Eh, 95th percentile is probably more reasonable. You don't have to be super smart to be successful. In tech you probably have to be pretty smart, but I think being from a well-off family is more important in most cases.
Yeah, reading this advice as somebody in that percentile according to all The Tests and who started at around the same time Altman did (bit younger) but who was way, way further down the socio-economic ladder is interesting.
I did put some of this advice into practice. One thing it got me was an ODD diagnosis.
Well we can add a postulate that if you really were smarter then you would’ve been born to a wealthier family to resolve the quandary. Quite elementary. ;)
You can bust your ass all you want, but it's not going to make up for having an IQ of 100.
There is a lower bound, and I think it's around the 90-95th percentile if you want to excel in tech. This is based on 115 = 85th percentile, and I think <110-115 you're going to have a tough time in a top tech company as an engineer.
I did put some of this advice into practice. One thing it got me was an ODD diagnosis.