185-
191, to the point of seeing through the eyes of their characters, physically sensing the curvature of
their sculpture, or breathing through their music in mystifying ways. When they feel the urge to
bring something to life, no one can get in the way of that resolve, not even themselves.
Simultaneously, they have no idea how interesting or mundane their creations look to other
people who are only able to realize parts of what the artist felt during the creation process.
Cameron lives through the eyes of his main character when he writes.
Helen embodies her music when she plays piano.
Ezekiel gets engrossed in his writing as soon as he gets a new idea.
Unusual humor:
VHIQs have a unI.Q.ue* sense of humor based on personal reflections, observations, and tiny
humorous details nobody else notices. They are fond of incongruous puns, double entendres, and
intricate brainy jokes196 so as to surprise or get the listener to think. That humor often serves as a
safeguard against uncomfortable social intercourse.
Cameron and Sasha notice hilarious matters everywhere, all day long, and make witty jokes
about them.
Dick and Donald’s quip are always unpredictable and creative.
Tony always talks to people in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.
*Humor
Safe Adventurousness in the HG, EG and PG Ranges:
VHIQs are as adventurous325 as MGs, even more if you consider intellectual endeavors, but
unlike them, commonly avoid scary or dangerous ventures180-190 thanks to acute self-preservation
and anxious predispositions.
A need for new experiences:
These people feel they are wasting their time if they are not improving themselves180 by studying,
experiencing, creating, or thinking. Unlike people of lower ranges, who enjoy leisure time
tremendously, VHIQs need to be reading an interesting book or to be learning a foreign language,
while at the beach for example, in order to keep from being under the impression of wasting their
time and to keep from being bored180.
Certain VHIQs even decide to interact with specific persons as an opportunity to learn their
language, their culture, or a craft they know. Superficial reasons for dating someone, such as
physical appearance, are not very much valued321 even by VHIQ teens; personality, like-
mindedness, kindness, understanding are more sought after.
Much like MGs, VHIQs love new experiences. But unlike MGs, instead of being just pleasurable,
these projects must expand their knowledge and further their understanding of the world.
Cameron looks for any new adventure as long as his “overexcitabilities”” don’t stress him out too
much.
Donald and Wilfried travel the Globe to quench their thirst for knowledge and experience.
Wise children:
Because of internal conflicts, VHIQs mature in a more asynchronous way but ultimately more
deeply210-213 than previous ranges all the while retaining a childlike wonder190 throughout their
lives. They feel no shortage of awe when presented with art or the beauty of nature, very often
beholding wonders others barely notice.
They are childlike even in the way they take in new information. VHIQs never try fitting new
information in their worldview, but rather continuously adapt their worldview187-189-190 to added
information as kids do335.
Donald, Dick, Helen and Wilfried are frequently in awe of nature, architecture, animals etc.
The Emotionally based Memory Imprints of the HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs display exceptionally good memory skills308 over a large spectrum of topics, especially
when coupled with strong emotions. Their memory is frequently less detail-oriented than that of
MGs190; being more pattern-oriented, they recall whole concepts more easily than specifics.
Because they are regularly more anxious than MGs234, VHIQs' recollection process may be stuck
for a while, then suddenly the appropriate memory appears out of nowhere when the person is no
longer focused on what he or she was looking for.
Donald and Wilfried, who speak many foreign languages, frequently have words on the tip of
their tongues; in addition, they sometimes forget specific names or titles for a while.
The Different Cultural Approach of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs have hugely different interests, priorities, and preferences299-317-321-324 from
Neurotypicals255 and MGs. They show extensive knowledge in many fields191 but not necessarily
in mundane matters such as popular culture, which they may even reject. As learning feels like
leisure to them, many VHIQs are consequently well versed in highbrow fields315: science very
often, psychology, philosophy, foreign languages... They are also quite fond of new frontier
subjects: String Theory, Quantum Gravity Loops …
Some of them, especially EGs and PGs, to a greater extent, may even be polymaths231 (extremely
well-educated across multiple fields).
Zach is extremely learned in both literature and world history but knows nothing about the latest
blockbusters or famous artists.
Ezekiel is extremely well-educated in philosophy, literature, psychology, and ancient history, but
refuses to watch TV.
Javier does math at the highest level, but he is also a great amateur pianist.
Wilfried and Donald are well-read in astrophysics and speak multiple languages.
