Spain's 'smartest woman' chose the humanities: genius or wasted talent?
A young woman with an IQ of 128 and a 9.7 average in Humanities at Universidad Carlos III reopens the debate: are we making the most of talent or burying it in civil service exams?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spain's 'smartest woman' chose the humanities: genius or wasted talent?
Some 10% of the Spanish population has high abilities, according to figures from El Mundo. The news that a young woman with an IQ of 128 and a 9.7 average in Journalism and Humanities at Universidad Carlos III has been presented as the smartest in Spain has reignited the debate about whether talent is being put to good use. With top grades at a public university whose level of rigour some dismiss as 'painting by numbers', her choice of the humanities is seen as a luxury the country cannot afford.
Does intelligence measure the ability to create wealth?
The irony is that, while her brilliance is praised, the public system pushes her towards civil service exams and a state job rather than towards producing value. Some commentators argue that any old-school engineer, with a 7 in telecoms engineering before 2004, would be orders of magnitude above her in real capability. The awkward question is whether the humanities, as taught today, are a refuge for talent that could be designing bridges or algorithms.
The mirage of high abilities
The 'smartest' label fades when set against an IQ of 128, a score many forums (and data sets) place far from extreme excellence. Previous cases, such as Pizpi Blanco or Yisus G. Maestro, promised to revolutionise the humanities and ended in irrelevance: one as a caricature of 'wanting but not being able', the other teaching empty classrooms. The pattern suggests that talent, without the right direction, fades away.
Grants and income: the silent filter
Another open front is student grants. While the brightest receive next to nothing, aid triples for those who can prove low income. The suspicion that the system rewards declared poverty over intellectual ability fuels the scepticism. How many potential geniuses are lost for lack of incentives?
What no analysis manages to explain is why, with talent so concentrated, excellence in the humanities does not translate into tangible achievements. Or perhaps the real problem is not the choice of degree, but the quality of the education even the brightest receive.
Related debates in the forum
Some 10% of the Spanish population has high abilities, according to figures from El Mundo. The news that a young woman with an IQ of 128 and a 9.7 average in Journalism and Humanities at Universidad Carlos III has been presented as the smartest in Spain has reignited the debate about whether talent is being put to good use. With top grades at a public university whose level of rigour some dismiss as 'painting by numbers', her choice of the humanities is seen as a luxury the country cannot afford.
Does intelligence measure the ability to create wealth?
The irony is that, while her brilliance is praised, the public system pushes her towards civil service exams and a state job rather than towards producing value. Some commentators argue that any old-school engineer, with a 7 in telecoms engineering before 2004, would be orders of magnitude above her in real capability. The awkward question is whether the humanities, as taught today, are a refuge for talent that could be designing bridges or algorithms.
The mirage of high abilities
The 'smartest' label fades when set against an IQ of 128, a score many forums (and data sets) place far from extreme excellence. Previous cases, such as Pizpi Blanco or Yisus G. Maestro, promised to revolutionise the humanities and ended in irrelevance: one as a caricature of 'wanting but not being able', the other teaching empty classrooms. The pattern suggests that talent, without the right direction, fades away.
Grants and income: the silent filter
Another open front is student grants. While the brightest receive next to nothing, aid triples for those who can prove low income. The suspicion that the system rewards declared poverty over intellectual ability fuels the scepticism. How many potential geniuses are lost for lack of incentives?
What no analysis manages to explain is why, with talent so concentrated, excellence in the humanities does not translate into tangible achievements. Or perhaps the real problem is not the choice of degree, but the quality of the education even the brightest receive.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (37 replies).
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