Genius

I was pondering the concept of genius on a subway ride today. While I haven’t descended upon a firm conclusion, I’m hovering around some central ideas. It seems to me that based on observation of all the people that get labeled as genius, it is actually possible to break down the concept into its constituent parts. I would proffer that there are 5 general categories of genius, and they are as follows:

• Recall Genius
• Tactile Genius – Fine Motor
• Tactile Genius – Kinesthetic(Whole Body)
• Creative/Innovative Genius
• Pattern & Flow Genius

There are additional subcategories which will examine a bit later, but let’s run through each general category first.

Recall Genius is probably the most common attribute of those given the genius label. This type of genius means that the individual essentially has the ability to store information better and in greater quantities than the average person. People who claim photographic, near photographic, or perfect recall fall into this category. These individuals can pull out studied information—no matter how long ago it was studied—and often have exceptional recall of non-studied information as well.

Tactile Genius – Fine Motor is also another common attribute of geniuses, however it is usually due to particular subcategory membership. There are 3 subcategories: 1) Stop-motion dexterity; 2)Flexibility & Strength; 3)Sensitivity. Stop-motion dexterity is the ability to hold the digits in the hand and feet motionless for extended periods of time without incurring trembling. Flexibility and Strength are the abilities to manipulate the digits beyond standard range of motion, manipulate the digits into uncommon or difficult shapes and positions, and to apply a greater range of forces with the digits. Sensitivity is the ability to more precisely detect properties of objects such as texture, rigidity/flexibility, and temperature.
Examples of these types of geniuses are commonly found in music(string instrument players, piano players), mechanics(jewelry/watchmakers) and in medicine(surgeons).

Tactile Genius – Kinesthetic is an uncommon attribute of geniuses, however it does have higher occurrences that other genius types in particular fields. This type of genius has an extremely high degree of control of body position, movement, and/or an exceptional ability to know the position of the body in 3-dimensional space.
Examples of these types of geniuses are most commonly found in two areas, athletic sports and performance art. These are the rare performers and competitors that have a body that manages to do everything they can think to demand of it.

Creative/Innovative Genius is a very rare attribute of geniuses, and typically has a limited lifespan. This type of genius causes an individual who possesses it to generate and create new and different things. It is a costly form of genius for the specific reason that it almost impossible to turn off; as long as the individual is focusing on a particular item of interest that individual will be generating additional output that may sometimes only be tangentially related. This type of genius is also more difficult to find because social systems & organizations typically pursue progress more than creativity, and also because existing systems & organizations usually have a collective historybank of ideas. Even when the individual comes up with an idea that is new to him/her, unless that idea is new to the system/organization and helps said organization progress further, the individual is not typically recognized as genius.
Examples of this are spread through many different fields. In performing arts, these types of geniuses are often composers and choreographers. In science, these types of geniuses are often theoreticians and inventors.

Pattern & Flow Genius is a common attribute of geniuses, and—aside from recall genius—one of the easiest to recognize. These type of geniuses are able to take in large volumes of information (sometimes disparate information) and see how(or make how) the information fits together. They are also able to see organizational structure of information well enough to postulate about missing information pieces, and how those unknown pieces effect the structure & flow of the information available.

Usually people that are termed genius have 1-2 of the above listed types. Occasionally you can get a person that may have 3 of the types, but it is nearly impossible for someone to have all 5. This is because there are biological costs, and the more genius types you have, the higher the cost. While there may be cultural factors that contribute to what types of geniuses arise in a given generation, there are often type clusters that emerge. Here are some common ones along with examples of what field these geniuses often end up in:

• Recall , Tactile-Fine Motor.
• Surgeons, Musicians
• Tactile-Kinesthetic, Pattern & Flow.
• Athletes in multi-person sports
• Creative/Innovative , Tactile-Fine Motor.
• Sculptors, Painters, Physical Mechanics Inventors
• Recall, Pattern & Flow.
• Physical and Theoretical Scientists