The Far-reaching Life Goals of HG, EG and PG Rangers [VHIQs]:
VHIQs’ goals are not only numerous but also challenging and time consuming. If they were to
tell Neurotypicals about those objectives, the latter would think them inaccessible, even insane.
Their ambitions are rarely ordinary; they are supposed to expand collective knowledge and to
serve a greater purpose. These individuals strive to elevate the world180-333-334 of science, arts,
philosophy etc… to improve human, fauna, or flora’s conditions on earth.
Cameron wants to share all of the stories he has in mind.
Dick wishes to help the elderly.
Donald and Kyle are truth seekers.
Helen, Walter, Joshua, and Teddy want to help the Gifted.
Wilfried feels pushed to revolutionize the world of physics.
Ezekiel and Zach want to make their countrymen overcome profound civilizational issues.
Javier wants to help the world become more spiritual.
If you belong in one of the HG, EG or PG ranges (VHIQ) most of what’s below reflects who you are: (Pay close attention to the
wording before answering yes or no, then count the number of times you answered yes)
1-You have a holistic understanding of the world.
2-You notice patterns and links in seemingly unrelated areas.
3-You were able to talk, read or stand much earlier than the average toddler.
4-You make observations that are totally logical but everybody else thinks they are totally irrelevant or idiotic.
5-You have strong intuition as to what is right or wrong as well as true or false.
6-You have at least one condition such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, OCDs, ADHD, sleep disorders, ASD traits.
7-You have, at least, a unique “spiritual” ability (healer, precog, empath, lucid dreamer, psychic. .).
8-Your mental and emotional “overexcitabilities” are high: your mind is often in alert mode.
9-Your humor is multifaceted, elaborate, and multilayered.
10-You are slightly depressed with no energy except when doing something interesting.
11-You usually feel lonely in groups and have few close friends.
12-You are an avid reader and/or crave knowledge and understanding.
13-You can sense other people’s energy, feelings and harbor a good idea of who they are deep down.
14-You are easily moved to tears by almost nothing (often related to art, kindness, beauty…).
15-You are emotionally hurt by negativity, ugliness, dishonesty, lack of ethics….
16-You are self-taught in many high-brow fields: autodidact.
17-You understand a lot of what’s going on under appearances.
18-You keep wondering about deep existential questions and would like to leave your imprint on the world.
19-You are easily bored with everyday life.
20-Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, or some types of medicine have a stronger effect on you than on everybody else.
Specifications for The Exceptionally [EG] (IQ: 160 to 174) and Profoundly
Gifted [PG] (IQ: Above 175)
EGs and PGs are extreme VHIQs with greater intensity in everything234. As, according to
statistics, HGs amount to a much greater percentage of VHIQs, I wanted to provide the reader
with a few specifics regarding EGs and PGs.
First of all, both EGs and PGs do not diverge as much in “g” than in non-“g” skills214, just like
you can’t compare the intelligence of Einstein with those of Dostoyevsky or Chopin. As a
consequence, my attempt at a broad characterization of EGs and PGs’ personalities is
challenging as the individuals, in these ranges, who are often experts in particular fields,
drastically differ from each other.
Startlingly, many psychologists215 are in the habit of merging these two levels together and
calling everybody “PG”. This is, in my opinion, linked to sheer scarcity of these individuals and
because EGs commonly exhibit, at least, one specific skill at, or near PG level215. But this
approach ignores certain dissimilarities I will address further down.
The Intellectual Idiosyncrasies of EGs and PGs :
EGs and PGs grasp complex material intuitively, in a global way198. In everything, they see
patterns301-373, interconnections, causes and consequences. They are particularly interested in
immutable and holistic patterns194, such as those seen in the universe, in physics, or in
mathematics. From that, they can begin to infer new concepts or theories. In that framework,
many details are added later190-198, when specifics are addressed. PGs, particularly, are aware of
global theories and quite a lot of details at the same time198-345-346, focusing on both global and
local concepts.
Compared to HGs, EGs and PGs show more divergent thought processes215 with larger logical
step skipping198-215 as well as broader and more numerous intuitive connections198 between areas
of interest. They grasp concepts much more deeply198.
They use more personal structures187-194-198-215 than HGs; they go beyond their integrated103
thinking process by merging many of their own models198 to create very complex concepts. This
invariably leads to very unusual and personal opinions198.
In addition, EGs and PGs show high flexibility of opinions, enough to be willing to change their
mind189-194 if a good enough piece of information, from a trusted source, comes to their attention.
