I know a lot of people in my high school who are in the top 5% of our class, but have no ability to think creatively.
GPA is just a measure of how much time you spend studying, factored in with your natural intelligence.
The people with the most intellectual potential are those who maintain a decent GPA but spend little time studying, but instead do things that are productive (as the article explained).
A valedictorian who does nothing but studies doesn't have a greatly increased chance of succeeding in life.
College is a lot more applied, and brute studying and memorization will get you nowhere.
You need to hang out with more pre-meds.
I agree with your sentiment, but disagree with your conclusion, unfortunately. Pre-meds and especially med students are just studying machines, who seem to have an average intellectual curiosity that lies at least one standard deviation below average grad students. It's likely that these are the result of self-selection and/or adaptation to the way the system is setup.
GPA is just a measure of how much time you spend studying, factored in with your natural intelligence.
The people with the most intellectual potential are those who maintain a decent GPA but spend little time studying, but instead do things that are productive (as the article explained).
A valedictorian who does nothing but studies doesn't have a greatly increased chance of succeeding in life.