Harry Potter and the Profoundly Gifted

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 39455

We have been having a spirited discussion over on OT-Chatter about 
the measurement of intelligence, and the best way of educating 
profoundly gifted (PG) children, who may roughly be characterised as 
the top 1 in 5000 on the IQ scale (properly defined).  (The thread 
extends back over a couple of weeks now - it was sparked by a post 
from Amy about Stephen Jay Gould; search on his name, intelligence, 
underachievers, or gifted.)

One thing that struck me about the discussion was the number of HPFGU 
people (certainly much more than 0.02% of the list membership) who 
were able to identify with the experience of PG children.  It is of 
course not possible to identify which list members fit the criterion 
precisely.  I wondered if there was any connection.

Eventually A Vulgarweed posted (message 11020 on OT-Chatter):

>>>Funny, this thread. When I first read HP & the S/PS, it took me 
back 
immediately to the first summers I got to leave my crappy little town 
and go to various University's summer programs for gifted kids, and 
kids interested in wildlife, and young writers: I felt like I had 
gotten a mysterious invitation to study at a wondrous place where I 
_belonged_ as I had never belonged before. So in my highly subjective 
emotional reading (that was very similar to my readings of Madeleine 
L'Engle's Time trilogy and Susan Cooper's _The Dark Is Rising_ series 
and the Chronicles of Narnia, etc.) I took magic and the ability to 
see workings of the universe others don't (and being reviled and 
misunderstood for that ability) as an extended metaphor *for* 
giftedness.>>>

So: is there something about HP which attracts people who are very 
gifted, or perhaps feel they do not fit in with the educational 
system as they find it?  Vulgarweed's post suggests an obvious 
possibility.  But don't we all to an extent feel that way?  Is that 
any different from the appeal to the other hundred million Harry 
fans, who can all take Harry's magic as a metaphor for their own 
individuality and giftedness in the wider sense?

If not, is there something about HPFGU which appeals to the very 
gifted? (I think answers to this may have to go back OT)

So, take it away, ever-argumentative listies.

David