Video: You think you’re so smart. 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.” [...]
By Lisa Erickson, MS, LMHC Lisbeth Salander is the fictional heroine of Steig Larsson’s trilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. As the heroine, Lisbeth Salander embodies certain characteristics of giftedness, and these characteristics help her survive terrible, long-term physical, sexual [...]
Her presence and depth in acting at age 13 in “The Professional” were amazing, and Natalie Portman continues to grow stronger and more compelling as an outstanding actor. But beyond that, it is intriguing to read about how exceptional she is in other ways. Here are excerpts from several publications about her educational and other [...]
In the TV series “House,” Amber Tamblyn portrays Martha M. Masters – a “genius third-year med student who, after graduating from high school at age 15, spent her down time getting PhDs in applied math and art history.” “She’s like the Internet, with breasts,” House observes before correcting himself. “Oh wait, the Internet already has [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
[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. ~~ Nora Foss Al-Jabri, gifted children identification, gifted teens
Daniel Tammet is able to recite 22,514 digits of pi from memory. An author with autistic savant syndrome, he thinks such astounding abilities are not due to some cerebral or genetic fluke, but based on an associative form of thinking and imagination. He thinks differences between savant and non-savant minds have been exaggerated, to the [...]
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 [...]
.. 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 [...]
“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 [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
Dismissive of intuition It can be a challenge for people who are predominantly intellectual to acknowledge and make use of intuition. Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D. notes, “Individuals with higher intelligence are likely to be well educated. Higher education indoctrinates students to think logically and skeptically and to dismiss intuitive information. “Scientific evidence and logical argument [...]
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 [...]
Not settling for underachievement We may not have realized all or even many of the promises of our identity as a gifted kid, and through circumstance or suppression left talents unmanifested or unspoken. But that doesn’t mean we have lost that aspect of who we are. You can learn more about the traits that gifted [...]
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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