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Yeah, people tend to flatter themselves that there is a huge gulf in abilities between their own tier and the tier immediately below them (but, strangely, never the tier immediately above them).
It's why so much internet energy is spent talking about "midwits".
A simpler and more accurate model : intelligence matters a lot at every level with no high or low cutoff.
I freely and openly admit that the people above me are much more exalted than I could ever hope to be. I recently interviewed a candidate at work who was applying for a quant job and he absolutely floored me with how intelligent he was, telling me things I hadn't realized about the mathematical question I ask people a few short tens of minutes after seeing the question for the first time. I came away from that interview thinking that I had just come into contact with someone blessed with true shape rotator greatness.
At least I am at the level where I could appreciate what I had just seen, unlike the average 95th percentile person who is so far removed from it that he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me and this person had he been the one taking the interview instead.
Fair enough.
For the record, I get midwit vibes from many doctors myself.
I think this is true for many professions with a deep moat around them, regardless of that is educational credentials or some level of career success. This doesn't have to be very highly compensated professions mind you.
In situations where you're "safe" once you're in many people check out mentally and this affects not only job performance.
Being a "midwit" is only partially an effect of intelligence but also of practiced intellectual rigour, often requiring a competitive environment. It's like if people who were professional athletes when they were young thought they're still competitive when they haven't really exercised in over a decade. Disconnect from competition and practice allows for personal preference rule uninhibited by reality.
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