They are able to simultaneously keep in mind many possible explanations194-198, for each event
or development, in this way amplifying mental plasticity.
Contrary to HGs who, on the whole, enjoy leisure time, EGs and PGs feel most fulfilled when
learning, discovering, accomplishing or experiencing227. Free time must always be put to
beneficial use for EGs and PGs to feel appeased and complete, otherwise, doubts and depression
may set in.
A very early onset of reading differentiates MGs/HGs, who generally start at the same age as
everybody else, and EGs/PGs who begin deciphering words at an age comprised between 2 and
4-5 years old212. Besides, EGs and PGs start speaking on average at 8 months old212.
The Crippling “Overexcitabilities” of EGs and PGs:
Being extremely prone to “overexcitabilities”108-109, quite a few EGs and PGs choose to avoid
stress180-198 and pressure at any cost by avoiding high level careers and even, at times, marriage,
and children. Such a choice gives them enough free time to satisfy their thirst for knowledge315,
to create, to read, to write, to think, to invent etc.…
Such pronounced “overexcitabilities”, which take a toll on the nervous system228, may actually
simulate behaviors associated with certain disorders193. Consequently, EGs and PGs are more
commonly diagnosed with a couple of cognitive disorders such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum
Disorder, OCDs, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dyslexia193… or exhibit many traits associated with
those disorders.
When you consider these higher ranges, the likelihood of running into autistic traits is also
heightened193. Not that these people are necessarily professionally diagnosed as autistic, but they
share many traits with people suffering from what was known as the Asperger syndrome or high-
functioning autism216, namely: extraordinary focus, lack of interest in social conventions, great
attention to details etc.
EGs and PGs may also exhibit other impairments such as: prosopagnosia221 (trouble
remembering faces), or difficulty recalling verbal instructions…
Since EGs and PGs feel everything extremely deeply218 in an empathetic way, they generally
develop strong unwavering integrity and morals198 (it does not appear necessarily as true of
people on the autism spectrum who classically exhibit low emotional intelligence229, but this
condition is complex and misunderstood).
At the same time, EG and PG's behavior and speech patterns may appear contrived180 or lacking
in authenticity to a keen eye. It stems from their lack of ease in social situations and their need to
protect their feelings because of general heightened sensitivity218.
The Challenging Relationships of the EG and PG Rangers:
EGs and PGs’ wisdom, empathy and intuition are extremely elevated198. They aim to guide
others, using suggestions in the hope of making them question their dubious decisions, often to
no avail.
When analyzing most people’s behaviors, they unfortunately notice318 resistance to change,
social façades, ignorance, overused slivers of knowledge, faulty science, blind gregarious
ideology, false hopes, intolerance, inflated egos…
Unlike MGs and sometimes HGs, because of their personal viewpoints and a natural loathing of
hypocrisy, EGs and PGs don't feel the need to be politically correct198-218 since, to them, the truth
matters more than somebody’s ego.
This discrepancy between their behavior and those of most people tends to increase their feelings
of not belonging204-313. Most times, they cannot speak their minds or confide in someone else
without being mocked or considered odd. As a result, they resort to wearing a social mask374-375
so as to be able to endure some sort of human interaction even if it feels like a lie218 and an
artificial method of communication.
To circumvent these issues, as children, they often choose to interact with knowledgeable
adults218, with whom they feel on an equal intellectual footing, as well as imaginary friends218.
Besides, during a conversation, certain words may cause several alternate meanings187-198 to
come to their minds. As a result, they strive to utter carefully chosen words from their large
vocabulary198 and, at the same time, always need extreme precision187-198 to be able to understand
what the other person is saying. This peculiarity intensifies their feelings of not being on the
same page with everyone else and often triggers annoyed reactions from the persons they are
talking to.
Consequently, countless EGs and PGs systematically shun away from social interactions212; they
suffer from a lack of understanding, linked to the communication gap81, but also from high
sensitivity to rejection, harsh comments, judgments, lack of ethics etc...
Inarguably, a sizable portion of EGs and PGs are loners198, bothered and hurt by many, without
the advantages Neurotypicals or MGs get from their interactions: a connection.
That feeling of not being able to count on anyone, because of a lack of understanding, along with
their strong lucidity210 about the limited potential of their loved ones, further amplify their
sensation of incompleteness.
