Can NT's be geniuses?

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Why could not they be?

Tht's sure. I met NTs in my life that looked like geniouses a lot more than me.

Of course. Why wouldn't they?

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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There is no such thing as a 'genius gene'.

i guess so with practice
but imo, aspies are more likely to be geniuses. no offence, its out obsessions.

I am a diagnosed Aspie but I am not a genius, and have never been.

Venn diagram



NTs come in a wide range of intelligence

Including genius

Just like autistics come in a wide range of intelligence

Including genius

There are seven billion people in the world


At least two neurotypicals are genius

Mensa definition

I define genius by the critically successful application of intelligence in the external world. It's a social definition because it implies that these applications are influential and adopted by society or change the world in some fashion.

Someone might technically have an IQ of 160 and be capable of vast and complex logical reasoning, but if this person never translates that ability into action, then I would never call them a genius. I would say they have a highly superior intelligence.

I like this kind of distinction because it encourages brilliant people to exercise and improve executive functioning skills so as to contribute to society.

Being brilliant in your room and dying with no influence isn't worth a lot.

Yes, but geniuses with social skills.

I have worked with bona fide geniuses enough to know that I'm not one. They're on a totally different level. I have no idea whether any of them were AS or not.

Personally I suspect that AS can be geniuses, but that AS are no more likely to be geniuses than NT, but I have nothing to back that up.

Breaking it down further, there are three possible cases:

(1) AS and genius are not causally related.

In this case, we would expect the percentage of geniuses who are AS to be the same as the percentage of non-geniuses in the population who are AS.

(2) AS can be a cause of genius.

In this case, we would expect more geniuses to be AS, and more AS to be geniuses. It would mean something about AS causes higher orders of intelligence.

(3) AS precludes genius.

In this case, we would expect few or no geniuses to be AS. It implies that AS is a type of mental retardation which prevents higher orders of intelligence.

Looking at AS who I know, it would be tempting to lend credence to #2, but I don't think so. Some AS enjoy a high degree of focus on specific subjects which leads to increased practice in that subject, and sometimes even expertise. I think that can lead to AS seeming more intelligent than they actually are. If anyone, AS or NT, works hard and enforces the self-discipline to stay focused on a subject, they will enjoy greater command of that subject. This behavior simply comes more easily to some AS, and it has nothing to do with intelligence.

Some people would find #3 compelling, but I think this is based on the "halo effect", a logical fallacy which is the core of many misunderstandings. The halo effect causes people who observe good traits in people to assume they have other good traits not in evidence, or when they observe bad traits in people they assume those people have other bad traits not in evidence. So when people observe AS behavior they deem bad (such as antisocial behavior, incomprehension of social norms, or taboo behavior like stimming), the halo effect leads them to assume the AS is bad in other ways, including low intelligence.

As for case #1, I have no evidence to prove it or disprove it, it just seems likely to me.

Reviving an old thread as it is interesting.

It seems to me that anybody is capable of Genius with enough focus, work, and thought experiments.

Having a higher IQ just gets you there faster.

Einstein's general relativity was a series of thought experiments and then years of number crunching to prove it.

DNA was initially visualized during an LSD trip, again a lot of work required to actually see it.

I guess this is why Einstein once said imagination is more important than intelligence.

What Constitutes “Genius”? Beyond IQ and the Importance of Creative Individualism