Can a Genius Believe In God?

Short answer:  Yes.

Medium length answer:   Yes because a true genius understands that they just don't understand everything, that to limit our understanding by the limits of our sight or our technology is illogical.

Long answer:  I would ask, how can a true genius not even at least keep the option open?  Frankly, it is emotion, not intellect, that precludes many of our brightest from believing in God.  It is ridiculous to think we have conquered every question, been able to measure every realm or dimension.  Even if we are not ready to believe in God, we can't deny the possibility of His existence either, if we are intellectually astute and honest.

Intellectuals who deny the existence, or even the possibility, of God remind me of the bright minds in the Wright Brothers' time who insisted that a plane could never fly.  They were not stupid people.  They were the height of intelligence, as smart as you and I.  They just couldn't believe what they had not seen, which is the assertion of many atheist scientists..

However....

Were the doubters correct?  Was the airplane a foolish concept?  Or did it fly because of forces and concepts that the intelligent at the time did not understand or know how to utilize?

See, this is the thing.  A true genius, to be able to go far, has to acknowledge that they simply do not know everything.  That opens the door to exploration and curiosity.  It is that humility and curiosity, not their ability, that enables them to reach. 

The thought that "If I don't know it myself, then it is not knowable" is, honestly, a little embarrassing.  Oh we all have done it from time to time, don't get me wrong, but we can not go further if we do not allow the possibility that there is more, simply because our minds will refuse to accept that which intrudes on where it has planted its flag of ego.

The scoffing genius can only work with what has already been known or what they deem is safe for their psyche.  I wonder if they are afraid of Something or Someone more intelligent than they?  Perhaps it is pride or fear, not science or logic, that is holding them back from potential understanding.  This is truly sorrowful--such a great gift hobbled by such an easily frightened or wounded psyche.

So, yes, a genius can believe in God.  Those who might be reading this and don't, consider the logic of denying what we might not be able to measure yet--like those who might have denied molecules or germs or radiowaves.  The "anything but God" concept is emotional, not rational.

Take a chance.  Open the door.  Drop the guard.  Stow the ego.  You might be surprised what you find when you allow that which you have refused to consider to percolate in your mind.  Honestly we have tested the consideration of the Lord and have discovered more reality (that can actually be observed) than one could imagine.

Drive The Ferrari

This post is for Outliers and parents of Outliers alike.  Outliers of all ages will most likely run into the excruciating boredom of school, work, life at some point.  How one handles these challenges will mean the difference between blast off and burn out.

Parents, I want to speak to you for a sec.  If you have an Outlier child in public school, you probably have noticed that they are not challenged.  They might "forget" to do their homework, complain that what they are learning is "dumb", they might act out or hate to go to school. 

If you go to the school and try to get your child advanced in grade level, you will almost certainly be met with resistance.  "Needs to be with his agemates" or "needs to learn social skills" or "we don't do that here" is often refrained by authorities at school.

Right now I am not going to get into getting an IEP or whatever--a mother who has gotten one for her child would be in a much better position to walk you through.

However, I did want to let you know what is going on in that mind of your child (or yours, if you are an Outlier) when it is not given all the input it can eat.  If you are tempted to let your child flounder in a class of those far below him, understand that this is what you are asking him to endure...

The mind of the genius is a powerful machine.  It requires massive quantities of materials for it to perform properly.

The child genius who acts out in boredom and disrupts the classroom, the teen genius who delves into experimentation of maladaptive behaviors such as drugs, the adult genius who descends into moroseness, is 'et up by anxiety and panic, or indulges in mischief  to get a mental high are all examples of a genius mind that is not getting the fuel that it needs.

Make no mistake.  The brain WILL think.  The brain of a genius almost never has any downtime.  It is a Ferrari with a permanently stuck gas pedal.  Now, that car, given suitable fuel, oil, and direction will perform like a modern wonder, hugging the most complicated curves, and racing far ahead of other cars.

