What Is It Like To Be An Outler (Genius)?

First of all, a review of how we here at The Capable Genius define like terms.  This is not particularly scientific but rather gleaned from our observations and, frankly, our opinions.

Talent--an exceptional ability (for example, the ability to run fast, to play the piano excellently, write poetry with technical skill and beauty, etc).  One does not have to be a genius to be talented.  They SHOW genius, but it is within the band of their talent.

Bright--extra intellectual ability (straight A's, good student, may be in gifted programs due to teacher recommendation but IQ tests would show "bright" not "gifted")

Genius--exceptional intellectual ability.  They may or may not be good students, but their ability to think is profound.  Their entire nervous system is more attune to stimuli than the norm.  This contributes to "overexcitabilities".  It also accounts for the ability to synthesize information and create new from it.

Outliers--aka genius, "gifted".  We find this term the most accurate description of high IQ people as it a)reflects a position on a bell curve, is not loaded sentiment of  inherent worth or favor (as the term "gifted" tends to be) b)encompasses the entirety of the nervous system experiences and activity instead of merely focusing on intellect (which "genius" tends to do).  We do, though, use "genius" and "Outlier" interchangeably on The Capable Genius.


So what is it like to be an Outlier?  How does the experience differ from the norm?  It depends on the Outlier.  Each experience is incredibly different depending on the parts of the brain that are more active.  This is part of the struggle of being an Outlier--not only are you different from the norm, but you are also different from other Outliers.  However, like athletes of different sports, Outliers can find some common ground:

-Intensity.  This is probably the hallmark of the genius.  Whatever sense or experience stimulates the brain, stimulates it to a greater degree in the Outlier.  This can cause problems with overexcitabilities (essentially the incredibly intense excitation of the neurons) in which the genius seems to either overreact, shun, or crave more whatever stimulus has excited the brain.

-Atypical sensations, emotions, understandings.  Imagine being the only person who can see in a world filled with the blind.  On one hand, it is incredibly beautiful to see sunsets and machines.  On the other hand, trying to explain what you see is nigh unto impossible. It can be isolating, but also provides the food that our brains need to make new discoveries and connections.

-A rich, valid inner world.  The world inside the head of a genius is just as vast as the world outside.  Imagine being able to go anywhere in the universe with a thought.  What would you see, experience, explore?  Now imagine being able to have a fully functional “universe” between your ears.  Libraries and laboratories and songs and poems and inventions all dancing around the inside of your head.  This is most likely where the “absent-minded professor” meme comes from.  The truth is that that professor is not absent minded, he is absent bodied—he is living quite well in his inner universe, but the problems might arise in his outer universe with the people and situations who require his attention.

I would like to offer this:  while it might be tempting to call the outer universe the “real world”, it is no more or less real than the inner world of the genius mind.  The songs that we sing in the outer world started in an inner world.  The paintings, medicine, cars, gardens, books, all started in the rich inner world of a mind.  The difference between the inner universe and the outer universe is pretty much one of location.

*This brings up an extremely important note that plays into existential depression and other experiences of the genius:  great angst can arise in the genius when sliding between the inner and outer universe.  What seems perfectly reasonable in terms of “what should” happen (for example, if the genius has a strict moral code that sees what people should do to be happy or to help others), is often not observed in the outer world.  A genius child knows that people should be nice to animals.  In his inner universe, that is an accepted fact, like gravity.  However, in the outer universe, many people abuse animals on purpose, and it is much like suddenly having gravity reverse or being thrust from one country to another where the mores and traditions and experiences have all changed.  

As one might imagine, this can cause incredible frustration, turmoil, and anxiety.  To know what people can do to reduce suffering, to know how the world should be, and to see people choosing intentionally not to live how the world should be, can be extraordinarily draining.  We will cover this more when we address existential depression, but we wanted to bring this to your attention now as a further explanation of how the conflict between two real worlds can cause troubles.

Now, the inner universe has fewer constraints than the outer universe does.  Gravity, time, uninvented words, new images and colors, all can be played with and explored.  However, the imagination, the second part of genius, can go awry into maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and experiences.  Anxiety, typical depression, mischief, superiority complexes, all can be fully developed in an inner universe that is just as rich and real as the outer one.  

