Throughout the study of this topic, much has been learned. Though it was originally thought that geniuses are insane people, it has become apparent that they are more normal than we originally thought. They are often plagued with mental illness or mental disorders. Things like depression, anxiety, insomnia, dyslexia, autism, and a score of others. However, it is also clear that many of these disorders can easily be dealt with, as studies, medications, understanding, and stigmas are all being improved. It is also interesting to learn about the brains of these people. The makeup of their brain is much different in comparison to a regular person. It is interesting to note that these people also have special abilities, like spatial reasoning, though they often lack important social skills and an understanding of day to day tasks. In conclusion, it is essential to learn about geniuses, as they tend to be the most influential and also the most creative, as genius is associated with such talents.
As a student in an academic high school, I got to know some of these so-called geniuses. The school was focused on learning in four areas, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Because of this, the school supplied no sports programs, drama, art, or debate. Set up to allow a student to receive both their high school diploma and associate degree from a local university, it set up many challenges. But, students had the brains to meet such challenges.
They had magnificent brains, able to often complete Calculus by the end of either senior or junior year of high school, despite these talents, they could not socialize. They often avoided social situations. Only a small percentage of them would attend dances, though often most would attend barbecues. They often would stick with a small group of friends, playing cards during lunch or studying. Most of them would study throughout the day. Some would read physics articles or build robots in their free time, while others would build small rockets planes. They were also extremely interested in technology and often would debate about the best technology companies. Often, many of them would not speak up in class or socialize on a regular basis, instead, doing the extensive reading for their courses and beyond. It became clear that many of them were socially awkward therefore inhibiting their ability to develop proper social skills. However, it is important to highlight that this was a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math,) focused school.
This made it harder to differentiate from the general genius population, as most of the students were focused in these areas. It is also essential to point out that it seems geniuses are generally only thought to appear in these professions, though there are certainly creative geniuses in every field. It seems that, as evidenced by previous reading, geniuses can be more than just academically sound. Often, those who develop their genius as children, or later in life, are often the most influential in society.
Once, while talking to a teacher, I was mentioning how many of them appeared much smarter than me. She said that, "You know Brooke, many of them will just sit in a corner and do their work, never talking to anyone." I came to the conclusion soon after that many of them had autism. Perhaps not at the far end where they could not speak, but enough that they were socially awkward and lived in their own worlds, while studying extensively on a range of different topics.
However, in association with their normalcy, it appears important to bring attention to the fact that not the entire student population was this way. Maybe a fourth of students would be considered normal, attending school, working normal high school aged jobs, and visiting with friends on a regular basis. The fact that they lived normal lives while being immensely intelligent and attending a rigorous school, brings home the point that intelligence and genius can both be present in a person.
This experience allowed me to study, through experience, about the behavior of the savants of our society. I learned that there are some that are not fully normal, but live limited quiet lives, barely doing anything but constant study and card games. It was also interesting to see the change in myself and my attitude towards education and nerdiness after being exposed to such people for three straight years. It is interesting to see how well they function in society, though they are not typical people. Most do not consider the game Magic any fun, but for a certain circle of people, it was, and is. In the end, genius is more expansive than we realize, and also more normal. Some of these intelligent students led normal lives, while others continued in pursuit of knowledge and nothing else.
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