Coping with the Burdens of Being Intelligent
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- Опубліковано 18 лют 2017
- Of course, being smart confers advantages but it also imposes burdens. In this brief video, I outline those as well as ways to cope, indeed, to make the most of your intelligence...as well as to cut yourself some slack.
Being intelligent in this society is great if you have no morals and a curse if you are a good person. The first thing you'll notice is that your intellect threatens people, so you better tune it down or else. When you make people feel inferior-even unintentionally- they WILL come after you. Also, the moment will come when you realize the smart guy doesn't always win; the guy who knows how to play the political game does. That's depressing.
Agreed.
Very much agreed .
Playing the political game well is also (for big part) an intellectuel activity
Hang in there ladynottingham89.
It’s extremely depressing. I try so hard to help the people around me to become free thinkers and to stop chasing bullshit but I nearly get the cops called every time
I really needed to hear these things
Marty I honestly thank you from the bottom of my heart. These are quite literally the problems I deal with every single day since my childhood. It's extremely tough, because I just keep everything to myself at all times, combined with the pressure of living up to the potential I know I have + being the most self critical & self analyzing person I know, it really can wear you down over time. We all have parents, teachers, bosses, that tell you what you are from a very early age. When many people confirm this it becomes reality. Being intelligent is the total opposite. NOBODY will tell you how intelligent you are exactly (not speaking about academic intelligence), so you have to take control of it yourself. Like you said it's also very tough to not be able to explain why you're the way you are to people, because you'll come across like a guy way too full of himself, so you dumb down the answer or create a stupid excuse to just get the conversation over with. You're spot on with everything.
I wish I found you sooner, because sometimes all we need is a little confirmation that it's a gift rather than a curse. Thank you again.
Good points Marty. Wouldn’t it be nice if the potential contributions of the intellectually gifted were generally recognized as a benefit to society? I get so tired of being misunderstood as competitive or arrogant when I’m just minding my own business. I don’t want to spend time managing others’ insecurities about being around me. Sigh. I have other things to do.
Recently i was at a party, and people kept telling me i should stop provoking them. I was kinda confused because i was behaving normal. It turned out they felt provoked by me building complex sentences with words they didn't knew. =( (The depicted events took place in germany, as one can see my english is pretty bad)
Many people are easily intimidated and overreact to their own insecurities. It can become quite the problem in attempts to socialize, should they feel somehow threatened by you.
Preach.
@@MakeB711 Same thoughts
Couldn't disagree with you more about pot but LOVED your other ideas. Thank you so much for the solidarity.
Moral dilemmas can stunt ones happiness, an example, I worked at a car dealership, in about a week I had the ins and outs of the job down, but also the ramifications...
ripping people off will hurt ME as much as them, I can see this...therefore I quit and took a less paying but more morally sound job, but at my own expense.
I find this with many career paths to be the case, if it isn’t morally sound I can’t do it...
THIS is exactly what happened to me but with government, to me the job was super stupid and grew a lot in just 4 years but I just couldn't bare everything that comes when you are so close to the people in power, I resigned 2 years ago and have been mocked and even insulted by own family by my decision but at least my "soul" is at peace (to my great expense financially).
There something we should do to change this the system is rigged!!!
Amen bro. Cant stomach the imoral happenings
intelligence is both the greatest gift I've ever been given, and the loneliest curse I've ever experienced. i feel that is more due to external factors then anything else but it is difficult non the less.
We have to make a change for the better of this planet,
Or we are all going to go down the drain,
I feel so alone, people have blocked their hearts and minds with their ego, they have been conditioned to live so,
We have to make a change for the better direction of this planet,
@@daddycool9413 This!!!
It's because is easier!!
Lazy = stupid on brain level
Having to understand your heart requires a lot of mind work and time and people are not willing to "waste" it!!
