We have the impression that rocket scientists and brain surgeons are super-brainy. New research suggests the general public is actually just as smart as those high-flyers. Researchers assessed 329 aerospace engineers and 72 neurosurgeons on six different areas of cognition. The researchers compared their data with those from 18,257 respondents who previously took the tests. The researchers said: "Only two differences were significant: the neurosurgeons' problem-solving speed was quicker and their memory recall speed was slower."

The research questions the use of phrases such as "this isn't rocket science" or "that isn't brain surgery". These suggest something is actually quite easy to understand. The researchers said when we require rapid problem solving, "it might be more correct to use 'It's not brain surgery', but in situations where rapid information recall is needed this phrase should be avoided". This gives hope to all of us who want exciting careers with "genius-level" requirements. However, this could lead to an excess of brain surgeons and rocket designers.