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Genius – You Can Be One Too!

lifehack.org — When we think of a genius we think of someone who was a prodigy in their childhood and later went on to capitalize on their mental powers and make a success out of their lives. The good is you can train yourself to be a genius too even though you started out late. It’s only a matter of the right strategies and methods. Start by...

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 5, 2007

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  • NerdyNinja, on 10/11/2007, -0/+66Duh, the brain is just like any other muscle in this particular sense. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

    Me, I keep my eyes out for rings and amulets with intelligence and wisdom modifiers
  • ekso, on 10/11/2007, -0/+23Start by... http://www.google.com
  • superguysteve, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14that sounds like too much work. Can't I just write it on my hand and look at it when I need to?
  • evileddy60, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Who needs brains with a 10 inch penis??... oh and rich.. definitely have to be rich.
  • xShad0w, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11A genius is only 130 iq or something, thats not very hard you just have to be above average smart, child prodigies are exactly that PRODIGIES, you cannot train yourself to be a prodigy, you can just make yourself a little bit smarter
  • loneBoat, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10Followed by... http://www.wikipedia.org
    Makes everyone [think they are] a genius!
  • jasnmb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9guess I better start playing Brain Age again
  • hfactor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Be careful when comparing IQ scores. They don´t always use the same standard deviation.
  • EvolvedAnt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Someone care to explain why everyone believes listening to classical music somehow makes you smart? Is there some kind of scientific basis for this?
  • phronko, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5If you spent money to see Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2...then the answer is no.
  • bakstuh, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Aww, someone mad because they didn't make the cut?
  • Fuline, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4strangely, this makes me want to have a baby. So I can sculpt a genius of my own
  • bagelpirate, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3This looks more like a sales pitch for his books.
  • JoeBaynham, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5Well hopefully you wont turn out like the "Mac Geniuses" Utter retards.
  • kingfoot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2no need. coming soon will be the iHand. Implanted directly into your hand, this 4.5'' by 3'' display features 2 or 4 gb versions to hold your notes in.
  • dodoporridge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I heard you can train yourself for absolute pitch. The training is different from that for relative pitch, but I heard it can be done.
  • Drugbird, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Very often, child "geniusses" just have the ability to learn stuff very quickly (and are encouraged to do so). Only very rarely do you see them actually accomplish something spectacular. For those things, not the ability to learn and remember, but creative thinking and reasoning become important.
  • diblasio, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Eh. I don't feel like reading it right now. I'll be a genius later.
  • smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2dodopporridge is correct.

    chinese speakers aren't born with tonal hearing, but because mandarin is a tonal language that uses 3 intonations, and the cantonese dialect uses up to 7 i believe, all chinese people who grow up speaking mandarin or cantonese develop perfect tonal hearing. a chinese person who is raised speaking only english will not develop tonal hearing any more than other english speakers. likewise, someone who isn't chinese can still develop perfect pitch by learning to speak chinese or through musical training.

    so you're absolutely wrong.
  • HairyFotr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Go for it!
  • smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2actually, there was an article on New Scientist that made a very persuasive argument against the myth of natural talent. genius can be cultivated, even those considered child prodigies. there have been many studies done on this subject by developmental psychologists. specifically there was one researcher who was a chess master who tried to intentionally raise one of his 2 daughters to also become a chess master. and, as expected, the daughter he specifically trained to be a chess master became a grandmaster at a young age while the other daughter only excelled moderately in the game.

    chess is a very often studied game for developmental theorists, but similar studies have also been done on a variety of sports which also support the modern view of nurture over nature. ultimately, researchers have found that all experts of a particular game or sport share very similar early experiences. this includes things like pro athletes being more likely to be born in a particular part of the year resulting in their being older and thus more physically developed than other players in their children's sports leagues. this advantage ensured that they would meet success early on and become a top player on the team or league. this success would strengthen their interest in the sport and encourage them to train more and work harder than other less successful players. the social and behavioral effects of this early success resulted in these players gradually widening the skill gap between them and their peers so that by the time they were playing pro they would far exceed the average skill level of their peers.

    people will typically focus their efforts on developing skills they perceive themselves to be good at, but research shows that these "natural talents" are arbitrary perceptions developed at a young age. of course, as you get older it becomes harder and harder to catch your skills up to other individuals, but perseverance can still play a huge role. this is why a lot of child prodigies which society would expect to grow up to become famous intellectuals or accomplish amazing things often don't live up to these expectations.
  • numarc, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2that would be kinda dope. Will it support HD video?
  • wpong, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3i thought the title said Genius -- You Can Be One Tool
  • phronko, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3This article doesn't really present any real evidence. It's all based on anecdotes and speculation. People who have actually studied this usually come to the opposite conclusion: it is very difficult or impossible to change IQ by a significant amount through education or any other kind of training. That may be politically incorrect and somewhat depressing, but that doesn't make it false. It also doesn't mean that we should follow the article's suggestions and exercise our brains, as this surely has benefits. Just be skeptical that increasing IQ to genius levels is one of them.
  • HairyFotr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I prefer post-rock instrumentals (Mogwai for instance)... but I know exactly what you mean.