However, the Ferrari which is put on blocks in a garage, engine revving without fluids, will seize and burn itself up.  Unable to take in fresh air, it will choke on its own exhaust.  It will fail to live to its purpose and spend its time quaking in its repressed, but highly charged, state.

I cannot repeat this enough:  You cannot slow down the mind of the genius.  You cannot tell it to stop thinking.  You cannot make it be “normal”.  You cannot change a Ferrari into a minivan.

Yes, the Ferrari takes more effort, but the rewards are incredible, both for observers and for the car living its purpose.  So, too, the genius, allowed to FULLY express his genius, will benefit not only humanity, but also will be much more healthy mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Now, what does this mean for the parent of a genius?  It means the brain of the child needs input.  It is necessary to feed it what it needs.  The good thing is that the child knows what it needs to dwell on for the most part:  the child will usually seek out what his mind is craving.  You do not have to teach, say, Renaissance art or nuclear physics.  You just need to provide the ability for the child to teach himself or be tutored.  Library, the internet (for example, free classes from Open Courseware), local universities, online tutoring, all can provide the fuel that the child needs.  He needs understanding, support, encouragement, and access—all these are things you can easily provide.

Now, you can also guide your little sports car onto good roads.  He will know how to learn, but he is still a regular human in many respects such as emotional growth.  You can be like the driver, steering him away from bad roads (which can be anything from poor choices, disrespectful behavior, superiority complexes, anxiety, etc) and help him stay on good mental roads of exploration, discovery, invention.

Truly it is as simple as “Tell me what you are working on…it looks neat!”.  Allow the child to take time (often much time!) to explain everything about his project or thought or dream or writing.  Ask “What is this for?  What does that mean?” and at the end praise him for his work, even if you do not know exactly what it was.  He needs to know you are in his corner, not critiquing him.  Ask him too if there is anything he needs from you.  These sorts of easy builders of a strong mind take nothing but a little time and interest and reap incredible rewards.

If you are the Outlier and you are in a job that is stifling, the temptation is for me to say "Well, get another job!"  However, the realities of our economy (and the ability that our brains have) often preclude us just "doing something different".

So how to manage if you are an adult Outlier?  First of all, remember that you are more than your brain.  You might find that your job is not intellectually challenging but hits your spiritual or emotional or physical buttons.  For example, if you are a carpenter, you have a lot of time with manual labor, which feeds the brain with blood from exercise, plus fresh air and stimulation.  That can work very much in your favor when you get home.

Or if you are a mom who stays at home, talking to 5 year olds is not the most intellectually challenging task you have, however, there is such an inherent nobility and a precious responsibility in raising another human.  True, your brain might feel mushy from time to time, but your heart and spirit will be glowingly strong if you are diligent in your work.

In any case, if you cannot change your work, change your hobbies.  Instead of vegging out to Netflix or Thursday Night Football, consider using your down time to do your stuff.  Work your "patent office" job during the day, the brain does not have to be constantly entertained as a little bit of monotony helps give it room to create (which is why our best ideas are in the shower or the car), and let your brilliance fly when you have taken care of your responsibilities.

**Note:  why don't we give the advice of (plow during the day and glow at night) to parents of Outlier children?  Because children do not have the perspective, emotional growth or stability, or practices metacognition that adults do.  Plus, the greatest amount of learning takes place as a child and we want that little brain as fed as possible.  Adults are much less likely to just "spontaneously" develop anxieties, but children have not (and often cannot) learned how to deal with the Ferrari brain--it just needs to GO and LEARN.

Plus, to be honest, most of us would love the freedom childhood gives to develop our best selves. 

At Least Enough To Field The World's Geekiest Football Team

"No intelligent person would ever believe in God."

Hmmm....

