An IQ of 140 is a mixed blessing. On an IQ scale which means 100 and average deviation 15, a person with an IQ of 140 is at 99.616957th percent. This means that they scored higher than 99.6% of the test population, an achievement equal to or improved by only 1 in 261 people.
The "blessing" part of this high score suggests that the person is easy to learn, can solve the problem at a very high level, and indulge in sophisticated abstract thinking. This means that with enough work they can learn almost any academic subject in natural and social sciences. For one person, almost all career options, except those that require special musical or musical apletudes are available. Moreover, learning will be easier than most people and can be obtained through books or computers with a minimum of external assistance. When combined with resilience and a passion for achievement, it represents an unbeatable combination of personal possessions to achieve intellectual goals.
However, there are many potential downsides to such intellectual gifts. Often gifted children are perceived to be different in society from their peers and are ignored, ignored, bullied, or laughed at. This is the case for people like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk (who had his nose damaged when thrown on a ladder). While the average child may refer to themselves to expect how others feel, it is often unavailable to people of diverse societies. They see the world differently from the average and are sometimes seen as "strange." However, this is the difference that allows them to make a difference when they reach adulthood. Jobs, Bezos, and Musk continued to have social conflicts throughout their careers as they established companies, but driven by their visions, they were able to change the world.
Another potential downside to a high IQ is what Edward de Bono calls "the trap trap." Those with high IQs are accustomed to being right when most others are wrong - especially in their area of expertise. For this reason, they may tend to dismiss the opinions of others, even if they are outside their domain of expertise. However, a high IQ is not a valid substitute for knowledge, and those with a high IQ who assume that superiority in their field transfers to areas outside of their expertise often override the opinions of others who know more. Indian astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1983, described how a scientist could fall into this cognitive trap: (Quote from Hammond, AL 1984. A Passion to Know: Twenty Profiles in Science. New York: Scribner. P.5.)
These people [winners of prestigious awards] think afterwards that the fact that they have succeeded in a victory means that they have a special way of looking at science that should be right. But that science does not allow it. Nature has shown over and over again that the kinds of truths on which nature is based go beyond the most powerful mind.
Quintessential inventor Thomas Edison was adamant in his belief that direct current (DC) was the best way to carry electricity across America. Despite the overwhelming evidence provided by his employee Nikola Tesla, showing the benefits of alternating current (AC) in DC, Edison continued to insist that alternating current was extremely dangerous and refused to pay Tesla for his AC research. Unable to convince his boss, Tesla sold his findings to George Westinghouse who patented the technology that remains the basis of the power grid today.
Linus Pauling, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, sponsored his final years for multivitamin therapy in the treatment of various ailments. His 1970 publication, Vitamin C and the Common Cold, which exaggerated the benefits of high-dose vitamin C for the common cold, laid the groundwork for later talk about the effectiveness of vitamin C and lysine in treatment of atherosclerosis and cancer. Pauling's claims were not substantiated by subsequent research.
Steve Jobs, known for his presence in the computer world, fell victim to quackery cures for cancer. Informed that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer, the technological vision sought spiritual healing, holistic medicine, and a spartan diet of fruit juices, while ignoring all conventional treatment from medical science may have saved his life. He ignored the mountains of evidence that would confirm his belief in baseless remedies.
So an IQ of 140 is, of course, a fact, but it represents the intellectual potential to be used and managed with careful judgment and appropriate humility.