[JoeAltmaier]

I've wondered about this for some time. The Mensa demographic is 'highly intelligent under-achievers'. Why?

Part of it is early formation. Smarter people can find elementary schoolwork trivial. So they don't get any kind of work habits early on. I was one of these, like you, and still have a hard time buckling down to a task.

There must be more reasons, but that one seems fundamental.

My boys are smart - their mother is the product of a school teacher and a research physicist, so they got it with both barrels. They could have turned out smart-and-lazy. But we put them to hard tasks as soon as they could talk. Music, farm chores, Scout projects. Gave them jobs that were so big they couldn't see the end, so they just had to plug away cheerfully day by day.

Worked. One is an industrial Engineer for new products, invents new ways to aggregate steel in his spare time. Another went to Conservatory in Cello (he liked it better than piano and had to choose). The third spent last month up North, climbing 6 mountains. All three Eagle Scouts in a challenging program. All happy well-adjusted men.

[tigertigertiger]

I think that there is a general misconception in thinking that Mensa beeing "highly intelligent under-achievers". People that are not putting hard work into something are under-achievers in any demographics, because that's what the word implies. It's not a inherent problem in Mensa. Being lazy is the norm, it makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, being an over-achiever is something that has to be trained.

[JoeAltmaier]

There's an expectation of more from a super-smart person. It should be so easy for them. But as you say, it doesn't happen but rarely.