Think about the movie the Matrix.  While the body was reclined in a chair, the mind was so thoroughly immersed in the inner world of the computer, that if the person “died” in the Matrix, the body, which was far removed from any danger, died as well.  The mind was powerful enough to create a new reality for the person.

When this involves creations of books, art, science, etc, then this is a wonderful bonus not just to the genius, but to those who will reap the benefit of the creations of his inner world.  

However, when the emotions are uncontrolled, like an unmanned fire hose, they will pull the genius into whatever sort of madness the emotional state (which stirs the imagination, feeding off of its "what if") is indulging in.  This is when neuroses begin to show—again the inner universe of the genius often spills out into the outer universe.  Obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, mood dysregulation, chicanery, etc will fill up the inner, and the outer, world of the genius.

-Fluidity, complexity, and speed of thought.  Because an Outlier brain goes so fast, it can seem a little random or unhinged to those listening.  The Outlier might tend to finish other people's sandwiches sentences because the conversation is being played more quickly in the mind of the Outlier.  Situations often have layers or depths that the Outlier sees which the neurotypical does not--things begin to take on symbolic or multiple meanings and/or the Outlier can see further down the road.  For example, the Outlier might be able to perceive that action "a" which leads to result "b" will eventually lead to consequence "m".

-Asynchrony.  The young Outlier probably developed oddly, for example, having the ability to follow and contribute to a conversation about physics, but throwing a tantrum when the crust was not cut off the bread.  While asychrony eventually evens out for the most part, it can be a very...interesting, and often bewildering, experience to raise a Capable Genius.

-Polymath Abilities. The Outlier almost always has more than one extremely high capability, for example, the ability to dance and be an engineer.  Think of DaVinci, who was a scientist as well as an artist and inventor.  If there is only one high ability, that might be considered talent more than genius. 

-Difficulty relating.  This depends on how far the Outlier is from the apex of the bell curve.  There is a sweet spot, an "Optimal Intelligence" in which the brain is just more adept enough to allow the Outlier to shine among people while also being able to relate to the neurotypical and be relatable to them.  Once you are past this, though, even speech patterns can seem odd to the neurotypical.  We often can get an inkling (though it is not perfect) of the intellectual ability of someone by the way they move and speak or the facial expressions they use.

-Existential Angst.  It can be overwhelming for an Outlier to know they can do much but have no idea what to do.  Add in emotional overexcitabilities which urge the Outlier to "go fix the world!", the fact that one might have the ability to be an excellent doctor and an excellent lawyer, but not both at the same time ("Which one of my natural abilities do I ignore?  Is that the right decision?  What if I was really meant to be a doctor but I chose lawyer?"), and the fact that very few people understand what it is like to be you and therefore cannot adequately give counsel, and there often occurs bouts of existential angst or depression (not to be confused with "regular" depression....this is more of a demoralization as opposed to "I have no idea why I am depressed").

-Metacognition.  "Thinking about Thinking".  A semi-constant systems check of how we are thinking, what we are thinking about, if our thinking is sound, what might distract us from our thinking (which can be ironic as the mere thinking about distractions can be a huge distraction).  Metacognition is one of the most useful skill of an Outlier.


These are just a few traits to consider, there are many more.  Notice we did not include "early reading" (as that is not actually proven to mean anything at all), nor voracious reader (lots of people like to read lots of books), and other sort of "identifiers".  Those are more.....effects than causes.  Early reading can happen because a child is an Outlier, or can occur in a bright child with an attentive parent, or may be due a talent for language vs having a high IQ.  We know of one Capable Genius who learned how to turn off her mobile at 10 weeks, but did not read until she was 8.

We also would like to point out that none of these by themselves are "differentials".  A person may have trouble relating because they are an Outlier OR because they are just a narcissist.  A person might be experiencing existential angst because they just turned 45 (existential angst in Outliers often starts much earlier...sometimes even in 4 year olds).  If you suspect you or someone else is an Outlier, a full evaluation (not just an IQ test) given by a psychologist who specializes in "gifted" people is a must.  Let us emphasize:  it must be a FULL evaluation, not just an IQ test and it must be with a specialist, not just any psychologist, just like if you had a torn ACL, you want to go to a sports medicine doc, not just a family practitioner.  Yes, both can run the same tests, but the sports med guy knows a lot more than the fam prac.

This should give you a glimpse into the mind of the Outlier.  Feel free to suggest points we might have missed, this is hardly an exhaustive list.