I was always at the top of my class in high school. Upon entering a university, I had to adjust to being at the 75th percentile or so, and it was a rude awakening.

Then I entered the professional world. The second company I worked for had a staff made up of about 75% doctorates. I felt somehow sub-par in their presence.

For about 6 months, that is. By that time, I had worked close enough with many of them to realize that, while they may be able to write extravagant algorithms all day long on their white board, their skills in other areas of life were severely lacking…especially the social skills. These people screwed up their lives every bit as bad as mere mortals.

From then on, I have been happy. I may not be at the tip-top intellectually, but I hold my own and can relate to people to boot. And in my opinion, that is a much better combination. 🙂