I think the truest form of loneliness, at least in my experience, is related to the desire of wanting to connect with people who share a similar love of ideas and abstractions but instead remain confined to a state of being perpetually misunderstood; it's almost like an ongoing form of rejection. I find this to be depression triggering; most often, when I get excited about a person who I believe to be someone of likemindedness but yet, all too quickly, discover said person's limitations. Whether these limitations be from ability or preference, in most cases, I dare not guess; I like to believe people would get my jokes about meta-ethics, or understand why I find Nietzsche both brilliant and hilarious, or be able to entertain my view of reality as fluid and relative, if only they were as interested and curious as I am; perhaps their lack of interest stalls their ability to understand. I am aware of the correlation between curiosity and intellect, however, I am interested in what makes a person curious, to begin with as well as how we would define "curiosity". It appears that almost everyone in some form has some sort of curiosity. So then, where do we blur the lines, and can some different forms be due to exposure, or even as a reflection of an individual's state of development in an ongoing process? Could there exist an exponential growth rate of curiosity/intellectual pursuits, once an individual crosses a certain threshold? For instance, the subject becomes aware of how something they love connects to another thing; then how everything abstractly connects itself; and if they're not too tied to a limited identity, so as to avoid an existential breakdown or nihilism, they could endure the ideas that come with a moldable existence, rather than the boundaries from the belief of being molded by a specific and absolute existence. (I'm sorry, this is all off-the-hand and a bit scattered. Truthfully, I'm more optimistic in my ideas than the implementation of them, therein lies more threads of melancholy). I realize, these sound like odd things to desire in companionship but it's appreciating the complexity of simple encounters that make, I believe, a lot of us feel more wholesome. I'm happy with my introversion in general, but at the same time I need to have a constant influx of information going on around me (perhaps my ADD/ADHD mix type (and/or dysthymia) is to blame) and every now and again I would love to have capable interested people challenge my ideas or systems, that I've curated. I honestly consider that the process of recognizing the limitations of those around you, a worthwhile catalyst in ongoing melancholy; its a harsh line which fundamentally says "No more connecting with this person in the way that you most desire; you were wrong". I can appreciate that emotion bonds most people together, I have emotions as well, but emotion alone - without mental companionship, that is more than I am admittedly capable of; perhaps that is my own limitation for which my friends are forced to attend. I just wish there were more people on my side of the boundary. Believe me, if I could, I would scoop up my loved ones and bring them on over. I suppose I attempt just that in my continuing attempts to not only teach them but more importantly in my efforts to exhibit how beautifully interesting everything is, at least from my observations. I love my brain, I think we all love our brains. How can we not love our brains when our natural inclination is to love learning? However, it's not often that my abilities contribute to anything more than my own entertainment/projects, and that's lonely. For anyone who practices a skill, to show another and have them unknowingly fail to notice, what to you made it beautiful, is a little heartbreaking; whether it be a music composition, the subtleties of a piece of artwork, the fluidity of a system, or the layers of a book. I notice that it helps to have certain "assigned" people for designated interests of mine, but it's still limited in depth and breadth. Perhaps, this isn't a relatable comment but rather just an emotional observation from an individual who's perspective is still in much-needed development. I am finding this video 3 years too late, so I don't expect much, if anything at all. I'd like to think that it gets better with age, however, the frontal cortex becomes fully developed during the mid-twenties of an individual, so my time on that is coming to a close, and I fear that after that threshold, everyone else just becomes rounded out and grounded in their pre-adopted identities, principals, and ideologies. If I'm correct, it only widens the distance between those whom I've already observed an initial disconnect with; therefore furthering the mental isolation I wish to stave off.
