In fact, his teacher said to me that there are gifted taxi cab drivers - my guess is because of teachers like her
LOL! I think that there is some truth to this, but like to look at it in the larger context:
There exists the idea that working class jobs and gifted don't go together.
The reality is just the opposite. Considering the vast differences in population, my guess is that there are many more gifted kids in working class neighborhoods than in the few 'very best' neighborhoods. I'd love to see some numbers, but I won't attempt it myself.
There also exists the Idea, that the US has a 'pure meritocracy' so that gifted people will rise economically on a consistent basis. I haven't seen this happening in a absolute way at this time, although I think it's a great direction to head in.
Then there is the confusion about economic success being the only important outcome. What I've seen is that for most optimally gifted folks, the usual rewards are just fine, but that as one gets farther and farther into the tail, other things in life become more and more important, sometimes eclipsing economic success to a greater or lesser degree. Females in particular, often find that if they partake in the adventure of parenting, that the deck is quite stacked against making a full economic contribution.
And then we have to take into account personality, drive and twice exceptionality. If a person is PG enough to create a product that is so far ahead of it's time that there is no market for it, economic success would be the worst scale to measure that contribution on.
And -
Phillip Glass, one of my favorite composers, drove a cab for many years.
Apart from his music career, Glass had a moving company with his cousin, the sculptor Jene Highstein, and worked as a plumber and cab driver (in 1973 to 1978)
Love and More Love,
Grinity
