The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not IQ, a generally bad predictor of success.Instead, it’ s purposeful practice.Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’ d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’ t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or, shared the same birthday.