What is a genius or gifted? In the aspect of sensitivity, it is noticing relevant information, especially if not obvious, for finding solutions and also for finding and defining new problems. Genius people might “notice” more things. In the aspect of synergy, it is bringing together two unrelated domains.
Throughout the years, many people have tried to provide a method in order to identify gifted/geniuses and to differentiate each gifted students from the other. The advent of psychometrics in the present generation made possible more objective analysis, recording of comparable data, and description of individuals of superior intellectual ability (Fingelkurts & Fingelkurts, 2002). In this manner, some has been able to provide a distinctive and unique characteristic of an individual who are gifted.
One of the known characteristics of the gifted/geniuses is their precociousness. In this manner, geniuses begin to take the first step in the mastery of some area or fields such as language, mathematics, music, arts, sports like chess, gymnastics, tennis and other subjects belongs to an organized knowledge. In addition, these children may also have the tendency to progress quickly in such field than the ordinary children, because learning in this field comes easily to them (Clark, 2002).
In addition, a genius is also characterized as insistent on marching to their own drummer. This means that gifted children not only learn faster than the average or even bright students but also learn in a qualitatively different way. They march to their own drummer: they need minimum assistance or scaffolding from adults in order to master their chosen field but most of their times are used to teach themselves. For the geniuses, the discoveries they make about a certain field are motivating and exciting which leads them to the next step of being gifted. Often, geniuses are independent and they invent or establish their own rules, devise novel and create idiosyncratic or distinctive ways of solving problems. This means that gifted children by definition are creative (Winner, 2000).
Genius are creative in the former sense: they make discoveries on their own and solve problems in novel ways. But their creativity has also a restriction. These gifted children cannot be creative in transforming a domain the way the use of computer transformed education. Herein, only adults who have worked for at least ten years to master a certain domain can hope to leave it forever altered (Simonton, 1994).
For normal and genius people, the way of their thinking could be different. There are different styles of thinking. Among them are the vertical thinking and lateral thinking. By vertical thinking, it means the analytical kind of thinking we use every day (sometimes called “within the box” thinking). The vertical thinking is characterized by using only the left or logical side of the brain. Vertical thinking chooses and looks for what is right. In here, one thing must follow directly from another. It also concentrates on relevance, moves in the most likely directions. On the other hand, lateral means Edward De Bono’s method of creative thinking in which most geniuses used. In his opinion it’s great because it gets you “out of the box”, ie. outside the scope of vertical thinking, but the trick is that nobody’s really sure where you end up. “The crazier the better” rule sometimes apply especially to geniuses in which they let their inner madness came out. In lateral thinking the right (emotional) side of the brain is dominant. In lateral thinking, it changes, looks for what is different and makes deliberate jumps. It welcomes chance intrusions and explores the least likely directions.
In vertical thinking, it is selective, analytical and sequential. One has to be correct at every step in this kind of thinking. Categories, classifications and labels are fixed here and it follows the most likely paths. It is a finite process. While in lateral, it is the opposite and is generative and provocative. It also explores the least likely paths and is a probabilistic one. Lateral thinking is concerned with generation of new ideas. It is also concerned with "breaking out of the concept prisons of old ideas.
Basically, most human beings are accustomed to vertical thinking, due to the structure of their formal education. Vertical thinking, though tremendously important, can lead to disaster when done on the wrong track. Lateral thinking, on the other hand, calls for backtracking, and challenging common assumptions which underlie our decisions. This type of thinking is dominant to a genius that makes them great. It then promotes the generation of alternatives, which results in significant insights. This activity teaches programmers and managers the art of lateral thinking in their respective domains. Lateral thinking techniques let geniuses to come up with startling, brilliant and original solutions to problems and opportunities. However, “Madness”, “Off-the-wall” or “crazy” efforts used for generating new ideas are often weak and can turn off interested participants but if the effort succeeded you will be called a genius. The tools of Lateral Thinking more efficiently provoke and move the mind to make new connections and generate insight.
In traditional vertical type of thinking (logic or mathematic), you move forward by sequential steps each of which must be justified. You select out only what is relevant. You must be right at each stage in order to achieve a correct solution. In lateral thinking, you may deliberately seek out irrelevant information - you use information not for its own sake but for its effect. You may have to be wrong at some stage in order to achieve an innovative and correct solution. And this type of thinking makes geniuses great. Without this, no one can be called genius.
References:
Clark, B. (2002). Growing Up Gifted: Sixth Edition, Merrill Prentice Hall: New Jersey,
USA.
Fingelkurts, A.A. and Fingelkurts, A.A. (2002). Exploring Giftedness: Advances in Psychology Research, Volume 9. Moscow, Russia: Nova Science Publishers. pp. 137-155.
Simonton, D.K. (1994). Greatness: Who makes history and why. New York: Guilford.
Winner, E. (2000). Giftedness: Current theory and research. Current Direct. Psychology.
Science. 9: 153-156.
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