Genius – You Can Be One Too!
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, perhaps finding the cure for cancer or joining NASA to help launch man into outer space.
As a general rule these are people we hold up as an exception to the rule, a run against the norm. We believe that their incredible mental abilities have allowed them to stretch beyond the limits of normal of humanity; however, this is not the case.
Oddly enough, scientists believe that it is the physical formation of the brain that determines a person’s intelligence. A brain with a greater quantity of gray matter in the cerebral cortex, the portion of the brain which controls its higher functions (the lower portions of the brain control bodily activities, such as breathing and the pumping of the heart) will bless a person with a greater intelligence.
It is believed to be the reason that many children who possess above average intelligence come from parents who possess a great deal of intelligence; the physical structure of the brain is handed down genetically.
Is it impossible for a person who does not have an excessive quantity of gray matter in their brain to be intelligent? Certainly not! The ability of the brain to function is based greatly on the ability of its neurons to connect with each other.
An increase in neuron connection equals an increase in brain activity, which equals an increase in the thought process and the ability of the brain to respond more quickly in certain situations.
There are many situations that result in an inability of the neurons to connect with maximum efficiency. One of the most common is sleep deprivation, an epidemic that is sweeping across the globe as men, women and children of all ages attempt to accomplish more in a day than it was ever intended for them to do. Drug and alcohol use will also have a negative effect on the ability of the neurons to connect properly.
The good news is that everyone’s brains operate by these same fundamental principles, regardless of the amount of gray matter present. What does this mean? It means that by successfully increasing the ability of the neurons to connect anyone can increase their intelligence.
How can one increase the connection of their neurons? By using them! The brain can continue to produce new neurons into old age; the degeneration of the mind that accompanies the golden years is generally caused by disease or disuse rather than a natural body process.
By continuing to exercise the brain through reading and academic puzzles anyone can increase and maintain their brain power, even if they aren’t your average genius.
If you ever think that genius can only be born, you can be seriously wrong.
In 1952, an experiment was done by Aaron Stern on his daughter, Edith, which proves the world that given the right environment and strategies, a person’s intelligence can be developed and trained. Edith was truly a genius who obtained a PH. D. degree at the age of 18.
In short, Aaron Stern trained Edith from the time she was born. Playing classical music to her, using picture cards and flash cards to teach her everyday even she was only a few weeks old. At the age of 5, she had finished reading the entire encyclopedia Britannica.
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 listening to classical music on a daily basis or using Mindmaps to brain storm from ideas.
George Tee is the author of “Secrets Of Scoring ‘A’s” and founder of Learning Nest – Secretsofstudying.com . A few of his popular articles are 5 Hacks That Make Study Simple And Effective, 11 Things Students Do To Get Back At Teachers and Time Management for a Stress-Free Life
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Comments
Joey says on July 4th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Ok, I have to ask, what is a mindmap?
Steve Sandvik says on July 4th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
My god, your statistical ignorance is appalling. Really, really appalling. Can you prove that Edith wasn’t going to be a genius anyway? Of course you can’t. Stern’s experiment doesn’t “prove” anything. It’s interesting, certainly, but you need to go back to school and take some science, statistics, and logic classes if you’re going to throw around words like prove with any sort of semantic accuracy. Give me a break. You’re either being disingenuous, or you simply don’t have the logical tools to process the statements you’re making. Either one worries me.
Jeff says on July 4th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Steve is right on. You can train yourself to be smarter, and to use the brainpower you have, but you can’t train yourself to be a genius. Even “studying” for an IQ test can only raise your scores by a few points.
Don says on July 4th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
That classical music thing was debunked some time ago. It’s a ridiculous assertion probably based on arrogance more than anything else. Also, one need not fear that rap music will lower your intelligence.
Glenn says on July 4th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
the classical music thing works only if you like clasical music… its true that music can stimulate the brain but if you dont like what your hearing it can do more negatives than positives. So if you don’t like clasical music, listen to something you like ie: Nirvana Metallica etc.. These all work however, it should be noted that IF you cant study or grasp information from a book becuase the song your listning to is getting more attention from your brain, then its sugested that you DONT listen to that song while you study (Comon sence right?)
Jonathan Street says on July 4th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I have to agree with Steve Sandvik on your evaluation of the experiment. Presumably Aaron Stern was no dummy so for his daughter to go on and become a genius isn’t too far from what would be expected.
A correctly conducted study would likely involve identical twins separated at birth. One twin acts as the control while the other receives, for want of a better term, cognitive stimulation. To find a suitable group of identical twins would be highly unlikely though.
Furthermore, although Edith Stern may well be a genius I wouldn’t necessarily say that reading an encyclopedia at the age of 5 or completing a PhD by 18 automatically means you are a genius. It would seem to be a stronger indicator of being highly motivated/productive.
William Profet from OneJobTwoSalaries.com says on July 4th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I think that a genius is a person who is able to be happy and live with him(her)self in any situation he/she could meet.
Regards,
William
Dan says on July 4th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I was under the impression that the “Mozart Effect” and the correlation between classical music and intelligence was all but thwarted.