(If anyone reads this, I am sorry for the narrative fluctuation between perspectives; I'm not yet brave enough to entirely use the first-person point of view without feeling a tad narcissistic. For clarification, the "you" is used in the general form, to relate to anyone with a shared similar experience/interest )
Stay strong
story of my life i think the hardest pill to swallow is knowing the thing that stands in our way is the lack others posses on what we are bringing to their attention ive been scouring videos today , because i got into an argument purely off the fact that im " insecure " and being right is a way to prove how different i am lol but it was self projection from the other person on the phone , the over explanation on what you are saying vs. what they feel you meant is utterly tiring and becomes old fast nowadays i dont speak much unless i see use , i loved your comment btw fuck dumb people lol we will be fine
The smarter you are, the harder for you to talk with people about ideas and such... Stopped reading books, just to be able to talk with them. It's very lonely to be alone all the time. My health improved, i'm much happier. "ignorance is a bliss" that's about it...
@@leon5620 " the hardest pill to swallow is knowing the thing that stands in our way is the lack others posses on what we are bringing to their attention" that was a very good way to put it, hit me up doe, I'm lonelyyyy aaaaaaa, my Discord: @BearishSundae #0536
I absolutely loved your text!
It is so sad and catastrophically self-defeating, it made me laugh, reflect and get a little teary eye is like you gave a correct structured form to my exact thoughts (I thought I was the only one who thinks studying Nietzsche is a sign of a good partner, friend, relationship what ever, hahah! )
You have great writing skills and know who to impregnate feelings to your words :)
Thank you for sharing keep at it!
I hope you are doing okay I wish you nothing but thoughts of self fulfillment and joy!
Much love and respect from México :)
Just a negative when your around average thinkers. My intelligence has ruined my social life. There's too many average. My Brain remembers things on its own it's not my fault . As example Why sit back and watch the orchids die if you know they can't sit in water. My girlfriend says I nit pick everything . I'm just gonna let my orchids die after six years to save the grief. I don't want to remember anything anymore . Wish I was not smart. Specially when your own parents don't share the same mind .... is there ambient noise to listen to to shut the mind off. Or take all my brains attention.... like he said can't be smart at everything hence my writing. I hope known of you understand me
Weed makes me even smarter. Jsut dont give two shits when I am high. Only true happiness I have ever found. I could be high every day just so I cant think
@@ivandiaz2813 What type of weed?
@@xysanctuary6434 any except reggie
I have 0 friends because everyone thinks im weird or anti-social and its realy hard to change the perspective of other inferior beings hahah im just kiding but it is hard being smart because other people bore me
do you have any interests in life that stimulate this intelligence? I want to talk with intelligent people, we need to talk, and vent, then build. I am mostly focused on biology, but I have interest in a lot of things I am too lazy to write about in this comment lol.
Thank you for your compassionate stance
Thanks Marty. I have been so charitable over the years, spending time with people who can't understand stuff. But I feel so lonely. Time to find my people.
Amen, brother!
Here because I’ve studied psychology so long, I have so little time for therapy because I’m always 10 steps ahead of them. (Also, they have the power to influence other doctor’s opinions of me, from their notes. Possibly biased. Too risky) I’m always “the one with the answers”, for what seems like everyone in my life. It’s a high benchmark… ty for this content!
My mind is so profound and it's incredible to experience it... but it's really lonely.
Thank you for uploading this video.
I feel that I am social, up to a point, but I don't care that much to participate in work related social occasions. I prefer just being with my spouse who is about like me. I would prefer to be completely self employed. I am retired and work only a couple half days a week. I find that people don't get it if you don't want to socialize every blessed hour. It's like they try to force you into it. I am not shy but I have a quiet form ofA.D.D. which makes me quirky to a degree. I never really fit in completely and don't care to. I think it's important to learn to be alone but not lonely. Also, I tend to want to back away from all the drama involved in dealing with others. It is overwhelming.
so very true
Your not alone .
I cried watching this. I've related with every single point you've made. I've always known im smart but lately especially in the past few years i've been made to feel like i'm not smart at all infact that I'm much more stupid since I can't seem to get along with people. I dont want to open my mouth anymore since i make people feel inferior. They don't even have to say it, their body does. Thank you for helping me with your words sir! ❤️
I’ve gone through so many crisis (existential, spiritual, emotional, etc.) throughout my life because of this, I couldn’t handle all the negative side effects because I was told it was a blessing. As I’ve grown I’ve found it’s more of a curse.
