Though we may think of ourselves as brilliant, there are 10 or so people in the world who are so smart as to put our brights to shame. Among those with preternatural abilities are Terence Tao, Christopher Hirata, and Kim Ung-Yong, whom I highlight in this post. Terence Tao Tao gave the phrase "child prodigy" a whole new meaning. Now 41, the Australian-American mathematician was teaching 5-year-olds how to spell and add when he was only 2! When he was 10, he began participating in International Mathematical Olympiads. He won a bronze in 1986, silver in 1987, and gold in 1988, becoming the youngest Olympiad ever to win a gold medal. At 16, he'd already earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees; he'd go on to earn his Ph.D. four years later. He currently teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles. Christopher Hirata Hirata, a 35-year-old cosmologist and astrophysicist, has an IQ of 225! When he was 13, he received a gold medal at the Intern...

I've noticed that many employers couldn't care less about your educational background these days. I've gone to myriad interviews thus far in my career. From what I can remember, only one has ever commented on or raised questions about my degree. I wouldn't be surprised if many crafty people who don't hold a bachelor's degree fudge their resumes to include one and end up getting away with it. Large, structured organizations (e.g., Fortune 500 companies, the federal government, etc.) are more likely to conduct background checks to verify that you earned one, but many small businesses and start-ups that watch every penny don't bother. Everyone and his brother has a bachelor's degree, which is why many people say the bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. In general, job seekers need to rely on more than the degree to set themselves apart. Indeed, recruiters tend to zero in on two particular things that they see as being far more valu...