Geniuses who did not do well in high schiool or college?

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emax10000
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19 Feb 2016, 4:48 pm

I posted this in the college forum and also wanted to share it here since I figured maybe a different audience would read it here and have some things to say on it.

So they say that some people on the spectrum have been known to be geniuses and truly brilliant despite not being able to excel in conventional schooling. Who would be examples of famous scientists, engineers, doctors and others who were geniuses but, likely due to ASD related challenges, found school to be very difficult and were not able to get 40s or near 40 averages in college or high school due to these struggles? A few are famous but I was wondering if there are some I may not have known about.



kraftiekortie
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19 Feb 2016, 5:27 pm

I know this doesn't count--but Woodrow Wilson, the US President, apparently could not read until he was 8-9 years old. He went on, of course, to earn a doctorate, the only US President to do so.

His racial views were abhorrent, though--especially for a man who was such a supposed idealist.



emax10000
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19 Feb 2016, 5:35 pm

^^^ I think for the moment we can count that one. Let's see if we get more interesting examples.



kraftiekortie
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19 Feb 2016, 8:31 pm

Nelson Rockefeller, even as an adult, had to read large-print books, and to have his speeches rendered in large print, because his dyslexia was so severe.

He was certainly a bright guy--but I'm sure he had trouble in school.



SpaceAgeBushRanger
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19 Feb 2016, 9:17 pm

Everyone always says Albert Einstein. Can't teach a fish to climb a tree and so on.

Philip K. Dick only did one semester of university and he's a popular author.