5 Myths About Brilliant and Talented People

Brilliant people can't possibly be Autistic.

Autism is not an intellectual disability, and contains the whole Bell Curve in its spectrum. In fact, the more we study autism, the more we understand its role in the most brilliant minds in history. Recent studies have shown a genetic link between child prodigies and autism, as well. See Reference here.

 The real kicker is, autism itself may be the very source of a person's unusual talents. According to Temple Grandin's book Different, Not Less, neurotypical people have a type of brain cell called a mirror neuron, which processes information about human behavior by mimicking the same neural  processes as if the observers were engaged in the activity themselves. This lends intuition and social context to neurotypical interactions, and adds the depth of body language, facial expressions, and intonation to communication. People on the Autism Spectrum generally lack these mirror neurons, and therefore cannot process that social information except through logic. If you are neurotypical, you probably spent a lot of energy trying to fit in or find your place in high school society. For a person on the spectrum (often referred to as a geek or nerd in such societies), that energy must be directed elsewhere; the mental energy cannot go to brain cells one lacks, so it is redistributed to memory, creativity, analysis. Autistic individuals tend to like repetition, as well, which may manifest in rehearsing a musical instrument or obsessive pursuit in an area of interest, or simply reading for days on end.

 Brilliant people don't make mistakes.

On the contrary, we seem to make more dramatic ones.

Brilliant people use big words to make average people feel stupid. 

People on the autism spectrum are usually unaware of how other people perceive them, and in my case, I don't recognize  that my vocabulary is unusual until someone points it out. It's the only way I know how to speak. I personally feel that the Asperger's tendency to use formal speech is an unconscious compensation for our lack of nonverbal communication skills; the subtle variations between synonyms fill the void  of nuance otherwise found in inflection or body language.

 Talented people are just naturally good at what they do.

Everyone has a natural affinity for something, be it math or animals or drawing. And most people suffer frustration when they see another person mastering a skill in record time, assuming they themselves don't have "what it takes" to do as well. Extreme talent often shows up in individuals on the Spectrum, but it's not necessarily out of having some special spark that others don't. Even piano prodigies don't play Chopin flawlessly the first time they sit at the keys. It takes time and effort to master a skill- 10,000 hours is the arbitrary rule- but spectrum individuals tend to obsess. If a person spends an hour a day rehearsing an instrument, they can expect mastery in about  28 years. Four hours rehearsal would take 7 years to attain the same proficiency. And a person who is so obsessed they're losing sleep over their music may only take a year or two to wow the world.




Elon Musk is a superhero.

 OK, that one just might be true.