ABSTRACT
This conclusion draws together the book’s main themes of danger versus safety, related to being set apart from others and/or rejected versus belonging. The two extremes on the Bell Curve of intelligence are discussed, considering what language is used for these and how the special needs of each are typically responded to. A replacement is suggested of the term “gifted” with the more neutral and accurate update “learning agility”. The paradoxical status of high-IQ individuals as a minority group – or not – is discussed. Stephanie Tolan’s cheetah metaphor is adapted to question governmental neglect of high-IQ issues. How the world and humanity as we know it is changing is raised, given an increase in autism, progress in artificial intelligence, and a decline in human intelligence as evidenced by the Negative Flynn Effect. It is argued that we should not neglect, denigrate, or idealise extreme intelligence but seriously invest in this diminishing resource for the benefit of high-IQ individuals and the world around them. Lastly, it is suggested that high-IQ individuals can themselves contribute to improving their positions by increasing their emotional intelligence and, when affiliation and collaboration is desired, priming in others an “ally” rather than “adversary” interpretation of relational status.
