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.
They are thinkers to the core in every respect. Their mind is always on the move, with thoughts constantly flowing through it. Not only is their mind constantly on the run but they also tend to think of a problem more productively by thinking about different perspectives to it.
Walter Isaacson, biographer of many well-known geniuses, explains that although high intelligence may be a prerequisite, the most common trait that actually defines a genius may be the extraordinary ability to apply creativity and imaginative thinking to almost any situation.
Ability to learn new topics quickly. Ability to process new and complex information rapidly. Desire to explore specific topics in great depth. Insatiable curiosity, often demonstrated by many questions.
Geniuses have high expectations of themselves and despair quickly when they fail to produce superior results. Highly intelligent people have too many interests and tend to get bored easily.
Urging readers to look beyond traditional understandings of what constitutes genius, Armstrong describes 12 such qualities: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy.
Recent studies have shed light on some of the characteristics that highly intelligent individuals tend to display, such as strong analytical skills, quick problem-solving abilities, a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning, and the ability to think abstractly and creatively.
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!
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..
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.
Great minds aren't always at work; geniuses need hobbies too. Albert Einstein played the violin, while Alan Turing was a marathon runner. The hobbies of these geniuses give us extra insight into their lives.
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.
Research suggests that highly intelligent people get bored easily and spend more time thinking, behaviour that comes across as 'laziness'.
Summary Researchers made a startling discovery about intelligence and decision-making speed. Their findings indicate that those with higher IQs are quicker when solving simple tasks, but take more time to resolve complex problems compared to those with lower IQs.
The Genius Threshold: 130 and Beyond
While there is some debate among psychologists, a widely accepted threshold for genius IQ scores is 130 or above. This score places an individual in the top 2% of the population, making them exceptionally intelligent.
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.
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.
Summary. Geniuses are both born and made. While genetics can explain up to 75% of variations in IQ levels, factors like socioeconomic status and home environment decide whether a person achieves their full genetic IQ potential.
Intelligence represents a high level of cognitive ability, characterized by logical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and the acquisition of knowledge. On the other hand, genius encompasses exceptional creativity, originality, and innovation, often leading to groundbreaking contributions in specific fields.
"There are two kinds of geniuses, 'the ordinary' and the 'magicians. ' An ordinary genius is a fellow that you and I would be just as good as, if we were only many times better. There is no mystery as to how his mind works…
In her work with more than 6,500 gifted children, she has found that there is a correlation between giftedness and sensitivity, with highly gifted individuals often exhibiting the traits of a sensitive person.