In addition, EGs and PGs being exceedingly cerebral, they favor deep reflection before they act,
think of consequences, plan the future. They are less influenced by egocentric and narcissistic
passions such as money, a beautiful car, a hot fiancée. They definitely are more personal-growth
oriented180-191.
Often in need of social isolation to be able to be themselves without being judged, many men in
those ranges hardly date198-219-220. At the same time, their highly independent female323
counterparts are likely to avoid having children altogether224. To many EGs and PGs, sex in itself,
appears uninteresting222-223, as they look for a very cerebral and emotionally authentic connection
while mainly concentrating on their intellectual priorities222-223.
They long for deeper bonds with the rest of humanity, relationships devoid of nastiness,
selfishness, and greed, but rather, full of honesty, warmth, and respect. In a nutshell, they long
for unconditional love in a deep spiritual manner341.
3.1 EG (IQ:160-174) Teddy, Tony, Ezekiel, Wilfried, Javier.
The EG range members show all of the VHIQ tendencies virtually at a maximum234. They
resemble Profoundly Gifted individuals in many ways, sometimes to the point of being lumped
together into a single category by countless psychologists and researchers335.
Yet, a few dissimilarities exist between these ranges namely as concerns “overexcitabilities”230
and conceptual stance magnitude239.
The Exceptionally Gifted Rangers are Limited Polymaths:
At the EG range threshold (I.Q.160), one starts displaying such intellectual curiosity that one
usually no longer specializes in an academic discipline, but rather, endeavors to master several
fields of study315. These individuals grow into, what is known as, polymaths231: being well-
versed or even able to master several domains that may appear totally disconnected, such as,
history and quantum physics for example.
On the other hand, these people's tendency to be polymaths is more limited than at PG level215
where knowledge is all-encompassing and deeper.
Teddy masters both coding and novel writing.
Ezekiel is a history and literature specialist.
Wilfried masters several foreign languages and knows his way around astrophysics along with
music composition.
EGs spend most of their days learning, pondering, inferring227, their minds are never at rest.
Since, if they stop, they get bored and depressed, they devote a great deal of time to
accumulating knowledge and experience. However, rote-learning isn’t their strong suit; they’d
rather invent new immersive191 strategies to commit everything to memory while engaging all
senses in the process.
Wilfried has never watched a TV show for the story; he watches them in Spanish, in Italian or
German to learn those languages. Sometimes he is even reviewing Japanese lessons while
watching TV.
Tony thinks about physics during his daily routine or at work. He thinks about fractals when
looking at maps or fluids mechanics while watching a river.
Ezekiel tries to use the quotes of great thinkers in his daily conversations. He also imagines he
lives in the Roman era and pictures the type of life he would have had, and the type of food he
would have tasted.
EGs are extremely pattern oriented194-198-232, they sense intricate hidden connections between
almost everything. They may notice similarities between astronomy and medicine or cattle
rearing in a global holistic manner. They sometimes overlook details190-198 that seemed
unimportant at the time and get their theories destroyed by members of the MG and HG ranges316.
EGs typically hold many probabilistic189 theories, in their minds, for the same fact and amend
them by adding to these concepts301-330 each new piece of knowledge that comes their way.
The Rebellious Minds of the Exceptionally Gifted:
EGs do not try adjusting to society233-239 as MGs or HGs would. They often rebel against the
social order and its ready-made values and habits; on the other hand, they are unable to truly
generate new structures239-328 for society as do PGs.
Ezekiel writes about humanity's plight in his books and attempts to explain these inexorable
processes to the layman.
Teddy, Tony and Wilfried resist social constructs by keeping to themselves most of the time.
Even if they read people very well194, many EGs, being ill at ease in social settings, shun away
from physical and even emotional intimacy204.
Tony has never dated.
Ezekiel has only had one person he has ever felt close too.
Wilfried is celibate by choice.
The Precarious Emotional Balance of the Exceptionally Gifted:
“Overexcitabilities” at the EG level are generally intense225-226-230. Such anxiety and sensitivity
are a liability in everyday life, preventing the person from being well-adjusted. Emotional
disorders are very common193-218 in EGs, typically causing distress and maladapted responses,
thus triggering judgement and rejection from peers.
Ezekiel is often viewed as an irrational person.
Tony hides his OCDs and social anguish.
Wilfried spends an awfully long-time choosing articles in supermarkets, pondering which one is
best for his health or which one has better value. What if this one isn't good enough for his cat,
what if this can isn't easy enough to open…?
