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Is there a "genius" trait in us all?

Started by Jesus, July 11, 2013, 01:53:19 AM

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Shiranu

Awww man, I'm just 13 short of being a certified genius :(.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Johan

Quote from: "Jesus"In other words, let's just say Einstein was pretty lucky he got in touch with the scientific field because that was where he excelled at the most.
Einstein was considered a genius because he was a 'effin genius. Math is where he choose to apply himself.  If he had decided to apply himself to basket weaving, he still would have been a genius. He just wouldn't be in the history books.


Being extremely talented at something does not make one a genius at it. It just makes them good at that one thing. People who have genius level intelligence tend to be good at pretty much everything they decide to try. Not always otherworldly good at everything they try mind you. Because certain undertaking require more than just pure intelligence to pull off. A genius who is a world class physicist will probably never be able to keep up with most world class guitar players. But being a genius, that person would likely go a lot further with guitar if they chose to pursue it, than someone with an equal amount of 'musical potential' but lessor intelligence. Being smart helps.
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful

Seabear

"There is a saying in the scientific community, that every great scientific truth goes through three phases. First, people deny it. Second, they say it conflicts with the Bible. Third, they say they knew it all along."

- Neil deGrasse Tyson

SGOS

Quote from: "Johan"A genius who is a world class physicist will probably never be able to keep up with most world class guitar players. But being a genius, that person would likely go a lot further with guitar if they chose to pursue it, than someone with an equal amount of 'musical potential' but lessor intelligence. Being smart helps.
I remember an incident that was related to me about a student of some musical instrument who was unable to perform a certain tune or exercise.  His teacher eventually told him that his fingers were just not "wired" in such a way for him to do it.  I think I can relate to that.  I played the guitar for many years.  I even got pretty good at it, but there were things I just couldn't do.  And I don't think it was a matter of practice.  It is not inconceivable to me that good musicians have certain physical attributes above and beyond the norm, just as gifted intellectuals have certain mental attributes beyond the norm.  Gifted musicians probably have better innate abilities at tonal associations too.  There are probably a number of abilities that must come together to make a good musician.  Some people are innately better at specific things.

Gifted guitar players show up at such early ages at levels far beyond what took me years to master.  I look at some of these youngsters with amazement.  I don't think you get that good that fast without being "wired" to do it.  If you have been blessed with the proper wiring, you still need to refine it, of course.  You can't expect excellence in much of anything if you don't do the work.  Or so it seems to me.

I also remember an interview with BB King.  If you think about it, he sings a few bars and then plays a riff, but he never does both at one time.  The interviewer asked him why he always follows that pattern.  He confessed in the interview that he just couldn't sing and play something complicated at the same time.  Other guitar players can, however.

SGOS

Another thing I remember reading about IQ tests and things like entrance exams.  They are designed to test the center of the bell curve, where the bulk of range of abilities exist.  Where a person scores very low or very high, the results become less valid and are expressed in terms of margins of error.  I'm not an expert, but I question those margins of error.  To me they don't seem wide enough.  But I digress.

If you are testing for the middle, which is what IQ tests do best, most people will render a proficiency level of 50% or so, and obtain a score of about 100.  Questions that are too hard or too easy don't contribute much to being able to differentiate abilities, because almost everyone gets them all right or all wrong.  The number of questions, therefore, that tax a gifted person are fewer in number and don't help as much in differentiating them from those slightly above them or slightly below them.  A brilliant person who might get a perfect score is certainly regarded as smart, but a perfect score doesn't do anything to compare him with others close to his abilities.  Scores of 99 percentile are considered dicey.

Teachers often use a scale of 90% right equals an A.  85% equals a B, and so on.  But they are only testing to check for mastery of a small unit.  They don't care so much about who's better (theoretically speaking).  They only want to know how well the students master a relatively small amount of information.  Not all teachers do it that way.  But the frequently used scale for an end of the week test works well for their purposes unless the questions are too hard or too easy, in which case the test becomes unfair or a mickey mouse giveaway.

Jesus

Well, this is quite depressing. Darn ...




These were great points! I've had my question answered more than adequately. I'm glad I can put this thought to rest now.
I like to appear in various forms, but my favorite is as a toast.

the_antithesis

Quote from: "Jesus"
Quote from: "the_antithesis"Writer posted a YouTube video



She makes a valid point, but each hero still have a power that is unique to him or her. Same thing when it comes to genius, no? You could have been a genius at (idk, landscaping), but would never know because it's incredibly unlikely you would ever go that route.

Not everyone is a hero, son. You missed the point.

Jesus

Quote from: "the_antithesis"
Quote from: "Jesus"
Quote from: "the_antithesis"Writer posted a YouTube video



She makes a valid point, but each hero still have a power that is unique to him or her. Same thing when it comes to genius, no? You could have been a genius at (idk, landscaping), but would never know because it's incredibly unlikely you would ever go that route.

Not everyone is a hero, son. You missed the point.


Darn, and I was so hoping to be a genius myself.
I like to appear in various forms, but my favorite is as a toast.

Seabear

"Everyone is special in their own way."

Bullshit. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. We are just cheapening the definition of "genius".
"There is a saying in the scientific community, that every great scientific truth goes through three phases. First, people deny it. Second, they say it conflicts with the Bible. Third, they say they knew it all along."

- Neil deGrasse Tyson

aitm

QuoteIs there a "genius" trait in us all?

trait, aw, sheesh, no.....not just a trait......
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

Johan

Quote from: "Jesus"Well, this is quite depressing. Darn ...




These were great points! I've had my question answered more than adequately. I'm glad I can put this thought to rest now.

I wouldn't get too depressed about it. Just because being extremely good at one particular thing doesn't qualify you as a genius doesn't negate the fact that you're still extremely good at something.
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful

Shiranu

Say what you want, I'm still depressed I'm not a genius. So close, yet so far away...
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Titania

Quote from: "Shiranu"Say what you want, I'm still depressed I'm not a genius. So close, yet so far away...
Ugh, tell me about it. I think about this all the time. Curse you, Powers That Be!
"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." - Winston Smith, 1984

Jesus

Quote from: "aitm"
QuoteIs there a "genius" trait in us all?

trait, aw, sheesh, no.....not just a trait......


So what really does determine "genius"? I've never really given much thought about that. Genius transcends "hard work" and "talent" alone. Sure, as noted already one may be a fantastic actor (aka DiCaprio, or someone to the likes of that), but genius itself is something completely different.
I like to appear in various forms, but my favorite is as a toast.

Plu

Genius, in its simplest form, is the ability to look at a problem that makes most people go "that's unsolvable" and find the solution anyway.