Thanks. I needed to hear this.🙏🏽
I'm too emotional/socially smart.
And I only enjoy people who are like me to the point where less intellectual people annoy and irritate me. And I hate the fact that people like me are so anti-social so I end up being alone and irritated from it because I'm surrounded by unintelligible people. So, it feels like I'm surrounded by stupid people all of the time which shorten my temper.
Does this feeling go away?
I don't WANT to be this. I think too much and too deep, and I recognize patterns all the time. I can give great advice, and I can interact socially fine, but it all feels manipulative. I have a lot of guilt. I want to isolate because I feel like I'm always acting. It makes me feel bad.
Thank you this was succinct and helpful!
Thank you for that interesting video. This brings up the question: "if someone is really so smart, wouldn't he/she figure this out by himself/herself"? Perhaps we're not all as smart as we think we are if we're watching this :)
We really can’t because part of it is subconscious and we can’t really turn it off. Our intelligence tends to get in the way of the social side or people side of life whether it be people as friends or people at work. It makes you not like most people and a ton of things also come with this. It’ll cause loneliness which can cause depression. Also being extremely intelligent can cause someone to be a perfectionist and it feels like you want to die after one mistake. It’s just a lot of stuff that can’t be solved by being really intelligent because it’s caused by being really intelligent as a side effect opposed to on purpose. Hope this helped clear this up : )
Thanks Marty. Be well.
I'm lucky I learned how to tone it down at a very young age: because the first time I won best speller in my Elementary School spelling bee in second grade, I wasn't allowed to win that title because I was a relative of an employee of the newspaper that sponsored the spelling bees in that City. So over the subsequent years I learned how to "throw" the spelling bee so I wouldnt win. I cheerfully obliged. As time went on it was an inside joke of who the real winner was every year that I was there. On the surface that does seem to be a bad tactic teaching a young intelligent person to sabotage themself, but in retrospect I think it helped me develop the ability temper it down, without ego attached, over my lifetime. Very good lesson in humility when I was too young to reject it. I feel lucky for that life-lesson now, over 50 years later.😊
I think one big problem people are facing is something you did not;
Having parents that educated you well!
I'm so happy to see you happy sharing your memories 🤗
Thanks for the sentiment...it was actually my teachers, and the school who instiiled that ethic. I never shared that with my parents, as I was concerned it would disappoint them that my dad's job caused that. It wasn't discussed at home, and I don't think my parents heard about it from the school ,either( it was late 1960s, different school priorities then...)
@@reeh7393 Well is basically the same principle... both my family and school teachers did nothing but push me to the ground and mock me for my "bright potential" and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in these sentiments. Thankfully you are well :)
Thanks for this. I've been dealing with this situation for some time now, and I grow hesitant in trying to innovate and improve processes. My team is non responsive with my suggestions and/or they constantly try to cancel them.
Whatever you do don't get emotional that's when "they" win because with high arousal emotions we think less critically and that's how they get the upper hand. Keep doing what you have to and try your best to no get involved in emotionally charged situations!
When everyone else's thought process is a 33 record, and yours is on 45.
?
LOL YES!!!
@@domgarcia1421
thanks Marty
You end up alone because you can't live with dumming everything down for everyone 24/7.
Thanks
thanks you
I wouldn't know about that burden.
I have fabricated multiple scenarios where either my dad dies or mum or both and my dads brother or my uncle is psychologically traumatizing my dad day after day . I wonder what will happen if something happens to my dad or mum or both . I have created scenarios about coping up in such situations .
I feel a bit sad for entertaining at this idea but this isnt an one in a million event it could happen any day .
All this and not able to share it with anyone else .
This isnt the end of my thought process but one of 3 thoughts that disturb me continuously again and again and it's not a phase it's a periodic event possibly something is triggering a particular event or stress .