So perhaps we totally blew it about the genius of:

DaVinci
Michaelangelo
Cezanne
Bach
Mozart
Beethoven
Shakespeare
Marconi (Nobel Prize Winner)
Bacon (the "Sir Francis", not the "delicious breakfast meat")
Descartes
Kierkegaard
Pascal
Kant
Locke
Copernicus
Faraday
Kepler
Newton
Beecher Stowe
Schroedinger
Bronte
Browning (both Robert and Elizabeth)
Chekhov (Anton the writer, not Pavel Andreievich the fictional Russian wunderkind who graduated Star Fleet Academy at 17...though he may believe in God as well, we have no data to support it.)
Dostoevsky
Dickens
Wald (Nobel Prize Winner)
Melville
Swift (Jonathan, though possibly Taylor as well.  I am not up on my teen music sensations.)
Tolstoy
Chopin
Penzias (Nobel Prize Winner)

Heisenberg


This is a short list of genius believers.  To be frank, to assert that no intelligent person can have faith in God is kind of embarrassing for the person who says it.  Apparently we can, and apparently we are not rarities.

So, fellow genius believers, go boldly knowing that you are not alone, and in fact some of the truly greatest minds in all of history knew your Lord as well.

A Target No One Else Can See

Being an Outlier is a hard row to hoe.

Not that we would trade it in, all of us here at TCG are thankful for the blessing.

But it is difficult, sometimes, to not just hit targets, but to hit targets no one else can see.  Leaves you wondering if you have lost the road or they just can't find it.  Especially if you know you have imaginational overexcitabilities--you know that sometimes the field of thought expands too far and disintegrates past logic and exploration into confetti of what was once a promising discovery.

But sometimes we really are that smart and really can see that well and the target is big and bold before us.  We know what we know and we know what they don't know. 

It can drive a person mad....ok well at least into frustration and cynicism.  It is hard to be thought of as ridiculous by the neurotypical when you know they are wrong.  It is not their fault--they are not less than we are nor, I have found, do they mean to be unkind.  What we say and think, though, is sometimes just beyond their ability to understand so it sounds like gibberish.

This is why a)we have to be understanding--even we Outliers differ from each other and the maestro might not understand the passion of the scientist who might be tone deaf and not understand the brilliance of the maestro and b)need to find someone else Outlier who can rein us in when we do start crossing the line from genius to madness (madness meant losely--when our paradigms stop being elegant and start looking like the cat walked over the jigsaw puzzle) and c) keep from being haughty, jaded, superior, or cynical--it is foolishness to presume the lack of ability in one area in the neurotypical (or anyone else) means that we are worth more as humans.

I think women have more trouble with this than men do, though.  Women, it seems, are often discounted as having the ability to be brilliant.  The male pianist who has emotional OE's is considered a "temperamental genius" whilst the female pianist who has the same talent and OE's is considered hormonal.

This would be an excellent cause for discretion and, again, remembering that we are not brains in a jar.  The neurotypical or even the simple who cannot understand our physics might have deep insights into our souls.

Along the Z Axis

Many years ago, I worked out a paradigm on the layers of complexity on which I operated.  I labeled these X, Y, and Z axis thinking.  Imagine a graph with horizontal X, vertical Y, and depth Z.

X axis thinking is basic stuff--whatever thinking you need to get your day done such as simple planning of time, basic checkbook math, drafting a letter.

Y axis thinking is a little more advanced thinking with creativity thrown in--algebra, writing a post, designing a room, gaming.  Takes more strategy, more planning, more analysis.

Z axis thinking is where the genius comes in--writing a book or sonnet, discovering your own math formulas, creating your own game, inventing an entirely new building material.  It was also is a rush of connections when a new, profound truth has been presented to me. It does not have to be new to everyone, just new to me.  I can feel the strongly stimulated neurons lighting up like a Christmas tree.  It's amazing I don't glow in the dark.

Z axis thinking is the sweet spot to me where my brain feels like it is being used and when I am done, there is both a sense of contentment and a desire for more.  Like a drug, but without the pesky jail time.

Figuring out how to spend enough time in Z axis thinking to stay mentally healthy without being like an addict is a serious consideration for the Capable Genius.  Not enough Z and the brain eats itself, which often looks like drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety, depression, etc.  Too much seeking of Z is like trying to put a rainbow in our pocket--the rainbow will appear when it does, but we can't carry it with us (ok, physics guys, I know that one can carry a prism, etc.  Just go with me on this.).

