Psychological Science, a leading psychology journal, will soon publish an article finding that the highly gifted (as identified by the SET) are disproportionately likely to "rise to the top". People are sensitive about IQ because they rightly sense that it matters a lot.

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/03/25/0956797612457784.full.pdf
Who Rises to the Top? Early Indicators
Harrison J. Kell, David Lubinski, and Camilla P. Benbow
Vanderbilt University
Abstract
Youth identified before age 13 (N = 320) as having profound mathematical or verbal reasoning abilities (top 1 in
10,000) were tracked for nearly three decades. Their awards and creative accomplishments by age 38, in combination
with specific details about their occupational responsibilities, illuminate the magnitude of their contribution and
professional stature. Many have been entrusted with obligations and resources for making critical decisions about
individual and organizational well-being. Their leadership positions in business, health care, law, the professoriate,
and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) suggest that many are outstanding creators of modern
culture, constituting a precious human-capital resource. Identifying truly profound human potential, and forecasting
differential development within such populations, requires assessing multiple cognitive abilities and using atypical
measurement procedures. This study illustrates how ultimate criteria may be aggregated and longitudinally sequenced
to validate such measures.
Keywords
cognitive abilities, creativity, human capital, intelligence, profoundly gifted, STEM