The Greatest Minority (and most hated by all)

It is better to look like a jackass, then be one, when in order to be a great man, just simply be one.

I did not come up with those myself.

most people think of gifts as being some character trait that is special in a made for TV movie sense of special.

High IQ, or Artistic in one of a dozen different ways, or psychic . . . something noteworthy what will accrue to you a measure of fame or fortune or celebrity with very little effort.

Few realize or accept that any gift must be developed through a considerable amount of effort.

You expect your gift to be recognized by someone else automatically without demonstration or proof or marketing.
And you expect your gift to be glamorous with tuxedos and gala events wherein you will receive tiaras and noble little statues of gold and. . . and . . . caviar. Yes, must have caviar and champagne.

One would never consider that guy driving the septic truck to have a gift. Or the guy with the fast food franchise. Or the plumber or electrician or painter.

But, you know, keep dreaming . . .

a reply to: ketsuko

That intellectual curiosity is also another hallmark of intelligence. If she's what you say she is, I'll bet your daughter displays a good deal of that too when a subject piques her interest.

She decided she wanted to play guitar and learned it in two days.

She speaks three languages fluently, English, Spanish, German, and knows Russian, and Korean. From a young age she could pick up accents, like spot on.

Her artwork is out of this world……..literally…… as in sent to outer space.
She has won too many awards to count in regards to her paintings, and drawings.
I think she felt bad one time she was in an art contest where you could submit multiples, and she swept the house winning all five awards….

I’ve had every teacher tell me she was the most gifted in chemistry, writing, art, math.. you name it. I used to collect her awards but it got crazy and she just threw them away, binders full.

She legit taught her goldfish tricks…………

So you know what the problem is now? It is very difficult for her to find someone to match her intellect. She has dated a few guys, but they all fall flat. She is now considering moving to Europe as she feels there are more intellectuals there.

Kinda funny backstory, my daughter is very tall, slim and blonde/hazel eyes. I’m short and very Asian looking.
Most people don’t realize she is Asian by looking at her. As soon as her teacher would see me they assumed TIGER mom, many mentioning things to suggest it. Which is hilarious because I’m the exact opposite. I was always more of the type of mom that said you aren’t your grade, be happy, don’t overload/overwork yourself.

a reply to: sraven

Yep.

Gifts are something that only come through with development, and only if you enjoy working at them.

I love being active. The migraines killed it for a long time, but I am remembering how much I loved it now. But as easy as things look, I've got years of athletics under my belt too. I've used that gift and developed it. It brings me joy.

Everyone has talents for certain things, gifts from birth. Life itself is a gift.

Consider a talented artist that develops his/her craft because they love being creative. They develop a style and perfect their ability to create art for it's own sake. Very often artists with such character die in poverty before their art becomes recognized, accepted and desired.

I don't think artists of this type are hated during their lives. Most are probably consider odd or eccentric or at least passionate about their work. They don't hide either, many volunteer for projects or submit work to contests and do gallery shows to try to sell their art. They aren't always appreciated for what they do or given proper respect for it, but that is true of anyone, not just the talented.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

People might, but a gift without the passion to develop might as well be nothing.

Great example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in the OP.

a reply to: BrightlyDark

That was freakin' awesome! I don't know if you specifically meant it to be so, but I rapped the entire piece in my head as I read it. Brilliant work. Brilliant.

originally posted by: MrBlaq


Not to bust your bubble, but everyone on the planet is gifted. Some more than
others due to active use vs lack of knowledge. The only factor that separates
dormant/inactivated gifts from those activated is willingness, motivation
and a mindset to actively develop their gifts.

Most gifts are generational, and yet many siblings fail to activate
what's in their DNA. Some peoples gifts are like a butterfly
trapped in a bottle, all of which can be developed with
proper knowledge and instruction.

The nonbiological spiritual nature of our being comes
with gifts.

I'm not gifted in anyway. I pretty much suck at everything and boy have I tried everything with effort. I can't even reach an acceptable middle ground in anything I have tried much less good or great. I have learned to understand my limitations though and I live a pretty good life so all is good, but I do not try and kid myself in thinking I'm actually extremely competent at anything even the things I love to do.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: MrBlaq

That's the popular belief isn't it?

But ask yourself, what good is a gift if it's never used, and if it's never used because its owner never has the motivation or drive to develop it, is it really a gift?

