Why Some Smart People Appear Ordinary Until Adulthood

In “The rise of the lock-in guy,” I discuss the phenomenon of people who are smart, but this is not evident until later in life, when special circumstances align. It’s not the same as unrecognized genius. Such genius is apparent to others in childhood, but it doesn’t manifest as anything outwardly special. Unlike chess, music, or sports prodigies, such talents are less evident. Unlike skill at investing, economics or finance, being good at chess at 30-40 is less impressive or remunerative. But unlike chess or music, there are no obvious child-prodigy equivalents for abilities like “processing information, recognizing patterns, and separating signal from noise.” Those capabilities matter most once the guardrails of adolescence and early adulthood fall away. Then the actually smart people stand out, when able to avail themselves of time, autonomy, and financial resources. Online, often you’ll read stories from people who found school boring and that their talents were squandered–and I…