<p>Being brilliant alone is NEVER enough, in any situation; but especially at top boarding schools.</p>
<p>As for the threshold Gladwell cites, the further one strays from the normal range of cognitive abilities, in either direction, the more difficulties arise. Even the most well adjusted 150+ IQer will run into situations where they just feel like they cannot convey what they are thinking, or fall into that profound loneliness that often marks that group - even (or especially) when they are unaware of their own IQ. It’s not the knowledge of it that creates the stigma; it’s the very thing itself.</p>