Human abilities and unique minds

[Just_me_Mike]

Would Einstein have been Einstein if he had been born to a poor mother and no father in some barren state such as Somalia?

Do we consider equally the genetics, environment, and opportunity each individual has before them?

What is it that makes Einstein Einstein? Or, Divinci Divinci? Is it something in their perception? Is it their brains figure patterns out easier thus making progression that much easier?

Does the mind serve that sum total of the parts of the body or do the sum parts of the body serve the mind?

 

[tumbleweed41]

All of our unique experiences in life make us who we are.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

All of our unique experiences in life make us who we are.

Maybe in combination with chemistry or are you suggesting our chemistry is a result of our experiences as well?

 

[Engyo]

Nature and nurture both.............

I don't think we know enough yet to determine whether it is solely genetics or solely life-experience that create these unique individuals. I would surmise that we will eventually discover that it is some of both, varying case by case, and that each case is as unique as the individual under study.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Maybe in combination with chemistry or are you suggesting our chemistry is a result of our experiences as well?

Certainly nature plays a huge role in who we are, but our nature determines how we react to individual experiences, along with conditioning from past experiences.

Take Einstein for example, under differing circumstances, he may have followed a completely different career path, but he would more than likely be very brilliant at what he did.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I see nature as more of a potential range for each attribute, and nurture as what determines where we end up in those ranges.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

I see nature as more of a potential range for each attribute, and nurture as what determines where we end up in those ranges.

I think your reply points out the obvious abstractness to the OP, to which I agree with. However, getting more intimate with the subject is where it gets tricky.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

If Einstein lived in a third-world country, he would still have been Einstein, but probably wouldn't have formulated any world-changing scientific theories, as when one's day-to-day life is consumed with trying to merely survive, thoughtful contemplation is a luxury.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

So back to the underlining question of the OP...
Whether Einstein was born where he was or a third world country, what beyond the term nature and nurture about him was different.

Is it a defect in the brain, or an anomaly? What specifically could Einstein do better that other people couldn't do? I mean thousands can crunch numbers and think abstractly, but what ability did he and others of his notarized achievements possess that connected the dots that others couldn't connect.

Could it be as simple as patience? Take for example an in depth study of patience in an individual, someone with tremendous patience has been shown to have markedly better results when it comes to projects and achievements. How do we investigate something like patience and its role in people like Einstein? If not patience what about a host of other attributes that might make him the way he was.

Mind you not very exciting subject matter, but something I was thinking about recently.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I'm sure it was a combination of factors. Certainly, he was of high intelligence, but it probably also came down to other attributes which allowed him to use his intelligence in a way that most people don't - e.g, a propensity to independently conceptualize the world outside of what current orthodox education stresses/promotes. I think it's probably difficult, if not impossible, to quantify what separates high intelligence from actual genius.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

I think it's probably difficult, if not impossible, to quantify what separates high intelligence from actual genius.

Only if it was as simple as to average all the smarties like Max Plank, Divinci, Einstein, Mozart, etc... and try to find common denominators. I am sure there are books on the subject, but I have not seen any...

 

[Engyo]

I think it's probably difficult, if not impossible, to quantify what separates high intelligence from actual genius.

I think it's probably easier to distinguish the point at which genius slides past being able to function effectively in everyday society.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I think it's probably easier to distinguish the point at which genius slides past being able to function effectively in everyday society.

Heck, there are countless people, of every intelligence level, who can't do that, everywhere you go.

 

[Thief]

When I was younger I saw a film about Einstein's brain.

Apparently it was kept, and preserved for the day when technology would be more likely to answer the question...how different was he?....A lot!

In cross section, his neurons had more numerous connections.
This would allow a faster, and more certain function.