Do you know a Genius?

[Dirty Apple]

Because I don't. Or, at least, not that I've ever known. I've known some very smart people, but no one that I for sure knew to be genius level intelligence. If you do know a genius, what are they like personality wise. Aloof and contemptuous, or are they out-going and personable? I'm very curious about your experiences.

 

[viranimus]

..... No.


But part of the reason you dont see a lot of geniuses is because A: the word gets thrown around a lot related to children, and B: as children grow up they may still be intelligent, but many times them never capitalize on their intellect.

 

[retrochimp]

Well, according to IQ tests, I am a genius. I don't believe in IQ tests. I also know some other IQ-tested "geniuses". None of them believe in IQ tests either. Then again, we're all liars, too.

 

[Kinpatsu]

Actually, yeah, one of my best friends - she's 22 with a Master's in astrophysics. She's outgoing, personable and quirky, but also a little scattered, and she has an extreme lack of faith in humanity. All in all, she's awesome, and her intelligence is the highest of anyone I've ever known.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Well, according to IQ tests, I am a genius. I don't believe in IQ tests. I also know some other IQ-tested "geniuses". None of them believe in IQ tests either. Then again, we're all liars, too.

A true genius is smart enough to discount the results of an IQ test.

 

[Doclector]

I've known people who were geniuses in their fields, but not all round.

A few people have called me a genius, but I tend not to believe them. One of these times was shortly after I described photosynthesis, after all, I think the bar for genius may be somewhat low at the moment.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

I'm a genius. Or so the tests say.

I don't feel superior about it or anything.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

My calculus teacher was referred to as "the school district's resident genius", so he might count. Honestly, he's brilliant, I don't know if he counts as a genius, but he's hard to beat from what I can see.

 

[Berethond]

According to the tests I'm a genius.
But I'm not a genius. I'm just really good at taking tests.

 

[Agayek]

Because I don't. Or, at least, not that I've ever known. I've known some very smart people, but no one that I for sure knew to be genius level intelligence. If you do know a genius, what are they like personality wise. Aloof and contemptuous, or are they out-going and personable? I'm very curious about your experiences.

According to my high school guidance councilor, I technically qualify as a genius. I'm not sure I actually believe that, but I guess it fits. I can't be bothered to independently verify that one way or the other (though the one time I took an online IQ test, it said my IQ was 142). I can see myself qualifying as a genius mostly because I learn at a rather ridiculous rate and I am capable of making (correct) logical connections and intuitive leaps that most people, in my experience, simply can't. All throughout school (including college), I never had to really work at anything. It almost all came naturally to me once the teacher walked me through the process.

I'm not sure I am though, simply because I don't seem any smarter than other people, I just have a natural ability to sift information more efficiently. I'm not explaining it terribly well, but basically I know "better", not more than others.

If I do qualify, I'm (almost too much so) reserved around people I'm unfamiliar with, but rather outgoing once I get talking. I've been told I'm fairly charismatic as well. I'd like to think I'm not overly arrogant or contemptuous, but I'm honest enough with myself to know I have my moments of feeling superior. Mostly when people simply can't make (what I see as) basic logical connections.

A true genius is smart enough to discount the results of an IQ test.

To be entirely fair, an IQ test can be used as a measure of reasoning ability. It's most certainly not a be-all, end-all metric, but it can act as a valid means of comparison. The only real problem with such a test is that someone can get different scores on the same test, depending on how well-rested they are, how much preparation they did, and what they were thinking/doing before the test started.

It's a valid metric, but not an absolute one.

 

[SeeIn2D]

I know a girl who is roughly 30 points north of genius on an IQ scale. I don't rely on those but based on what I saw when I was still in school with her I'd believe it. The girl pulled literally a 100 on everything and apparently got nearly 2400 on her SATs, with the essay being the faulty section. Now I don't usually trust grades since they are mostly test based, and obviously the SAT is itself a test and test taking is a skill in and of itself so thats not a good measure. I've read some of this girls papers that she's written and based on those and her collective grades from one of the most competitive high schools in NYC she is in fact a genius.