And how many of life's washouts are sitting on their couches right now, drinking their third or fourth energy drink of the day, playing yet another round of Fortnight (or whatever), and consoling themselves with the idea that they *could* be something great instead of a loser if they only cared to be because they are gifted? And then they turn around and hate on the achievers because those people achieved and have stuff they don't, and why do they think they are special because after all everyone is gifted, but not everyone (like our couch loser) cares to achieve, so we should just take the extra stuff from the achievers and give it to the non-achievers ... because everyone is gifted, so everyone deserves it.

Thank God, I know what my gifts are, and I have the motivation and drive to develop them and they aren't bringing me excessive amounts of money and fame, but the self-confidence to feel like I don't need to take away from others whose gifts did.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Matthew 25

a reply to: TheMirrorSelf

There are many ways to have abundance and not all of them are strictly material. Materially, I have plenty of what I need. The true abundance in my life has always been in friends and family and the spiritual over the strictly material things of the world.

I am happy with my life.

How many can say the same, even among the very wealthy?

originally posted by: JAGStorm

The truly crazy gifted people…..very very rare, they live in their own world and I’m afraid it is often very sad.

I was talking about this with my son the other night. He is in year 4 of an EE degree Math minor and I was talking about the reality we all perceive. That reality is all generated by our brains as it takes in not really good information and needs to squish it all together to create our realities. So who knows what you might see though my eyes compared to your own, maybe all trees are orange or something...lol

I did talk about the super intelligent people who must truly live in separate realities that we all could in no way identify with. I talked about one super genius who does math problems seeing everything as different colors of light and they can solve extremely advance math problems very quickly that way. Like what the hell is that???

I don't know if their realities are sad but I bet they are alone in them with small peaks into ours at times then back into their own.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

Kinda funny backstory, my daughter is very tall, slim and blonde/hazel eyes. I’m short and very Asian looking.
Most people don’t realize she is Asian by looking at her. As soon as her teacher would see me they assumed TIGER mom, many mentioning things to suggest it. Which is hilarious because I’m the exact opposite. I was always more of the type of mom that said you aren’t your grade, be happy, don’t overload/overwork yourself.

My sons are the same, they kind of look Asian, but not really and they are 6'5" and 6'3" respectively.

originally posted by: sraven

Few realize or accept that any gift must be developed through a considerable amount of effort.

That is true, but having a gift means you typically get greater gains faster than others and quickly surpass them. I love playing the guitar and I really suck at it, even after 40 years it is not easy for me. I even hired a top teacher for two years to try and help me out and I still suck. My friends son at the age of 15 could hear any song and just play it on his guitar in 5 mins. He has done YouTube back then of playing classical on an electric all movie Crossroads like. He has since moved on from his guitar into other musical areas, but the ease that he was able to pickup the guitar is rather great motivation to put in the 10,000 hours of work.

a reply to: Xtrozero

Synesthesia. It is real. My husband has it. He perceives a few letters and mostly numbers associated with colors in his brain. Thing is that no two synesthetes will have the same color/number/letter associations. And it isn't just confined to that. Synesthesia can be the crossing of different senses with things they have nothing to do with normally.

The idea of colors associated with letters/numbers is just the most common manifestation. It has nothing to do with overall intellect though. It's just a mental oddity.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

The 'problem' is when you get someone who gets a stack of these things that each of them tends to make people jealous. I mean assuming they're remotely functional. Endless reading how for example creatives tend to suffer various mental 'illness' in their lives.

Note the term "Creative Genius". I've seen people go off just for someone stating they are such. Even if its pointed out the term doesn't even inherently mean that someone is "an Einstein". It's literally just the academic term for someone who truly is creative.

Probably less common than creative is the so-called "photographic memory" (Exceptional Memory), a 'thing' that likely is different for each such person that could be said to have 'it'. But its easy to surmise that most people when confronted with the very notion of it WANT it.

Now High IQ this one is actually relatively common. And if you have it, you'd expect you'd be able to easily befriend these types. Problem is just being smarter doesn't mean you're any less prone to ego, pride and all that petty stuff. In fact they're used to being able to get on as being 'as smart as anyone out there'. But just high IQ alone doesn't mean they inherently are above growing into say a superiority complex. They like fitting in, quite possibly feed off it, and being 'at the top' of the herd. They're just as prone as anyone to group think, the subconscious self-manipulation schemes society imposes within and without, being outright manipulative, and so on.

Its the easiest of these types of "gifts". Aside from potential psychopathy, I cant really think of a time I read about mental illness being commonly correlated to it such as with true creativity. Another good one is, Low Latent Inhibition (enhanced perception and tendency to overthink everything that is perceived, and to question everything). Getting this "gift" without High IQ is almost certainly a mental illness 'sentence' as the brain cant even handle everything the senses perpetually throw at it.

