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By Mariana Ashley Bill Bradley, retired NBA player, US Senator, and US presidential candidate, said “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” Any high-ability student knows the truth of this quote, as they have likely received accolades, awards, and praise for their efforts and ambitions. But these students also [...]
The ‘gifted’ label & the pressure to deliver In his book “Your Own Worst Enemy..”, psychologist Kenneth W. Christian, PhD delineates some of the most prominent patterns of thinking and behavior he has found that may lead to undermining and underachievement as adults. “Without explicit demands and support, being labeled ‘bright’ or ‘gifted’ is akin [...]
In their article What Is Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy?, Drs. Phillip and Jane Mountrose note, “Many gifted individuals have expertise to share and this may include you. “The issue is how to make your expertise into a profitable business. Experts Academy with Brendon Burchard solves this problem. His goal is to turn you into a [...]
British schoolgirl Victoria Cowie recently scored 162 on the adult admission tests for Mensa, which places her above the scores thought to have been achieved by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. Her father cites one example showing how uncommon she is: “When she was just three years old we were sitting in a [...]
By Deborah Ruf, Ph.D. How can we better encourage and reinforce the most entrepreneurial and talented among us? We can start by changing the ways we set up schools and the ways we address the very different learning abilities and needs of the students in them. The well-known “achievement gap” refers to the difference in [...]
By Willem Kuipers – From a section of his book “Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon.” One of the greatest obstacles to the recognition of extra intelligent people is the mysterious qualities and extreme rarity that many people (including parents) associate with “uncommon intelligence.” Often it is either a kind of child-prodigy–assumption, like Mozart, or [...]
Is IQ relevant? High ability in children is typically evaluated by cognitive performance. That may be convenient for schools and college entrance gatekeepers, but is IQ relevant for adults as a measure of potential contribution – or life satisfaction? Certainly there are job performance and achievement measures such as Academy Awards, Nobel Prizes and MacArthur [...]
Article by Cathy Goodwin “James is so restless and energetic. I wonder if he’s hyperactive.” “Nancy seems to be all over the place. She’s got a dozen projects going at once!” “Harley does things so fast! He put up a website in two weeks.” “Marlene is so intense. She needs to lighten up.” While it’s [...]
Backgrounds and practical recommendations By Noks Nauta, Sieuwke Ronner This article was published in Dutch in Tijdschriftvoor Bedrijfs-en Verzekeringsgeneeskunde (Journal for Occupational Health- and Insurance Physicians), TBV 16, no. 11 (Nov. 2008): 396-399. Publisher: Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum, Houten, The Netherlands. The editor agreed with translation and publication on this website. Key words: GIFTEDNESS, CHARACTERISTICS, [...]
In a very real sense, everyone may be called “underachieving” regardless of whether they are gifted or not. One short definition is “Performance below potential.” But high ability and giftedness are much more than advanced potential, high scores and notable achievements. What really matters in talking about underachievement is the inner experience of “falling short [...]
To avoid being seen as too weird or different, and to fit in better with others, gifted children often learn to stifle or cover up their unusual cognitive and other abilities. As adults, many still follow a pattern of hiding. When she began directing in the forties, Ida Lupino sometimes claimed not to know the [...]
“The natural trajectory of giftedness in childhood is not a six-figure salary, perfect happiness, and a guaranteed place in Who’s Who. It is the deepening of the personality, the strengthening of one’s value system, the creation of greater and greater challenges for oneself… becoming a better person and helping make this a better world.” That [...]
How does talent become passion? “The presence of talent is not sufficient. Many people have more than one talent, and wonder what to do with them.” Jane Piirto, Ph.D. continues in her book Talented Children and Adults, “What is the impetus, what is the reason, for one talent taking over and capturing the passion and [...]
Three types of perfectionists In his article on the subject, Benedict Carey of The New York Times explores how there are, in fact, problems resulting from some kinds of striving for perfection. He writes, “Some researchers divide perfectionists into three types, based on answers to standardized questionnaires: Self-oriented strivers who struggle to live up to [...]
Giftedness often tied to achievement So much categorizing people as gifted children or adults emphasizes having achieved significantly, having some distinction – high IQ or SAT scores, having a bestseller book or movie or being a sport superstar. And with perfectionism and high levels of self criticism, many gifted and talented people feel they don’t [...]
Genius: born or made “The young Mozart’s prowess can be chalked up to practice, practice, practice. Compelled to practice three hours a day from age three on.. No wonder they thought he was a genius.” Malcolm Gladwell How we think of talents in others and ourselves may have a profound effect on nurturing and realizing [...]
When it’s too easy “Great accomplishment, and even what we call genius, is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flows naturally from a gift.” In her article The Secret to Raising Smart Kids, Stanford Professor of Psychology Carol S. Dweck writes about children “who coast through the early [...]
The Great Debaters The photo shows Denzel Washington as Melvin B. Tolson, coaching his students (played by Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker and Denzel Whitaker) in the upcoming movie “The Great Debaters.” It is based on the real story of Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in 1935 Texas, who inspired students to form the school’s [...]
Good Will Hunting The movie Good Will Hunting (1997), as summarized on Wikipedia, tells the story of Will Hunting (Matt Damon), “a troubled prodigy who works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, despite the fact that his knowledge of and facility with higher mathematics far outstrips that of anyone in the university. [...]
“The natural trajectory of giftedness in childhood is not a six-figure salary, perfect happiness, and a guaranteed place in Who’s Who.” An alternative ideal of gifted development That is a comment by Dr. Linda Silverman, director of the Gifted Development Center [site], who goes on to describe an ideal of adult development, beyond the awards [...]
Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is creator and publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites, and author of the book Developing Multiple Talents - The personal side of creative expression.
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