Although some psychologists argue that giftedness is a myth and that extraordinary performance is merely a consequence of deliberate practice, there is substantial evidence that some people are born with extraordinary cognitive skills that we refer to as “giftedness.” Typically, giftedness is manifest in early childhood. Sir Francis Galton, one of the pioneers of the concept of intelligence was a child prodigy who was purported to be reading by the age of two, fluent in Latin and Greek at age five, and solving quadratic equations at age eight. The brilliant mathematician and one of the founders of the programmable computer, John von Neumann, could divide two eight-digit numbers in his head at age 6 and was proficient in calculus at age 8? More recently, Terrance Tao mastered arithmetic at age 2 and completed university level mathematics at age 9. Misa Osipov, who was featured on Russian television at age 3 playing chess against Russian Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov, when asked what opening he was using, responded nonchalantly “the Nimzo-Indian Defence.” The next year, he defeated Russian Chess Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh. Other child prodigies whose gifts were recognized early, include John Stuart Mill, Mozart, Blaise Pascal, and Stevie Wonder.
However, giftedness was manifest in others at a later time. Einstein’s giftedness was not evident until much later and appeared during his early childhood to be intellectually limited. His sister Maja reported, “He had such difficulty with language that those around him feared he would never learn to speak.” In fact, one of his schoolmasters predicted that he would never amount to much.
Thomas Edison, who suffered from dyslexia, dropped out of school during his first grade when his frustrated teacher, Reverend G. B. Engle, described him as “addled.” His giftedness was not apparent until adulthood, though it may have been evident at an earlier age had someone observed him closely.
Generally, our fluid intelligence, the kind measured as IQ, peaks in early adulthood and declines thereafter. As the component of intelligence that we normally associate with giftedness, it tends to appear early and diminish later. A familiar adage asserts, “The lamp of genius burns brighter and faster than the lamp of life.” However, the component of intelligence that grows with experience, called crystallized intelligence, can first become evident in middle age. Charles Darwin, considered to be of very ordinary intellect when he departed on the Beagle at age 22, emerged two decades later as one of the foremost thinkers of his age. His giftedness resided in the remarkable inferences he was able to make from his observations.
True giftedness probably has its roots in an individual’s DNA, but comes into full flower in the neuron flourish and pruning that happens during infancy and possibly again during adolescence. Giftedness is like porn; it’s hard to define, but you’ll know it when you see it.
