By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Though he received a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant for his work in paleontology, Christopher Beard doesn’t consider himself a wunderkind or believe he was genetically predestined for success.
Not entirely, anyway.
Dr. Beard said he had his parents’ guidance, along with their genes. He’s worked industriously to make a mark in his profession. [...]
Polish psychiatrist and psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski (1902 – 1980) worked with creative adults and adolescents, and developed a theory of personality and emotional development that is often applied toward understanding the psychology of gifted and talented individuals.
One aspect of his Theory of Positive Disintegration is the concept of unusual intensity and reactivity, as Lesley Sword [...]
A number of movies include gifted and talented characters, and depict a variety of characteristics that are positive and relate to exceptional abilities, but also can generate not so positive reactions – such as “You think you’re so smart,” or, “You’re too verbal… too bossy… too nerdy… too sensitive.”
And, of course, we may still experience [...]
The image is food critic Anton Ego from the movie Ratatouille [video clip].
I was reminded of the stuffy and dour character while reading Laura Berman Fortgang’s The Little Book on Meaning , and her reference below to “high analytical ability.. often black-and-white thinkers.. Quick to decide what is good and what is bad..”
I know [...]
[Description from Youtube:] “One of the most talented singers the world has seen – Nora Foss Al-Jabri (13) from Norway singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”
Nora’s management: aktomter@online.no www.anjazz.no
> See more videos at Oprah’s Search for the World’s Smartest and Most Talented Kids.
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Nora Foss Al-Jabri, gifted children identification, gifted teens
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 best [...]
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Photo: Clarence So of Diamond Ranch High in Pomona cheers on classmates at a regional decathlon at USC. Another decathlon was held at UCLA.
From article: In L.A. County, a battle of the brains, by Esmeralda Bermudez and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times February 8, 2009. “A day of decathlons, spelling bees and science bowls put [...]
Being different as a child
One of the personal qualities that seems to be shared by most gifted children is being different and divergent – in terms of thinking, interests, values and behavior. Many gifted adults feel “wrong” or anxious about “not fitting in” even though being different can be a strength, a positive attribute.
In the [...]
“I have never been a fan of learning in a classroom. Inside a laboratory or a garage, I always wanted to know more, but never inside a classroom.” – Caltech physicist Caolionn O’Connell, PhD.
That quote is from my article “Getting out of school alive.”
The standard classroom doesn’t engage the gifted
A related post on my Teen [...]
“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 quote [...]
Are people fascinated by so much because of their intellectual development, or does consciously feeding our mind stimulate high level thought and creative ability?
Writer Steve Pavlina poses that intriguing idea in his book Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth.
“What you learn in one area can often be applied to others,” [...]
Emily Dickenson
In her article Unrecognized Giftedness: The Frustrating Case of the Gifted Adult, Marylou Kelly Streznewski (author of the book Gifted Grownups) writes of Emily Dickinson: “Her story is well known: the seven poems published in a minor magazine as a favor by a friend; the fifteen hundred brilliant compositions tied in ribboned packets, filling [...]
What’s a genius IQ? Where does it come from? Intriguing questions, which neuroscience may be starting to answer.
In a New York Times article a few years ago, Harvard Psychology Professor Steven Pinker wrote about neuroscientists who, after examining the brain of Albert Einstein, said it “had large and unusually shaped inferior parietal lobules, a seat [...]
In a CNN report (in 2006), Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked about “looking for creativity inside a human brain” by dissecting one. “The first thing you notice,” he said, “is nothing unusual.
“Most scientists say that current brain imaging technology doesn’t tell you much more.”
But others like Dr. Richard Haier of the University of California, Irvine, “claim [...]
Flying close to the flame
Nicole Kidman has talked about many personal qualities and experiences that relate to being a gifted and talented person with multiple abilities.
“You live with a lot of complicated emotions as an actor, and they whirl around you and create havoc at times. And yet, as an actor you’re consciously and unconsciously [...]