Smart People With Great Minds Usually Get Asked A Certain Question By Those Who Aren't As Intelligent
eldar nurkovic | Shutterstock It's a common misconception that highly intelligent people are only sticking to information they view as fact. While they tend to be analytical, very smart individuals tend to think outside the box, coming up with solutions that the average person would never think of.
They see possibilities that aren't quite as obvious, and even if their unusual ideas aren't always good ones, it can make people raise their eyebrows in confusion. People tend to judge those they don't understand, so it's not uncommon for intellectuals to be on the receiving end of strange glares and questions that make others seem unintelligent.
Smart people with great minds are often asked 'Are you insane?' by those who aren't as intelligent.
While we can take all the IQ tests in the world, there's a theory that can actually test whether or not you're a genius. Philosopher and content creator Julian de Medeiros explained the ideology that a foundational philosopher used to gauge intelligence.
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He began by saying that there's a very simple theory behind people who have great minds and are intelligent. He discussed that the distinction of intelligence was first observed by Aristotle.
Aristotle once said, "No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness." In that quote, according to de Medeiros, Aristotle was suggesting that there was a fine line between being a genius and being a madman.
"Now, to have a great mind therefore means that you can see and think things that other people can't," he included. "But this puts you on a kind of border where there's a liminal line between what is real and what is not."
De Medeiros claimed that people with "great minds" were often dealing with a double-edged sword that was both a blessing and a curse. Highly intelligent people often teetered on the edge of an abyss, and as Aristotle noted, there was never a great mind without just a touch of madness.
Even though intelligent people have unusual ways of thinking, they're often at risk for mental health issues.
While higher intelligence has many advantages, including getting better grades in school, better jobs, higher pay, and even a longer lifespan, there are drawbacks, too. Higher IQ is associated with mental illness like depression and anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
In a study led by Ruth Karpinski of Pitzer College, which included more than 3,700 members of Mensa (a society whose members must have an IQ in the top 2%), participants were asked about many factors, including their mental health. Karpinski and her colleagues discovered that mood disorders and anxiety disorders were very common among Mensa members.
While 10% of the population suffers from an anxiety disorder of some kind, 20% of Mensa members had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and 27% were diagnosed with a mood disorder.
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Additionally, a study published in Personality and Individual Differences found a direct link between anxiety and academic performance. Researchers asked 126 university students to report feelings of worry or anxiousness about test-taking and other school work.
The findings indicated that students who reported higher levels of anxiety were also the ones who scored higher on tests. The data also found that intelligence can be a predictor of rumination and worry, which often correlate with emotional disorders like depression and generalized anxiety.
As de Medeiros noted, high intelligence is often a double-edged sword. A "great mind" is not without its own shadows. But the acknowledgment that anxiety and other mood disorders may accompany people with high IQs shows the multifaceted reality of intelligence.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.