I think of a genius as someone who can offer truly unique and revealing insight into long-standing problems.
brian says on July 5th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
this is in reality a non-article.
0/10
John says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Good article – just one quibble. Brain matter is pink, not gray. Dead brains are gray. Live brains are pink like salmon.
Anthony says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Genius is 1 percent inspiration
and 99 percent perspiration…
to become a genius… perspire more :)
Aaron Sadowsky says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I don’t think you’re supposed to ’study’ for IQ tests. Also i don’t think there is any way to exponentially increase your IQ, from what i have heard usually a person’s IQ will increase in relation to their age but often increases over time it usually stays within 10 – 12 pts when comparing current and former tests…
This is garbage says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I’m sorry, but I have to say that this post is complete BS (i know i’m not the first to say this…but I still gotta give my 2cents)
The brain is so freaking complex, we don’t have a clue how it works… We don’t even have a good solid estimate on the number of neurons and neuronal connections.
In addition to that, there’s the whole glial problem. What doctors always never mention is that HALF OF THE BRAIN MASS is composed of these glial cells.
Many decades ago, doctors decided that these cells were basically useless in the functionning of the brain, their sole purpose would probably be to feed the neurons (this is why I hate doctors…they think they are gods and know everything…DNA/RNA anyone?)
Now in recent years they discovered that the glial cells form an active network. Some have speculated that this network might act like a controller to the neural network. They couldn’t detect it before because it’s a chemical signaling based network and it’s more difficult to detect because chemical signals don’t create a magnetic field around them like an electrical current does (ie neurons).
For the engineers out there this network can be compared as the controller (PI,PID,etc) in most electrical systems (and maybe mecanical? i’m ee so i’m not sure).
For the non-technical it means that these glial cells could be the puppeteer that controls and regulates the puppets known as the neurons.
All this to say that anyone claiming anything in the learning process at this point is either bogus, extremely lucky, or a genius himself.
In this particular case, I’d have to say the first one probably applies.
P.S. Final comment: Mindmaps…OH COME ON…give me a freaking break…
Earl Ray says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
If dead brains are gray, and live brains are pink, like salmon; then why is salmon, which is dead meat, pink? Shouldn’t it (salmon) be gray?
Evan says on July 5th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
The brain is divided into white matter and grey matter. In reality the brain appears grey, not pink like salmon, as its outermost layer is grey.
The basics of cellular reproduction are contrary to the statement that the “brain can continue to produce new neurons into old age.” Neurons and nerve cells, the most specialized of all cells in the human body. While they can produce new connections, and the ability to do so decreases with age, brain cells are far too complex to reproduce under normal circumstances. Hence stem cell research for spinal cord injuries where the neurons are damaged and cannot reproduce themselves to repair the injury.
The supposed fact, “degeneration of the mind that accompanies the golden years is generally caused by disease or disuse rather than a natural body process.” is completely false. While diseases and disuse, as well as drug use do varying amounts of damage to the brain, the body is made in such a way that, most of the time, cells that are unhealthy will, self-destruct. The failure of this natural process normally leads to cancer.
It is true that the Mozart effect was disproved.
The method used to produce Edith’s “genius” is not capable of being proven valid as her father had no control and she could’ve had inherent genius or simply been a motivated overachiever.
Ryan says on July 5th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
While “The Mozart Effect” has been debunked repeatedly, I certainly do not think the author is suggesting a direct correlation between listening to classical music and an increase in intelligence.
However, critical reading of the article shows that the author never really suggests that his conclusions follow his examples. He makes anecdotal statements to invoke an emotional state of agreement with the general gist of the argument, but never actually makes claims based directly on these statement. This is a classic marketing technique, and is not a cogent argument for his point.
A poorly written and researched article.
Brian Garret says on July 5th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
wow, I could write a lengthy essay on the faulty logic and dramatic conclusions on this article, but I wouldn’t want to waste anymore of your reader’s time on this page.
horrendous article, truly horrendous.
penny says on July 5th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
It’s baloney. Lots of children work hard at math. Few become mathematicians.
On the other hand, I never worked hard at math—as a child, it came like breathing. I learned three terms of calculus when I was 13 in eight days—including the proofs. I became a research mathematician–and yes, I had to work hard: as a graduate student.
Just as lots of children work very hard at sports and few become Magic Johnson; and lots of kids work hard at the piano ( C. Rice and Edward Teller, for example) and few become Emmanual Ax—natural ability is the main component.
Penny
penny says on July 5th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Remove “just as”, Start with “Lots of children”.
See, I work hard at writing, and I made a sentence fragment. On the other
Mary Shelly wrote “Frankenstein”–at the ripe age of 19.
Penny
penny says on July 5th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
When George Gershwin was a kid–and a not very musical kid, at that–he heard a kid playing violin. He asked to try.
Gershwin played ( Mozart) better than the other kid, and the other kid asked who his teacher was. Gershwin replied:
” You were. I watched you play. I have never played a violin before.”
When Capablanca was a small child he learned chess by watching his dad ( a good amateur) play one game, and then went and beat him.
That is genius.
Genius is so rare that even studies of very high IQ kids ( four sigma) show that only a very few even become successful creators in the arts and sciences–it takes MORE than a high IQ.
