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The Curse of Genius

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Re: The Curse of Genius

#31

Post by bartread »

Fellshard wrote: post #16

One thing that helps is the lightbulb moment: The most interesting thing you can know is other people. Not as objects, curiosities, but real, truly unfathomable beings. You'll never truly understand what's in someone else's head, but you can still spend your life striving to get to know them better, and to perhaps know them well enough to try and make their lives better. There is the age-old cliche of intelligent peo…

> There is the age-old cliche of intelligent people finding 'normal people' dull.

I'm manifestly not a genius, not by a long stretch, but I am an outlier along several axes. Still, when I was younger I was certainly guilty of thinking along these lines and so, perhaps, it's just maturity that's changed me.

As time has gone on what strikes me again and again about the quality of an "average" life lived well (partner, children, family, home, job) more than anything else is its richness. I know it's not easy, but neither is it dull, and the joys and triumphs of it are real. I envy those who possess it and I'm glad for them in equal measure.

(You can of course argue that this is simply a "grass is always greener" mentality, but I believe that can often be a weak and lazy argument deployed when someone is unable to come up something better on their own. That said, what I've expressed above is my own point of view, and I acknowledge that it's by no means universal.)

Re: The Curse of Genius

#32

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

geggam wrote: post #28

Having worked in Silicon Valley with some really really smart people. I wonder how many people think they are genius because their circle is limited? When you work in the valley for any period of time you think you might have a shot, and you might. If you get a chance to meet one of the founders of a well known valley company and have a conversation the realization that luck had nothing to do with their success shoul…

Geniuses are more likely to break systems than perpetuate them. With incredibly rare exceptions, being a founder/CEO is very much an exercise in a certain kind of conformism. So while you may have some very very smart people being founders, the outlier geniuses are going to be doing something else.

Re: The Curse of Genius

#33

Post by hevi_jos »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #14

The 'curse' of genius is more the fact that society is designed to function for average people. The average person goes to school, gets training in something, works their job at an average pace, etc... 'Genius' goes one of two ways. Either they have a good support system around them (usually meaning money) and advance, then later have chance for entrepreneurship and a career they can advance at their own pace (meanin…

There are some kids that are precocious, but not geniuses.

The do things way earlier than anybody else but then they stop developing at a normal adult level. Like the kid Terenci Moix that was deciphering adult Egypt hieroglyphs being six years old or so and doing other extraordinary things for his age, but then it stopped developing.

I believe when we talk about "social skills" what is just genuine interest for other people becomes a set of skills, like mathematics, or physics. It becomes in a way sociopathic by itself, as we are using others as tools for our own development without considering them.

It is more about being emotional and letting yourself go in freedom around others, instead of trying to control everything around you.

I have both sides, I could be highly analytical, but also deeply emotional. For me it is wrong trying to make anything analytical, a "skill" to master.

Re: The Curse of Genius

#34

Post by akvadrako »

cryptonector wrote: post #7
happy-go-lucky wrote: post #5

> Even Albert Einstein, one of the most emblematic examples of genius, wrote in 1952: “It is strange to be known so universally and yet be so lonely.” Really so strange. I'm just trying to see how lonely he must have felt having to keep to himself.

Feynman didn't have that problem, so it's not universal, but it does seem like most geniuses are afflicted with loneliness.

I suspect the sibling reply is correct, that it’s more about celebrity than genius.

But I also don’t think Feynman was a genius the way Einstein was. AFAIK, his math skills didn’t stand out and his main contributions seemed to be about making physics more accessible and teaching.

Re: The Curse of Genius

#35

Post by [deleted] »

donecarejustsav wrote: post #18
cryptonector wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feynman didn't have that problem, so it's not universal, but it does seem like most geniuses are afflicted with loneliness.

I don't agree with that given his lifestyle. He wanted to connect but rarely could, hence an abundance of mostly shallow affection beyond his first wife.

[deleted]

Re: The Curse of Genius

#37

Post by Haga »

donecarejustsav wrote: post #17
Haga wrote: post #6

The curse of the genius is that when you are hyper recombinativeinventive every problem looks like a need for a new hammer and that your first success silences all opposition permanently. The other extrem is that cooperations beloved mediocrity, produced by systemic processes, risk avoidance and intrigant politics today prevent game changers from even reaching entry level.

I think that's a statement about identifiable early genius but not necessarily mature genius, unknown or otherwise. Anyone can see the same patterns being applied to different problems in repetition with enough time. That gets boring to those who find no value in tangential rewards. Escaping that with idealism for understanding solely demands more, and I think that's the biggest identifier for lasting genius versus t…

For power to emerge there has to be fire. You can't make steam with refined poisonous dirt. 2000 year recorded wisdom told us this much.

Any straw to explain away that my attitude could be a problem for society. Only way to progress is shift the nay sayers out of gear in emergencies.

Re: The Curse of Genius

#39

Post by mapcars »

Fellshard wrote: post #16

One thing that helps is the lightbulb moment: The most interesting thing you can know is other people. Not as objects, curiosities, but real, truly unfathomable beings. You'll never truly understand what's in someone else's head, but you can still spend your life striving to get to know them better, and to perhaps know them well enough to try and make their lives better. There is the age-old cliche of intelligent peo…

>The most interesting thing you can know is other people

You can know other people or anything for that matter only as a reflection in your own mind. The most interesting thing starts when you realize that you don't know pretty much anything.

Re: The Curse of Genius

#40

Post by lazyasciiart »

throwawaymath wrote: post #20
jcora wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's such obvious selection bias. People who join Mensa have something to prove.

Is your alternative hypothesis that ADHD is twice as prevalent in people who feel they have "something to prove"?

People with adhd are more likely than not-adhd to feel that they could have achieved better academic results than they did. Mensa is popular among people who value external metrics of intelligence, like academic results. So it seems plausible that people with adhd are more likely to feel they have “something to prove” which can be gained by joining Mensa.
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