 

[Sandernista]

According to the tests I'm a genius.
But I'm not a genius. I'm just really good at taking tests.

This basically.

 

[KarlMonster]

"Genius" - in the way that I think you mean it - requires two things; reasonably good intelligence, and considerably good general/specialized knowledge. [In some cases (music!) replace 'knowledge' with 'ability'] A person can be highly intelligent, but without a good amount of knowledge, all that intelligence isn't going to do much good. A person with good intelligence isn't automatically a fast learner, nor have a photographic memory, nor a walking calculator; though some people can do those things, and other people do develop those skills.

Realize that any interesting combination of the above characteristics can either be a genius, or just quite talented. There was this guy with a photographic memory who worked as a traveling serviceman on sensitive instruments. He could look at an *unplugged* unit from across the room and guess what was wrong with it - because he could remember the schematics, and knew what the most common failures were. That didn't make him a genius. In fact, he should have kept his mouth shut, because that customer paid a lot of money for a service visit when this guy could have explained the simple problem over the telephone! Oooops! Yeah, I hope geniuses are smarter than that.

But as many have already mentioned, Geniuses are usually just normal folks. Some are truck drivers, waitresses, murderers, and even unemployed.

I was supposed to be a genius, but I never got around to it. Maybe I could pay someone to do it for me? I do have this great idea of how to start my car with a 9 volt battery though...

 

[Catalyst6]

"Genius" is just a label. Some people are booksmart, some are savants at a craft, some are charismatic, all kinds of things.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Booze Zombie]

We're all geniuses, it's just sometimes it's in a very genius saturated area and we thus call it "common".

 

[GartarkMusik]

Does musical genius count? If so, I'd say a friend of mine who's going to the Manhattan School of Music this fall for Jazz Trombone Performance. He's easily the best player I've ever met and just about every aspect of his playing to me is damn near perfect. He's definitely one of the most chill people I've ever met. He can get a little too excited sometimes and he's not the brightest guy sometimes, but I like to think he's a bit of a lovable, extremely talented oaf.

 

[Odbarc]

Well, according to IQ tests, I am a genius. I don't believe in IQ tests. I also know some other IQ-tested "geniuses". None of them believe in IQ tests either. Then again, we're all liars, too.

Me too.
I've got all the cons of being a genius with none of the benefits, it seems.
Severe anti-social tendencies. But I've got a quick-wit that can't be beat (albeit very dry sometimes).

People either 'get me' and love me or don't and hate me. Guess which ones exhibit stupidity symptoms?

 

[Zeriah]

My Uncle came (tied with a couple of others) first in the state on his HSC with perfect scores in everything. The guy played very high level sport, was school captain and was extremely outgoing and nice to boot. Unfortunately during his first year in University he broke his neck and became paralyzed from just below his shoulders down (he could still lift his arms and move them but cannot bend them).

But he didn't let that hold him back and like a boss he finished Uni with exceptional grades, got a job as an actuary in one of Australia's biggest businesses. Fast forward till now and he's writing up and developing some federal laws for politicians, a co-owner in a multimillion dollar company, does a ton of stuff for other people with spinal injuries and a father.

Sorry for going offtopic but I'm real proud of my Uncle.

 

[Laser Priest]

IQ tests have put me in the genius range.

Fuck IQ tests, as now everyone expects above-average performance from me, and I am incapable of delivering.

 

[rmb1983]

Well, according to IQ tests, I am a genius. I don't believe in IQ tests. I also know some other IQ-tested "geniuses". None of them believe in IQ tests either. Then again, we're all liars, too.

A true genius is smart enough to discount the results of an IQ test.

This.

As far as IQ tests go, I know a handful of them, myself included. Honestly, though, they mean little to nothing, so it really doesn't matter in the end. In the same breath, I can be pretty daft at times, so it just further shows that they're baseless measures of intellect.

As far as knowing someone I would personally consider a genius, though? One of my closest friends. Every word out of that man's mouth is comedy [color=CD7F32]GOLD[/color].