That is why it is called GENIUS and not talent.
Not every physicist is an Albert Einstein, not every mathematician is a Grisha Perleman–and most work just as hard.
Genius is a mystery.
Penny
Chaos Motor says on July 5th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Most studies of genius I’ve read have determined that ‘genius’ results from immersion in a chosen field for an extended period of time – a decade or so – young geniuses simply had earlier access to their field.
Of course, being able to extrapolate your field knowledge to unfamiliar areas and generating connections between those knowledge points has a large part also, that’s basically describing a polymath.
Harry says on July 5th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I’m a latent genius. I’ll get around to it eventually.
James says on July 5th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Congratulations. Your article worked. I just clicked on the Audibles.com advert.
Ganesh says on July 5th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
I belive everyone is a Genius in some way or the other, too bad most dont realise and go with thier true potential thanks to a dyfunctional world.
What is genius says on July 6th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Talent is hitting a target no one else can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one else can see.
Matthew Cornell says on July 7th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Hmmm. Some of this is contradictory to what I’ve read. For example, Einstein’s brain (the quintessential genius) was I believe actually physically smaller than average. Stimulating article, though – thank you.
LaDiDa says on July 8th, 2007 at 2:04 am
If listening to classical music made you a genius, wouldn’t every single classical musician out there be a genius? Good grief.
Joseph Stevens says on July 9th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I disagree with this argument. Children of smart people are not smarter because of their parents brain structure, however they are smarter because usually their parents have the formal/informal education to teach to their children as they are being raised. The power of role-modeling is high.
Joseph Stevens
http://www.123teachme.com – Learn Spanish
why even smart people are stupid says on July 9th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
“Many decades ago, doctors decided that these cells were basically useless in the functionning of the brain, their sole purpose would probably be to feed the neurons (this is why I hate doctors…they think they are gods and know everything…DNA/RNA anyone?)”
for someone who rails against the author for being a poor researcher that’s a pretty hypocritical statement to make. if you’d ever studied medicine you’d realize that the practice of medicine attempts to be as evidence-based as possible. one thing that gets repeatedly pounded into you during medical school is that our knowledge of the human body is 1) incomplete and 2)evolving constantly so you act with the best knowledge available. by your logic doctors never would have acknowledged any advances in science and we’d still be practicing medicine by bleeding people. as for the dna/rna crack just ignore the fact that genetics is one of the fastest growing fields in medicine and that RNA based studies help diagnose such thing as HIV infection.
also, kudos on assigning a specific behavioral pattern to an entire profession. i’m sure every single person who has ever practiced medicine is exactly how you described. that kind of insight truly shows a superior intellect. you must listen to mozart.
Brip Blap says on July 9th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
I got it! This article was a joke! Good one, Lifehack! Heheh.
I am appalled that Lifehack, normally a great read, let something like this article slip through.
dzikry says on July 24th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Hmmm it is not soo easy to say what is a reason a person become a genius. There are so many type of geniuses around in each areas of human endeavor – numbers, math, music,artistic, etc….
Studies on those savant such the real life “Rain Man”, Stephen Welshier, and Daniel Temmet to name a few, did give us a glimpse of the potential of human mind.
Use of technology such as use of EEG to show brainwave at different state, brainwave entrainment, NLP, audiostrobe etc. also give some indication of how the brain works.
So do we know exactly what make a person become genius? No. Are we any closer to the answer..not really.
But all of these study do able to help some of us in some way. Just like how the introduction of concept of “superlearning”..which later evolve to be accelerated learning does help a lot of people across the world.
Emma says on July 31st, 2007 at 3:08 am
Yes, scientists DID believe that grey matter is directly proportional to intelligence; that is, in the 1800’s. Unfortunately, all those scientists are dead now. So I’m wondering, where the hell did you get the idea that scientists are SUCH idiots?
“It is believed to be the reason that many children who possess above average intelligence come from parents who possess a great deal of intelligence; the physical structure of the brain is handed down genetically.”
You’ve managed to piss me off and PROBABLY anyone who’s ever taken a neurology class in their life.
Classical music doesn’t help any more than any other music. it’s the MUSIC part of it. That was proven false and stupid a long time ago.
False bravado is my pet peeve.
Shaun says on July 31st, 2007 at 11:29 am
While there are no statistics backing up anything in the article and thus no “proving” of anything, there is one key concept to take away that is alluded to here. What separates “talent” and “genius” is the action involved in learning, practicing what you’ve learned and persevering until you become an expert at it. In most studies, a highly trained and experienced expert in the subject matter would often be considered a genius in that field. This does not happen naturally, but rather the person must work diligently at it.
“Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.” — Alexander Hamilton
Lainie says on January 19th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Aaron Stern’s daughter burned out quite early and, I believe, killed herself (though I can’t find confirmation of that online). My father used Aaron Stern’s principles on me; I could read at 4, and graduated from highschool at 16, but it didn’t make for a happy or successful life.
lavone says on November 8th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Only a true genius can map out the difference in this simple equation that seperates normal Idiots like the most you from brain fanatics like me
2+2 = 6 how did I come up with that