Shankar Vedantam

Scott tried to become his own psychologist.

If he couldn't convince psychologists that he had potential, he decided he would prove his case to himself.

Scott had one other pivotal interaction with the world of psychology and IQ tests.

When he was in high school, he requested access to some of the classes his friends on the gifted track were taking.

He was told to go see his school psychologist to get permission.

Scott was now 17 years old.

The file on the psychologist's desk was a report with Scott's IQ test.

When this happened, Scott, do you recall him saying where you sat on the IQ spectrum?

I mean, if 130 was gifted and 90 to 110 was normal, did he describe what 87 was?

I understand that after you left his office, you went to the school library and you basically looked up how to read IQ tests.

What did you find?

By this point, Scott was actually doing well in school.

He had a case to be moved to the gifted track.

But in looking at the results of his IQ test from when he was in elementary school, the school psychologist was saying some important things.

First, the test had picked up something innate about Scott.

It didn't matter how much he'd learned or what he'd accomplished in the years afterward.

The test had peered into his mind, and the test had determined he was not gifted.

Not then, not now, not ever.

You're listening to Hidden Brain.

I'm Shankar Vedantam.