It comes from a sensation that I have had ever since I was a kid, that I was drastically different from other kids. I’m not saying I thought I was better than everyone else, but I had to try hard to fit in and it didn't feel natural. It’s funny, most people develop issues with self esteem as a result of not fitting in; I developed delusions of grandeur instead. I was and am convinced that I am, in some as-0f-yet undiscovered facet of life, a genius. Now, I got good grades in school and college and whatnot but I never demonstrated myself to be a genius in any of my fields of study or the SAT’s or work or anything. Hence, the “secret” part. I haven’t figured out where the genius lies yet, but I’m sure it’s in there somewhere. I just have to keep trying things out.
Now, most people would say it’s cocky to say you think you are a genius and one person even told me, “Even if I thought that about myself, I would never tell anyone.” I don’t know if it is or not but it is something that motivates me to be adventurous and work hard in everything that I do, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It does make me wonder, however, about the nature of this thing we call the “genius” and how one gains that honor. Usually, inventing something really useful or discovering like a cure or a theorem helps, like Einstein, but they say he got bad grades in school so his teachers probably thought he was a slacker. If 12 year old Einstein told his teacher to leave him alone because he was a delicate genius and needed his space she would have paddled him, but after three letters, one superscript number, and one “=” changed his life
forever, people let him do whatever he wanted because he was a Genius. Did you ever see his hair? That’s genius hair. There’s no way a normal guy could pull that off, that’s for sure. But that’s neither here nor there, the point is to ask yourself this question, “Did Einstein become a genius when he mastered quantum physics and discovered the theory of relativity, or was he a genius from birth?” And what’s more, “If he had never done either of those things and done something else with his life, would he still have been a genius?”For more discussion see "Geniuses of Note" sidebar.
P.S. - Let's be clear about this: I'm not comparing myself to Einstein. It's just something to think about.
Geniuses of Note:
J.S. Bach - Wasn't he like writing symphonies in the womb? Talk about genius from birth. I bet when he came out he complained about how crappy the acoustics were and how cramped his dressing room was.
Isaac Newton – They say he discovered gravity, but did he really? Were people like, “Really? Things fall? What an amazing discovery, Isaac, you’re a genius!” No. People already knew about it. Isaac Newton named Gravity, people, he didn’t discover it.I'm not saying he wasn't a genius, but it didn't take a genius to get hit in the head with an apple.
No comments:
Post a Comment