Everybody has their strengths and weakness. Some people are great artists, others are scientists, while some people are given the gift of caring.

A good IQ test should test the persons ability to think, not what they learned in school or life. A person with a high IQ score, only means that they have strong ability to think. It's their choice rather to use it or not.

I also think that if everyone was tested, the curve would be different. They say that a score of 100 puts you in the middle, and 130 and above is superior, and a score of less than 70 is disabled. The only people that normally get tested are people that either show above average skills in school, or are having difficulty in school. I think there are a lot more 130's out there than most people think. Just in casual contact through my years of working with people, I found many that were superior. They just never told anyone.

The problem arises when one thinks that one's gift is more important than the other, for it takes all the strengths for mankind to survive. It's nature's check and balance system.

Take something as simple as manufacturing a car. Intelligence to design the machinery. Artistic ability to make it look good. Some one that cares, to make sure its safe. A person to sell it to us. ;-)

A common problem when your strength is the ability to think, is that often you are working under people who have a different strength. This can make some bosses very insecure. Many people have chosen not to let employers know what their true abilities are.

Many times it's easier and safer to play dumb. If something needs your ability, you find a discreet way of doing it. It may look like luck, or someone else may get the credit, but your job is safe. This does have some drawbacks though.

One night I was at a local coffee house, with some friends. A friend of a friend joined in. When she was told what I did for a living (helping people with disabilities to find employment) she asked for my help. She went on to tell me that her disability was "Mensa". Thinking I would not catch on to what she was saying. I simply told her that I agreed, that anything that keeps you from working and living a normal life is a disability. She had stated the fact that she was a Mensa member on her resume, thinking people would hire her, in fact it had the opposite affect.

Another problem is boredom, especially with kids. When a child's natural ability to think is above his peers, but his/her's maturely level is equal. The child may not understand what is happening, and have some difficulty. In the old days a child was allowed to skip a grade. I feel this is unfair to the child. The social circles of children are ridged, a younger child may not fit into the "click". This makes having a social life very difficult.

Helping a child to learn, that everyone has different strengths, and how each one is important, may help the child understand. Also the child needs to be mentally stimulated, so that learning is fun. Something as simple as learning the names of the states, can be made more challenging. What is the capital? What is the state known for?

Some people think that if their child potty trains early, and reads early he/she is a smart child. I disagree, true the child may be a quick learner, or he/she maybe just well trained. Common things I think indicate a child may be a fast learner are:

• Prefers to play with the boxes rather than the toys that came in them. Often using their imagination to design things.
• Takes things apart, to see how they work. Later even puts them back together.
• Asks lots of questions. We are not born with knowledge, we learn it. If the child is asking, he is showing a need for basic knowledge. From this other decisions can be made. Something as simple as, if white and blue make light blue, than the child may calculate on his own that, white and red make pink.
• Poor grades in school!!!! Not doing homework, acting out in class.

I was lucky, my junior year in high school, I figured this one out. I'm a mechanical person, I can look at something, understand what makes it work. I can also eat raw data, for breakfast. My weakness is in the arts, and language. In plain English, I can design stuff, just don't ask me to write about it or draw it.

I have references that will tell you," Does what most people say is impossible, but her paperwork is another story."