But sometimes i seek that trigger intentionally.
Distract your mind!! I have this horrendous intrusive thoughts since I was young very vivid and very plausible but only as my mind works it out to be, if you engage your mind whit something more "attractive" to your train of thought it'll vanish!
Get your mind to work for you!!! not the other way around!!!!
WE CAN MAKE THIS STAND STRONG!!
@@chisspa777 i joined med school .
Simply being intelligent isn't as important as living a meaningful existence. I've seen far too many people of 'average intelligence' do incredible things to help others and themselves that seem so small and insignificant, yet carry more weight than any intellectual elite who wants to hide behind the potential of their intelligence.
The world is rough, and functions because of the daily toils and suffering of others. The ability to understand other perspectives and the importance of character are far more useful in the long run.
I have been surrounded by idiots all my life !!! Never met a smart person all my life
do you have any interests in life that stimulate this intelligence? what are they? I want to talk with intelligent people, we need to talk, and vent, then build. I am mostly focused on biology, but I have interest in a lot of things I am too lazy to write about in this comment lol.
hit me uuuuup
@@mennehgambia1962 watch my videos and comment
@@mba2ceo uuuuh what video should i watch? lol
I agreed with everything but the weed comment. As far as lung health ya it’s not good but it opens the mind to a different perspective and often times that’s exactly what the ego needs to fruit without egotism.
One of the problems of being highly intelligent is that you come under attack in every school year. In every year there are always class bullies and other dumb kids who hate your guts. Apparently dumb people don't like to be reminded that they are dumb, and every time you open your mouth to answer a question that they can't that's exactly what happens. In early years this takes a terrible toll on your emotions but over time you learn to expect the attacks and quickly start to ignore them. I remember that even in engineering school I would be regularly attacked by the lesser performing students, and that one of their complaints was that I seemingly never reacted to their insults. I would just continue on as if I had not even noticed them trying to insult me. They never understood that by this stage insults were just white noise to me. I no longer heard them.
Does anyone have any advice on how to find a community or group of people/place/any opportunity to converse and spend time with other intelligent people as an adult who is not in college, and not currently in a job that requires a high intelligence?
I really took it for granted that in college I could talk with people about deep and interesting topics, and even if not everyone in college is highly intelligent, there's still that baseline level of curiosity, interest, and yes, some intelligence, that leads to exploration of ideas and even motivation towards experimenting with such ideas.
Thank you for the video but I have one question. What is worse for you alcohol or marijuana?
SoFla 4 Life everything in moderation is a good thing to live by, but some things are damn near impossible to do in moderation. Drugs and alcohol consume people’s lives and destroy them. So one must be careful with what they do.
I amm just sick of this, I want to live a normal life but I know shit some adults dont know, I wont disclose my age but I find myself everyday coming to terms with the fact that I will never become popular and will probably die like a normal person and that so many people are way smarter and better than me, I am worthless but ninhlism is not the end of the world.
Don't worry if you are helpfull and truthfull to other people becoming popular is not so difficult in the right enviroment. Finding a job that fits your abilities and don't bores you to death will be way harder.
do you have any interests in life that stimulate this intelligence? what are they? I want to talk with intelligent people, we need to talk, and vent, then build. I am mostly focused on biology, but I have interest in a lot of things I am too lazy to write about in this comment lol.
hit me uuuuup
Lol pathetic kid.
I think the question is what should i do with my time , the day is long .
I am exhausted being correct more than not, and being told I feel I have to be smart. Even when the evidence is in black and white that I am correct.
Yes. I wish I could work with other smart people.
that can be true, ' there are definition of intelligence, for each mind, 'either a 5 year will solve a puzzle in an hour, 'or a 8th grader will pass his test in three hours , 'ohh those when one is born with the Supreme intelligence, 'sometime being to intelligence can quite frequently I annoy people, "when ever my mother say something wronged or
she think that she smart,
"I would correct her with my answer , "and will that would get her mad at me too many times," in my life i was told to be too smart for my own good, "and the truth of the matter is am mentally handy cap. and yet sometime i rather have stupidity then intelligence,but those are my own thoughts
What language did you throw into google translate in order to get this?^
So is intelligence supposed to be general or is everyone not smart at everything? It seemed to me that you said both are true.