So the 'just' High IQ type there's a good chance it does them well, or at least if they get a crap hand in what life throws at them they're still better off for it. They can build up their ego at least being "the smartest in the room" "all the time"...

Then one day they meet someone whose truly on the next level. And at first they're like yeah yeah yeah. They see the best in them in you. But the more they look, the more they see that you're something else. Something more. Wait a minute, this one is really smart like me, but also creative, forgets virtually nothing, sees stuff intricate details I dont, has a unreal work ethic tha tmakes everyone else look bad and is just good at like 'everything' they do. And then that superiority ego shatters.

And then they start acting just like everyone else. If anything, not High IQ types tend to be even easier to get along with in the end. Even if you dont 'fit in' with them as much, assuming you're able to not look down on people for not being what you are, and dont rock the boat in their thinking too much. Go with the flow whatever. When you get older it gets easier. But before you do you never fit in. Probably the opposite. You basically get this choice apply your mind bookwise, and become a dork, geek, nerd and get beat up. Or apply it streetwise and become diabolical, hard, respected. Smart is stupid, especially when you're young.

You think you want it, them, "gifts". And if you dont odds are you'll grow to hate those who do have them. And the way you'll likely go on to treat them, well they may not be able to ever forget it, they'll overthink it, perhaps creatively and it'll be far more damaging to them than it would for you. You outcast them for being different, instill potentially lifelong terror in them to ever truly shine or at least to never ever talk about it, and so on.

And that is half the reason they're at high odds in life to endure mental "illness", because outside of like a parent dying what's more depressing than destroying such potential beauty in the world? Many commit suicide. Many others end up shooting heroin. And then get a bad dose and die just the same.

Too often "gifts" are really just a curse.

originally posted by: ElGoobero
I know some extremely intelligent girls
that feel they have to 'dumb down' in public
especially around males

sad. a sacrifice they feel they have to make.
happy is the smart girl that finds an equally smart boyfriend.

I have no personal knowledge of but
I understand its especially true in the inner cities / Black community.

Good stuff.

The best is when you dont forget hardly anything ever, excel at debating, and disdain deception.

In a world where most people tend to forget a lot, dont like to be corrected, and chicks do stuff like intentionally put on a dress that makes them look fat and ask you whether it does or not the purpose being they get off on getting you to lie to them to "make them feel better". And you see it every time, and it drives you crazy. So you try to teach them to out think it. And then it drives them crazy. An argument is on the horizon now... and she start saying stuff that's just wrong. Like she just has to know that detail and the other was just plain inaccurate. Maybe she doesn't, or maybe this is all just an extension of the same thing, getting you to accept mistruth and give in. Because she just has to be right. Meaning if you apply your 'abilities' you lose.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: BrightlyDark

I thought this was going to be a thread on Gingers.

Gifted people?

*shrugs*

As long as they invent a dotcom in only a year and get paid billions of dollars for it, they'll be loved by in large.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: TheMirrorSelf

There are many ways to have abundance and not all of them are strictly material. Materially, I have plenty of what I need. The true abundance in my life has always been in friends and family and the spiritual over the strictly material things of the world.

I am happy with my life.

How many can say the same, even among the very wealthy?

I agree completely, 100%. Not actually certain why you responded to me with that, but I'll take it. Yeah, I'm a retired Army officer that lives the van life. Musician, needs met, wants few, free guy. I don't have much, don't want it (weighs you down). I just live, and I wouldn't trade it for all the world...

originally posted by: Xtrozero

originally posted by: JAGStorm

The truly crazy gifted people…..very very rare, they live in their own world and I’m afraid it is often very sad.

I was talking about this with my son the other night. He is in year 4 of an EE degree Math minor and I was talking about the reality we all perceive. That reality is all generated by our brains as it takes in not really good information and needs to squish it all together to create our realities. So who knows what you might see though my eyes compared to your own, maybe all trees are orange or something...lol

I did talk about the super intelligent people who must truly live in separate realities that we all could in no way identify with. I talked about one super genius who does math problems seeing everything as different colors of light and they can solve extremely advance math problems very quickly that way. Like what the hell is that???

I don't know if their realities are sad but I bet they are alone in them with small peaks into ours at times then back into their own.

This is what they typically call the math fellow you describe above...

synesthesia
[ˌsinəsˈTHēZHə]
NOUN
physiology
psychology
the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.