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In every field of human activity there are significant individual differences in performance. In some jobs, for instance, output can be measured objectively and, although the effect of various incentive schemes is to obscure the picture, there are occasions where some workers are twice as effective as others, even within a trained and experienced group. This kind of direct comparison tends to be made only in respect of operative tasks. In highly skilled specialist jobs and managerial posts it is extremely difficult to make objective and direct comparisons. But if one accepts earnings as at least an indication of performance, then there is marked variability in many occupations: the range of life‐earnings of one year's class of students qualifying as architects can, for instance, be taken to be very wide indeed. Achievements vary considerably at school too. The range of attainment in mathematics amongst 16 year‐olds is enormous. In some subjects an A stream may be more than a year ahead of other streams. And in any examination or test of scholastic attainment, the range of scores or of knowledge displayed can be quite dramatic.