I've never fit in anywhere, oh well...
Becoming stubborn
Overthinking
Not knowing how to talk with people because they can’t think like you
Isolation
Unhappy
If you had a lot of money what would you do with it?
Send it to some random guy in South Africa.
What if you are smarter than the smart people?
Don’t forget being stubborn
Hi Marty why would someone who is academically super intelligent hide that and feel more comfortable in being for want of a better description a dizzy blonde, (sorry all blonde) like they suppress the intelligent part of them, because it’s not them, it’s not like being in their true skin? I don’t know if I have asked that question right sorry….
Many smart people do dumb or bad things
The trick is to never think of yourself as intelligent.
If you are intelligent and logical, u will never have fun. 😶 because u will think that the fun is going to end, which is not fun anymore.
I'm not smart and I am still hated..
I'm smart but there's always going to be someone smarter than you.
two thoughts:
i) Be careful about usage of 'intellectually gifted', as I think genetics doesn't produce much of the variation in most people--most anyone can play 'catch up' given a good total educational environment. If I get the chance to select 'intellectual giftedness' as a topic for a term paper, I most certainly will be trying to tackle it with a substantive pile of evidence.
ii) on being seen as a know-it-all.. I believe this is something which can be overcome by learning the right attitudes. I can't exactly pin it down, but I think you have to convey both a sense of "I see you on some level as my equal" and "I want us to all be better as a result of my having shared this thought/knowledge". A succinct way of putting it might be 'having tact'. I think I benefited here from interacting a lot with a good friend who has zero tact. The contrast is illuminating.
Interesting thoughts.
i) I'd be curious to hear some data supporting this. My experience is that in every educational environment there are always students of a variety of intelligences. There are always intelligent people in poor educational environments, and unintelligent people in wonderful educational environments, and everything in between.
ii) I've also observed people with high intelligence and low tact. Interaction is always a painful experience. At the same time, even being tactful, I believe there's still a relational gap that can form when one person is significantly more intelligent than their peers. Unless that person is extremely charismatic and confident, it gets old hearing the same response to those well-meaned ideas: "Oh wow" and the conversation dies on the spot.
There are certainly ways to keep the conversation light so as not to experience this. But eventually you start to stay into a topic that is your expertise, and you either must smile and nod, or say something as generic as possible or risk overwhelming your friend and making them feel foolish because your well-meaning comment is over their head, even though you tried so hard to phrase it accessibly.
i) Crap. I grew up in schools full of morons and stood out as superior intellectually. Even the hardest working of them couldn't catch up with me and I did little work at all. So the educational environment has little to nothing to do with intelligence.
ii) Crap. It doesn't take long for the morons to realize you outclass them intellectually. Just use two or three words in a sentence that they don't know. I told two fellow students in law school, "I live by the motto, 'Eschew obfuscation.'" One asked, "Is that Latin?" No amount of, "I see you as an equal," is going to offset that kind of intellectual difference.
anonygent for the sake of argument and curiosity, was your home environment one that gave you pathways to develop your intellect (such as: high conversational standards modeled by your immediate family, access to a variety of quality books, a sibling to spar with intellectually, regular use of a computer to access forums, games, and general information which were of a higher intellectual standard)?
The thing I'd also note about genetics is the conditionally dependent "on/off" nature of gene expression. This complicates the conversation of environment, as gene expression is dynamically realized via a long and ongoing chain of if-then conditionals that are shaped-or at least shaded-by the events/features of the environment.
Our environments are incredibly complex, and any given environment's relationship to the manifestation/expression/suppression of genetic traits is harder to speculate about than it is often made out to be.
