u/gamelotGaming

Thinking back to that period in the mid-20th century, a degree of intelligence and eloquence in the public sphere were valued in a way that I don't think it is anymore. So I reckon it's very difficult to judge someone highly gifted in the current day as not being social when talking to average people. If someone spoke the same way a Richard Feynman did today on national television, it would probably not be well-received.

I think we have a tendency to outright dismiss painful truths, and anti-intellectualism and siloing of society with echo chambers has fundamentally changed this past dynamic. The general public doesn't seem to be exposed to that kind of intellectualism anymore, because it doesn't enter their purview.

We have a greater amount of access to such information but it is more stratified. I find some of the guests on the Lex Fridman podcast to have a somewhat similar kind of eloquence that a Feynman would have, but it is not something that is as well-received by the general public anymore. So, I very much think that extroverted, highly gifted people exist along a similar vein, but much of the frustration stems from internalized anti-intellectualism.

Thoughts?

There was a recent post about geniuses like Richard Feynman and John von Neumann being highly social. Thinking back to that period in the mid-20th century, a degree of intelligence and eloquence in the public sphere were valued in a way that I don't think it is anymore. So I reckon it's very difficult to judge someone highly gifted in the current day as not being social when talking to average people. If someone spoke the same way Feynman did today on national television, it would probably not be well-received.

I think we have a tendency to outright dismiss painful truths, and anti-intellectualism and siloing of society with echo chambers has fundamentally changed this past dynamic. The general public doesn't seem to be exposed to that kind of intellectualism anymore, because it doesn't enter their purview.

We have a greater amount of access to such information but it is more stratified. I find some of the guests on the Lex Fridman podcast to have a somewhat similar kind of eloquence that a Feynman would have, but it is not something that is as well-received by the general public anymore. So, I very much think that extroverted, highly gifted people exist along a similar vein, but much of the frustration stems from internalized anti-intellectualism.

Thoughts?

I wonder what people here have found to be the case.

I wonder what your theory is to why that might be the case. I can't shake this feeling that I'm really very normal and everyone probably deep down secretly thinks like me. I have some ideas about why that might be the case, but I'm curious to hear whether you feel that way, and what you have to think about it.

If so, I wonder why you think that might be the case.

I noticed that some people somehow manage to never answer personal questions unless they want to. I like interacting with a lot of people, but don't want everyone to know everything about me because that makes me feel too vulnerable and makes me immediately stop talking to people I'm not close to.

Some people just give off that vibe where you know you won't get an answer if you prod them, but still manage to be really social and friendly and talk about the things they're interested in.

I don't like the judgment that comes from people knowing too much. Like, if people know your age, where you're from and family background etc., they immediately start getting nosy and asking you why you don't meet their preconceived notions of success or of how someone with that background "should" behave and so on. I don't want conversations to go in that direction, because it makes me uncomfortable and insecure about myself, and less likely to get out of my shell (which is fairly hard as is).

It's pretty noticeable that there seems to be a marked divide between the communication styles and social expectations of the average Ivy League graduate vs high school dropout. I'm curious about how this manifests in society with people's expectations of each other. Anecdotally, this self-selection makes people in similar strata misjudge the priorities and styles of thinking of people in different strata.

It's pretty noticeable that there seems to be a marked divide between the communication styles and social expectations of the average Ivy League graduate vs high school dropout. I'm curious about how this manifests in society with people's expectations of each other. Anecdotally, this self-selection makes people in similar strata misjudge the priorities and styles of thinking of people in different strata.

I know I deal with it very poorly and keep feeling like I can think my way into being smart like them, while not being able to accept that someone can be more gifted.