    Sometimes it feels like falling into some kind of very productive state of mind, where everything but the work i'm doing just floats away.
  • HairyFotr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1If you don't have a brain... what organ controls the flow of blood to that huge penis of yours?
  • ISIfunded911, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Before the test, not during.
  • smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1exactly. without the proper application of your mind, any natural talent is still wasted. i think the trick is to find something that interests you or are passionate about/enjoy doing, then applying yourself to become the best you can at it. the harder you challenge yourself the faster you'll learn--and your brain will learn to learn faster as well.

    for example, if you want to be good at tennis, play against good players and keep raising the challenge. you may lose more often than other players who "pace themselves" more, but you will also develop your skills much faster and adapt to the steeper learning curve.
  • HairyFotr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1There is a reason other then their high IQ-test score for that.
    You know the first and the last word in this sentence are the answers to that mystery, don't you? :)
  • smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1can you cite some studies, because according to research i've read about conventional science supports the article. child prodigies usually lose their IQ gap gradually to their peers so that by the time they're in their mid 20's they aren't significantly "smarter" than non-child-prodigies.

    i can't find the full article online, but this new scientist editorial cited several studies that i mentioned in my above post: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19125692.800-editorial-you-could-be-a-genius-too.html
  • hasslinthehoff, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The real question is, can I be as smart as those babies in Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2?
  • NecroSexy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Genius IQ is 150 at the very least.
  • movingtobc, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1reported as inaccurate:

    I listen to classical music since 1990 and draw Mindmaps and I'm still not a genius.
  • ThomasJason68, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Article summary: "Exercise your brain to become smarter". Aside from saving you from a 600+ word read (and you won't have to suffer through sentences like "If you ever think that genius can only be born, you can be seriously wrong.")
  • LogicBomB, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I define genius by problem solving abilities and creativity. If you can recite every piece of information you've come across but can't do anything with it, that still makes you retarded.

    The ability to learn, comprehend, and apply at an above-average level is genius to me.
  • loneBoat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1'Twas a joke...
  • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think you're confusing knowledge with intelligence. Google isn't even a very good choice for that, since with any search, I can find tons of incorrect information.
  • norbiu, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Mmm, spam!
  • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1One clue that someone is stupid is stereotyping. It's a total lack of the understanding of the true complexity of reality.
  • halfnormalform, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1They don't? I remember from college that IQs are Normally Distributed, have a Mean of 100, and a Standard Deviation of 10. Did they go and change it? Or does that just apply to scores from the WAIS?
  • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I don't agree. If you've ever tried to teach music, you'll quickly find a lot of people simple have no talent for it. Even the people that are pretty good will never get to a professional level no matter how much they practice. The trick is to find what you're brain is good at and work on enhancing those aspects.
  • itzac, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1They would just rather learn something new than poke at frogs with sticks. They hang out with people who think the same way. Get over it.
  • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I've read a few studies but that kind of stuff has so many variables it's hard to make a strong conclusion. Classical music does tend to have more complex musical forms which I guess could stimulate thinking that will later lead to an easier understanding of mathematics.
  • Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The mathematically complexity and structure of music varies greatly. It's hard to explain unless you play some of the stuff but music by people like Bach and Mozart is almost obsessive in its structure.
  • phronko, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm a white male. Can I be a black female?

    Um, no.

    And isn't the law of attraction that The Secret crap that any rational person immediately realizes is *****? Um, yeah.
  • hfactor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Normally, the standard deviation is 15 (sometimes 16). However, there seems to be another system that is quite widespread (in the US? I don´t know) with a sd of around 25. This is why you sometimes read about ridiculously high scores.
    Maybe someone working in the field can help out here?
  • caroline1985, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's common knowledge that giving the mind simple tasks to do, like simple equations, or reading a lot, will keep the brain healthy and increase your abilities to carry out certain tasks, because the brain is being used, I don't think it's suddenly going to turn anyone into a genius though, it'll just speed up your brain's calculation abilities.
  • loneBoat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1'Twas a joke...
  • phronko, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Well, neither I or the article is really talking about child prodigies, and I don't see how that's relevant to the issue of changing IQ in normal children and adults.

    For an extensive analysis of most of the research done on intelligence, see Arthur Jensen's "The g Factor". The section on changing intelligence tends to support the disappointing conclusions in my above post.
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