![]() These inequalities in opportunities and challenges may have been even further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related learning losses globally (e.g., Hanushek and Woessmann 2020), adding up to a cumulative disadvantage over time. This is true for countries around the world where lack of opportunities and numerous headwinds ( Stevens 2020 Wai and Worrell 2020) face talented but disadvantaged students (in particular compared to their advantaged counterparts). When many children come from poverty, they will not only fail to be recognized as gifted, they might not even develop to be gifted (e.g., Hair et al. Systemic and structural barriers reducing the likelihood that many talented but disadvantaged students from low-income and minority backgrounds can ultimately develop their talents and eventual expertise to the fullest is a crucial ongoing challenge ( Peters 2021). This is the intellectually gifted population, which we operationalize as roughly the top 5% of achievers globally. In this paper, we focus on what we believe to be an often neglected and underdeveloped population that very likely could contribute greatly to solving real-world problems to a much larger degree than they currently do ( Benbow and Stanley 1996 Gardner 1961). Thus, we should without question help all students, through education and other means, to develop to their full potential. Solving consequential real-world problems would ultimately best be served by fully developing the multitude of talents of all individuals in society. ![]() We then discuss two remaining fundamental challenges: the identification of disadvantaged and marginalized groups of students who have traditionally been neglected in selection for gifted programming suited to their current developmental needs, and the building of skills beyond academic ones, specifically in the related areas of open-minded thinking and intellectual humility. We draw from longitudinal research on intellectually precocious students and retrospective research on leaders and innovators in society, showing that mathematical, verbal, and spatial aptitudes are linked to societal innovation. Should well-supported high achievers choose to solve them, these problems span health, science, economic growth, and areas unforeseen. We draw from the cognitive aptitude and gifted education research literatures to make the case that solutions to consequential real-world problems can be greatly enhanced by more fully developing the talents of the intellectually gifted population, which we operationalize in this paper as roughly the top 5% of cognitive talent. However, in this paper we focus on what we believe is an often neglected and underdeveloped population, that of the gifted. Fully developing the talents of all students is a fundamental goal for personal well-being and development and ultimately for global societal innovation and flourishing. ![]()
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