An interesting thing or two about Z. 
a)I thought it was the same as joy or happiness, but it's not
b)I used to think only being  officially in a "thinking capacity" would provide Z, but that's not necessary
c)I didn't realize that I get a lot of Z rush from learning as much as being brilliant--input and output both are excellent Z generators
d)There is the capacity for Z not only in the brain, but in the heart, in the spirit, and in the body.  Z is the best I can be (not "the best that ANYONE can be" but the best that I am capable of).  There is Z in being an awesome parent.  There is Z in churning through the water for an hour.  There is the biggest Z without the "hangover" in learning and applying new spiritual truths. 

Z is just the best we can be to whatever capacity we have been given.  I will never be an Olympic swimmer, but there is as much Z in my personal best of 80 minutes of swimming (my goal is to be able to swim as long as I choose to) as there could ever be on the platform with a gold medal.  Probably because a medal is a red herring--we were made to "swim" (think, paint, invent, do math, whatever).  We were not actually created to "win medals" (or awards or whatever) as a purpose in life. (God did not say "His purpose is to pastor a flock.  Her purpose is to paint.  His purpose is to win whatever medals he can.").   Deep down, I think people either know that and do what they do for themselves, or they don't know that and cheat or lie.  To be intrinsically motivated, to do the best you can with what you've got, is the key.

I digress.  Today let's look for ways to be 100% in but also to look for new avenues of Z, of being the you God made you to be.  If you're restless, then look--you might be pegging out Z mentally but not spiritually or emotionally.   Remember, we are not brains in a jar.

Outlier, Not Gifted

There is perhaps no larger stumbling block to the highly intelligent/highly talented community than the term "gifted".  It is the bane of our existence.  It creates an instant defence in those who were never selected for Gifted and Talented classes.  It makes it impossible for us to describe who we are without sounding like self absorbed jerks.  It makes it impossible for mothers who have children with high IQ's to reach out to other mothers without causing instant jealousy.

It also can cause the person who is gifted to consider themselves superior or that they have no need to work or put forth effort.  It can create an identity of entitlement or can isolate a child so completely that their youth is spent hiding who they are whilst they fight off bullies.

It prevents the highly abled from getting the assistance they need.  It is very easy to generate sympathy from other parents for the child who is not a 'rival' their own, due to disease or injury.  Only the most callous man does not have some place in his heart for a child who struggles to read or walk.

However, try getting education funding for "gifted kids" and suddenly it is as if you are trying to take away Little Timmy's last crutch.  "Why do 'gifted kids' need educational support if they are so 'gifted'?" people ask with a tinge of jealousy. 

Teachers too can feel anger or hostility toward the "gifted troublemaker" kid who outscores their own child.

When parents are overwhelmed by their 3 year old who has given up sleep for Lent and is trying to build his own nuclear reactor in the basement, they too can feel resentment at the "gifted" label "If this is a gift, can I give it back?" is a refrain spoken by more than one frazzled parent or lonely teen.

Most of this could be eliminated by the simple act of changing the term from the emotionally charged "gifted" to the more accurate "outlier".  Outlier is accurate.  It is a place on a bell curve.  It makes no judgement about whether that place is good or bad, it just states a location on a map, so to speak.

It also illustrates poignantly the feelings of isolation that a highly intelligent person can feel.  "I look at the chart of myself and my peers and there are no dots around me" an Outlier might observe.

Words have weight and meaning and subtext that creates ripples of effect throughout entire lives, so here we use the term Outlier and encourage you to do so as well, as you see fit. 

The Whole Outlier

You are not a brain in a jar.

You are not just what you do well.

You are not a single note, a fancy trick, a freak show.

You are a human with a body, mind, heart, and spirit.

You may have relied on your strengths to get you through life so far:  not having to study, being able to excel in sports or art or music, relying on that one (or more) shining talent or ability to establish your worth and your place in the world to the detriment of the rest of you.