This isn't necessarily a counter point to your argument as much as it is (I think an important) bridge between your argument and the argument you were refuting.
*fun edit/non sequitur: I am a nerd emcee and have a line that goes: "they obfuscate liars; the stakes get higher; like a human pyramid that's fighting vampires."
Obfuscation is just a damned useful concept, and nice job on having a motto that utilizes it for some A+ #1 alliteration. I salute you.
My home environment was one of relentless verbal and physical abuse and put-downs. Starting in 3rd grade, school became a source of verbal abuse and social rejection as well. If I could have chosen popularity over intelligence, I would have. And I'm too old to have had computers and internet when I was a kid. I'm of the opinion that intelligence is like height, you can stunt your growth with insufficient food and nutrition, but there's a genetic upper limit that you just aren't going to overcome. This is why Head Start and other such programs are a colossal failure. I'm curious how Jaime Escalante, et. al., manage to get outstanding results from mediocre students, but he and the few like him fail to teach anyone else their methods, so they are outliers.
As for "eschew obfuscation", I wish I'd come up with it, but I didn't.
anonygent Thank you for your candid and personal reply. It is extremely refreshing in the landscape of absurdity that is so much the norm for the personas people adopt online.
I am sorry to hear you went through such an abusive and traumatic environment.
I do not disagree with your height analogy, though I am greatly influenced by the works of Carol Dweck an Anders Erickson, which colors my interpretation of that argument.
There is a component of genius which is repetition and practice. I believe it is possible to have a brain that is more inclined to obsess in the way that makes successful practice possible (perhaps this is what we really mean to refer to when we speak of "intelligence"). That is a reasonable hypothesis. However, our collective and commonly held ideologies around the role of practice are so faulty (and tragically, relatively easily falsifiable) that I would argue we are nowhere near where we would need to be in order to justify our speculations about the boundaries of heritable limitations.
It's a bit much to summarize where I'm coming from on this, but I have a personal anecdote that should serve decently for the purpose of elucidating my slant on this;
I am in the 99th percentile for reading comprehension (I was tested periodically as my brother has dyscalculia and the psychologists who worked with him set up planned screenings for me at specific age benchmarks); And accordingly, I performed well above my peers in all subject matter relating to reading, writing, and argumentation.
I, however, cannot entertain this coming out of the ether; before I was ever tested, I was obsessively reading (although my favorite obsession was math, but it seems this was overlooked in me, and getting materials to practice and advance my skills in this was not as available. Slight tangent).
When I say obsessively reading, I mean as soon as I had learned to read any words at all, I would sit in front of my parents' large bookcase and I would go through the books I could reach, reading the word I knew. One of the first words I learned to read was "and"; So, I would go through entire books reading the word "and". I can still remember how rewarding it felt to do that.
Once I was able to read most of the book, I became obsessive over the meanings of words. If I did not know the exact definition, I had to find it out immediately. Not knowing was (and is) almost painful, and being able to select the right (i.e. best fitting) word feels rewarding in much the same way as biting into a perfectly seasoned steak.
The point with my anecdote is that when people called me "naturally" talented in writing or linguistic tasks, it had always struck me as a complete failure to understand the source of my abilities.
I don't know why my brain was so rewarded by the practice, but I was better than my peers because I practiced in a way and to a degree they did not. They didn't work on it the way I did.
You can certainly make a well-reasoned argument for some brains not responding to or rewarding practice, but my argument is that the power of well-designed, effective practice is grossly underestimated, proportionate to how uncommon it is to find and how little acknowledgement it is given in the biographies of our most brilliant thinkers and performers.
We so much buy into the idea of "the natural" that the boundaries and critical foundations of effective practice are discussed as if they are made of voodoo (at least in the general public and the overwhelming majority of people's learned ideology towards intelligence and genius).
Most of these people in the comments don't belong here 😂
Maybe myself included 😂
r/iamverysmart
Oh fuck off