There's more empathy for all living things234 at the EG level than at the HG range. EGs may feel
awful when compelled to squash an insect or if they ruin a flower. They ordinarily sense other
people's energy190-191 and may feel repelled by shady characters or stressed out if something
awful happened in the room, they are standing in. They commonly relate to everyone as person
to person, regardless of social status, fame, or hierarchy rank.
Wilfried feels for his boss and is able to easily walk in his shoes. When he sees celebrities, he
relates to their humanity and forgets about their fame.
EG members often display bursts of hyperactivity233, regularly eating and sleeping a lot because
their brains use a great deal of energy233. Because their awareness of details is high198, they tend
to have a tough time making choices. In addition, they absolutely hate being dishonest218 or
conniving even if it's to surprise someone on their birthday.
These people also frequently display incredible memory of their life events, down to colors,
scents, feelings…
Javier can still vividly picture intense images of some of his life events, even mundane ones.
If you’re in the EG range, on top of the attributes of the VHIQs in the previous chapter, you are likely to recognize yourself in
most of these characteristics:
1-You show several typically autistic behaviors (maybe even also ADHD and OCD traits).
2-You are downright different from everyone you know and have next to no close friends.
3-You are extremely interested in many completely different subjects and show significant competence in them.
4-You are able to hold several possible theories in your mind for the same occurrence or fact.
5-You have already changed entire worldviews because you discovered you had been wrong.
6-You were speaking and reading at a much earlier age than most people.
7-You notice people’s emotional workings, why they run into hurdles and what they should do to avoid those.
8-You have chosen a low stress career.
9-You do not feel the need to be politically correct and dislike telling white lies.
10-You are deeply spiritual (not necessarily religious).
11-You are always actively looking for a way to learn something.
12-Your sensitivity and anxiety occasion great complications in your life.
13-You think a lot before making any choice.
14-You show incredibly detailed memory of certain episodes of your life.
15-You are not that interested in dating or in being physically intimate with another person (unless it’s your one true love).
16-You are bothered by the energy of certain people, and you can sense all living things.
17-The rules of society feel awfully superficial and pointless to you.
If you belong to the VHIQ group and if you answered “yes” to at least 11 of those statements, you are likely to be EG.
If you belong to the VHIQ group but answered “yes” less than 11 times at the EG level, you are likely an HG.
3.2 PG (IQ: 175+) Kyle, Walter, Joshua, Nathan.
PGs are the most intense234, complex and remarkable humans on the planet.
Being much more invested in certain fields, because of an I.Q. level extremely elevated in these
areas, gives rise to vastly different kinds of individuals, featuring very dissimilar possibilities and
strong points239-314-327, while still possessing the same I.Q. rank.
Consequently, no two PG person is alike, especially given the PG range knows no official ceiling.
Members of the PG range are quite rare, but not as rare as previously thought. The normal
distribution appears to be a faulty approximation of the number of people present at that level;
there could actually be many more PGs than statistically expected215.
The Mesmerizing Intellectual Workings of the Profoundly Gifted:
The profoundly gifted don’t give the impression of living in our society at all as if they were
watching humanity from a safe distance. At times, they seem to be present in parallel worlds due
to the power of their imagination and their natural self-projection into the creations they
spawn185-191.
Their personalities rest on personal values, devoid of social conditioning238. This is instrumental
in creating new social and intellectual frameworks239.
Even more extremely than EGs, PGs' divergent thinking234 enables them to project their thoughts
in many directions at once, combining problem-solving stages in one giant step down to the
smallest details198. They relish thinking in analogies198-235, expressing complex points intuitively,
interconnecting knowledge215-239 between topics or even entire realms of information. They see
probability189, logic and abstract patterns187 in everything, thus thinking in likelihoods and
potentiality.
The most astounding intellectual feat they are capable of is named “Parallel Processing”: holding
two thoughts at the same time337-339.
Kyle reports he’s in the habit of having one thought and another evanescent one he’s barely aware
of at the same time.
PGs require extreme mental stimulation234-235 as well as an inordinate amount of precision187-198
in words, ideas, and concepts because of their tendency to consider all possibilities at once.
Failure to use the perfect wording may result in misunderstanding.
At the same time, PGs are more likely to be real polymaths with extensive knowledge and ability
in a wide array of subjects215-240 while EGs’ erudition frequently remains more centered on
certain interests due to enjoying very few skills within PG range215 (see “Branching out”
diagram).
