Intellectual Genius

[Slapstick]

I was debating in another thread and it got me thinking about people who are very, very, smart and can be considered genius. Not too long ago I read an article about someone who created a fusion reactor at the age of 14 and is the youngest person to do so. The article about him is published here, and reading this article in my opinion is better than watching a blockbuster movie. You couldn’t go to the movies and find anything more entertaining than this if you are into science and technology. This is just one case (example) of someone displaying great intellectual genius.

I think people are either born exceptionally smart or to smart for their own good which usually means they are not that smart, but act like they are a lot smarter than they actually are. So for discussion, are people born with great intellectual genius (discover it on their own) or is it something they learn through school or an educational institute?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Most genetic, partly environmental.

No one would seriously consider it exclusively one or the other.

 

[Slapstick]

Most genetic, partly environmental.

No one would seriously consider it exclusively one or the other.

I can agree with this. I think it is mostly genetics and partly environmental as well.

 

[LegionOnomaMoi]

I think people are either born exceptionally smart or too smart for their own good which usually means they are not that smart, but act like they are a lot smarter than they actually are.

Meow Mix would be an example of the former (exceptionally smart) and I the latter (act smarter).

So for discussion, are people born with great intellectual genius (discover it on their own) or is it something they learn through school or an educational institute?

There is a lot of "nurture" vs. "nature" when it comes to much in the way of intellectual differences. But for some...You can't get guys like Gauss, Gödel, or Will Hunting from education or upbringing. Some people really are that brilliant and no amount of education could equal their natural genius.

 

[ScottySatan]

I think building a fusion reactor at 14 is more an example of unusual motivation than unusual intelligence.

I'm privileged to know some geniuses. They all have conventionally-earned terminal degrees (like PhD or MD), and didn't receive them early. I don't know any who are uneducated. I'm not offering an interpretation of that, it's just what I observe.

Also, I don't see these geniuses much more likely than their mundane colleagues to make a discovery that ends up being very important. The smartest man I have ever met is almost completely unknown, and will probably stay that way because of the nature of what he chooses to study.

While on the subject, geniuses don't get 2 doctorates, there's virtually zero incentive to get a second one, especially not in the same field. Also, the idea that a physicist can write an equation that only a few people in the world can grasp and understand is a fallacy. The only reason no one would get his equation would be that he didn't publish it. The idea of these solitary geniuses is romantic, but unrealistic.

 

[Slapstick]

I think building a fusion reactor at 14 is more an example of unusual motivation than unusual intelligence.

I doubt it. Until you can build a fusion reactor you don't have much on 14 yr-old.