It is time to change that.

It is time to strengthen your weaknesses.

It is time to hone your strengths.

It is time to strengthen your hands for work, your heart for relationships, your spirit for faith, and your feet for willingness to move.

It is time to become the full measure of the person you were meant to be.

We get you.  We know the challenges of being the smartest person in the room or the only one who can hear the complexities of the music or wondering if you are really that smart or really that dumb.

We get your overexcitabilities, your frustrations.

We are not afraid or jealous of your successes, your achievements.

You are welcome to chill out and be yourself here.

You looked for a place to belong.  You just found it.

Being Capable, Blog Post 1

You know what it's like to be a genius, but do you know how to be capable?  Many of us don't. Due to our exquisitely tuned minds, we might find ourselves struggling with perceptions and experiences that others can't begin to comprehend.  We keep our eyes out for that one person who might possibly understand even a portion of what we feel.  We seek someone who enjoys thinking for its own sake.  We want a buddy who knows the pure rush, the high, we get when we work a math problem or solve a conundrum. We want to talk to someone who knows that our brains will eat themselves if we don't give them something to chew on.

While so many people seem to love the simple, we crave the complex—in fact, for some of us the simple is actually beyond our comprehension—like trying to analyse the exact muscle fibers we use while walking.

We sometimes feel great superiority above the crowd of “normals”, yet sometimes we long to be with them, wishing we could move in social circles as easily as others.  We either decide to eschew society in a fit of superior resentment, stewing in our own haughtiness and pain for the rest of our lives, or we consistently put ourselves out there, raw and bleeding, and feel each rejection as a personal reflection on us.

We have so many answers.  We often know the best ways to make stuff happen, to solve problems, but find it increasingly difficult to get our ideas accepted.  It is actually awesome for us, sometimes, when people say “Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about.” with a deeply apologetic smile, and we bristle when people ignore or scoff at our thoughts.

We have so many questions that people cannot answer for us or that we don't want to ask.  It would be nice to have someone say “Here, this is what you are feeling and why.  This is how you solve this problem.  This is your purpose in life.  This is your great gift, and this is not your strong suit.  This is how to find peace in your mind and in your circumstances.”.  Our difficulty lies, though, in the fact that we have questions about ourselves that we think (often rightly) that no one can begin to comprehend.  A marathon runner can't go to a 5^th grader at recess and say “Hey, I find that on mile 14, I start to hit the wall.  What is the best way for me to manage that break in focus?” or “How can I manage both a stress fracture and plantar fasciitis in the same foot?”.  It is not that the 5^th grader is not a fine young runner, but he just has not experienced the same amount of running as the marathoner has.

Yet sometimes that 5^th grader in our lives knows the exact right answer to help us, but we are too proud or too superior to follow his advice.   We forget that there is a difference between intelligence and wisdom.  Intelligence is an innate quality—barring any accidents, illnesses, or other problems, a person will stay at approximately the same intellectual stratum that they were born with.  However, wisdom is open to all, regardless of the Weschler score.

That 5^th grader might know exactly how to break through a mental block, or might sagely say “You have to let the bone heal.  It’s ok to stop running for a little while.”.  However, we might scoff at such advice from someone who isn't in the same league as we are, then find that that stress fracture becomes a permanent source of pain and we can never quite overcome that emotional wall that keeps us from developing past mile 14.

This blog is here to guide you through many of the pitfalls that we Outliers encounter.  We will learn the difference between intelligence and wisdom, assertion and arrogance, friendliness and fawning, introspection and “navel staring”, introversion and resentment.  We will learn how to manage our emotional, intellectual, physical, and spiritual lives to become the most we were made to be.

 

Note:  We use the term genius because that is what we are.  It is not a term of worth or value as a human, it is a descriptor of innate cognitive ability.  A fast runner is a fast runner, even if he also is a bank robber or beats his wife.   Therefore there is no need to blush and hide from accepting the fact that we have been given, through no action or striving on our part, a fast mind.