Noteworthily, PGs typically speak in grammatically accurate sentences before the age of one188-
212, whereas the average child doesn’t link words before 2.
The Isolation of the Profoundly Gifted:
Because of the communication range81-83 issue, PGs only succeed in communicating fully with
very few interlocutors. Assuming they lie at the bottom of the range, they can only be grasped by
a population boasting an I.Q. level superior to 145 at the very least. They can feel quite isolated!
To add to that forced solitude, because they are so caught up in their intellectual world, many
PGs ignore important matters328 happening in their lives or in the world.
Kyle, Joshua, and Walter tend to overlook their bodily needs when focused on matters of interest.
Crippling “Overexcitabilities” at the Profoundly Gifted Range:
With a level of “overexcitabilities”108-109-239 and mental processing at the extreme332-340, the
nervous system of PGs gets constantly overwhelmed239-340 by too many stimuli. The
consequences are crippling anxiety234 and often some form of synesthesia192-331: seeing numbers,
colors, symbols, textures in everything, along with a certain intermixing of the senses. This
apparent issue helps PGs grasp ideas more deeply, more intuitively and also boosts their
memory376.
Often liable to additional neurodivergent conditions, PGs frequently exhibit many autistic
traits193 and psychological impairments234-236. Even though they are not necessarily medically
identified as autistic, depressed, bipolar, borderline, or with ADHD etc.… extremely high
“overexcitabilities” tend to mimic193 those conditions.
Joshua reports extremely high anxiety with many emotional issues mimicking ADHD.
Extreme Empathy at the Profoundly Gifted Range:
Problem solving skills and creativity, at the PG level, are helped by intense empathy198 and self-
projection185-191 into the core of the issue in a more immersive way than at the EG range. PGs
become one with their environment or the question at hand to find a solution; it’s virtually akin
to an emotional embodiment of all that exists.
Walter becomes physically ill when shown a repulsive picture of a situation involving a person or
an animal.
The Exceedingly Goal-Oriented Existence of the Profoundly Gifted:
PGs are extremely goal oriented, being able to work tirelessly, in a flow-state, at a project
because of an inner drive197-198 to do so. Often aware of a purpose larger than themselves, they
feel connected to seemingly endless energy which propels them towards their goals.
Even bed-ridden, with the flu, Nathan, found the drive to compose an entire classical music piece
in very little time.
Being oblivious to their body limits certain PGs may reach physical or emotional exhaustion377,
thus, triggering serious health issues.
If you’re in the PG range, on top of the characteristics of the VHIQs in the previous chapter, and most of those of the EGs, you are likely to:
1-Live as an outsider.
2-Be incredibly gifted in a couple of fields and only really good at others (for bottom PG rangers).
3-Have many psychological and emotional issues, namely extreme anxiety.
4-Be engrossed in your own world.
5-Harbor highly unusual ideas and infrequent concepts.
6-Be in extreme empathy with people, animals, or nature.
7-Hold two thoughts at the same time.
8-Totally project yourself into issues, characters, works of art, science topics, facts etc.….
9-Be able to work tirelessly on a project that’s important to you.
10-Have some sort of synesthesia.
11-Have very profound ideas of what’s wrong with our society and how to improve it.
12-Be able to understand matters globally and in details at the same time.
If you belong to the VHIQ group and answered “yes” to at least 11 of the EG and 8 of the PG statements, you are likely to be PG.
This schematic327 represents the specific spread of the different skills, commonly found in people
(for ex: abstract, verbal, emotional, visual, logic etc…but also more specific subjects, such as:
math, history, geopolitics, languages, storytelling etc…). It pictures how high/low each skill
stands in relation to the others, for each range.
Horizontally, each range is placed according to its Global IQ level.
Vertically, each skill goes as high as the IQ score, a person in this range, would get, were this
particular ability assessed on its own. The IQ score of each skill is represented by the tip of the
branch237.
This shows that skills arrangements are different for each range, people around average having
less amplitude, MGs only having a couple of strong abilities, PGs having most of their strength
homogeneously within VHIQ range etc…
As you can see, for each range, one of the branches is higher than one of the branches of the next
range on the right. This explains why, at times, a person of a lower range can actually show a
stronger skill than a person of a higher range even if his or her Global IQ is lower.
I have linked the branches for the HG, EG and PG ranges to show the cognitive links these people
create between unrelated branches because of their integrated thinking103 style.
1.I Hope You Were Able to Recognize Yourself in One of These
