What is a genius? Being a genius isn't as simple as being smart or having a high IQ. While intelligence is, of course, a prerequisite of genius status, there are other things at play here – including creativity, self-awareness, and an innate ability to ask questions few others have ever asked.
There is no one definition of genius. But many doctors study highly intelligent, or gifted, children to understand genius better. They define genius as a wealth of originality, creativity, and the ability to imagine or think in new ways and areas.
The scientific evidence for the conviction that geniuses are born, not made, or that creativity is inherited, is very meager, currently in fact it is virtually non-existent.
Some of these signs include a strong desire for learning, excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to think outside the box. Highly intelligent individuals are often curious and have a great capacity for absorbing and processing information quickly and effectively.
While intelligence is, of course, a prerequisite of genius status, there are other things at play here – including creativity, self-awareness, and an innate ability to ask questions few others have ever asked.
Throw social commitments into the mix, and there's limited time to be alone and be still with your thoughts and creative process. It's common for people with genius qualities to seek out isolation at times, due to a social anxiety and an excessive need for “me” time, in order to practice mindfulness..
Psychology Today reported that intelligent people are likely to be nocturnal beings, with those with a higher IQ going bed later on both weeknights and weekends.
But genetics can explain the wide range of possible IQs too because so many different genes are involved in developing and running a brain. It is possible, for example, to inherit all the higher IQ genes from each parent and leave the lower IQ ones behind. Now the child will be brighter than the parent.
Terman defined “potential genius” as having an IQ of 140 and above, which is about 1 in every 250 people, while American psychologist Leta Hollingworth used as an even higher IQ threshold (180), which would translate to approximately 1 in every two million people.
Is Being a Genius Inherited?/Heritability of IQ. According to studies, genetics can drive anywhere between 30-75% of the variations in people's IQ levels. However, certain environmental factors and socioeconomic status can prevent a person from achieving their true genetic potential of IQ levels.
Geniuses, on the other hand, tend to be quite industrious and hardworking, and love getting their teeth into really difficult problems.
According to modern IQ standards, which place normal intelligence within the 90–109 range, a genius is often defined as anyone boasting a 130 or above score. Informally, polymaths—who excel in multiple fields—and experts are often considered geniuses.
The five levels of cognitive prowess by Albert Einstein: Smart, Intelligent, Brilliant, Genius, and Simple.
Talking to yourself, it turns out, is a sign of genius. The smartest people on earth talk to themselves. Look at the inner monologues of the greatest thinkers. Look at poetry!
Most Geniuses Perfected the Power Nap
Since a lot of them tend to believe that it is absolutely imperative to stay ahead, they seem to think that sleeping deprives them of this opportunity. Hence, they'd reduce the time they rest at night in order to have more functional, waking hours.
Albert Einstein is said to have slept 10 hours per night, plus regular daytime naps. Other great achievers, inventors, and thinkers – such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sir Isaac Newton – are said to have slept between two and four hours per day.
10 HOURS OF SLEEP AND ONE-SECOND NAPS
It's common knowledge that sleep is good for your brain – and Einstein took this advice more seriously than most. He reportedly slept for at least 10 hours per day – nearly one and a half times as much as the average American today (6.8 hours).
However, intelligence has drawbacks too. For example, studies have found that higher IQ is associated with more and earlier drug use. Studies have also found that higher IQ is associated with more mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
One explanation behind the struggle of smart people in life is because their self-esteem lies only on their intelligence levels. This makes it difficult for them to work with people who are smarter than them. They aren't good at dealing with failed projects and critical feedback.
Via The Intelligence Paradox: Why the Intelligent Choice Isn't Always the Smart One: Intelligent people, however, have a tendency to overapply their analytical and logical reasoning abilities derived from their general intelligence incorrectly to such evolutionarily familiar domains and, as a result, get things wrong.
Those born in September are, apparently, the smartest out of the entire year. According to Marie Claire, a study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research found that there's a clear correlation between the month during which you were born and how smart you are.
While geniuses tend to be exceptionally intelligent, they also use imagination and creativity to invent, discover or create something new within their field of interest. They break new ground rather than simply remembering or reciting existing information.