If you’re not sure yet whether you’re a creative genius or not, here are some signs that could help you work it out:
1. You suffer from depression, anxiety, phobias, etc.
The idea of the tortured creative genius is one we all know well. Some of the greatest minds in history have been tormented.
Great Roman thinkers, Seneca the Younger and Petronius. Tortured writers Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. Artists Vincent Van Gogh and Mark Rothko. We all know examples of creative geniuses that had tragic ends.
This is not to mention the myriads of others we can think of who have struggled with substance and alcohol misuse.
Studies have found correlations between increased intelligence and psychiatric disorders. Indeed, they’ve found that more intelligent people have a greater tendency for generalized anxiety.
In a study using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Weschler Brief Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test, they found a direct correlation between increased anxiety and increased intelligence.
These findings were also backed up by physiological differences in the brain that they observed in the same subjects.
Scientists have also shown that people with social anxiety have greater empathic abilities – the ability to sense what others are feeling.
This is a sign of another type of intelligence (EQ). Being acutely sensitive to the non-verbal cues present in interaction, people with high EQ can suffer from anxiety around people.
2. You use sarcasm a lot
Sarcasm might just be a trait of creative genius. Research on the phenomenon of sarcasm found that it has a link to increased creative abilities.
Sarcasm is a caustic type of humor that often employs subtlety or irony. It disguises a negative meaning in what a person might literally interpret as a positive statement.
Sarcastic comments require the listener to understand the meaning in a statement despite the words used, not because of them.
For this reason, making a sarcastic statement requires more mental processing than making a straightforward statement. People who use this type of expression are working their brains harder than those who don’t.
3. You stay up late
Another characteristic that seems to correlate with intelligence, if we look at a recent study, is an increased tendency to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning.
This pattern arises particularly at weekends when people are more at liberty to decide what they do with their time.
The lowest IQ group went to bed earliest and awoke earliest. Those in the average IQ group stayed up later than those in the first group and got out of bed later. Finally, the high intelligence group (IQ of 125 and over) went to bed and awoke later than both other groups.
4. Being disorganized
The relationship between creative genius and disorganization has been pointed out frequently.
It’s a phenomenon that we observe in some characteristic examples of creative geniuses that have become famous, such as Albert Einstein and Mark Twain.
As far as scientific research is concerned, the Myers-Briggs personality test relates visionary capabilities to disorganization, and a study by the Minnesota School of Management found that a disorganized environment boosted creative thought.
5. Prefering cats over dogs
A study by Carroll University, Wisconsin, found that cat owners are more intelligent than dog owners.
Bizarrely, dog and cat owners seem to have traits similar to those that we associate with these pets. Dog owners are supposedly more energetic, more sociable, and more likely to follow rules.
Cat owners, on the other hand, scored higher on traits such as introversion, sensitivity and rule-breaking. Cat owners also scored higher on IQ tests.
These studies have interesting results and certainly, offer a bit of food for thought. However, we should never forget that there’s only one real proof of creative genius. This proof can’t be contested even by a study: it’s the product of that creativity.
It’s not enough just to behave in the way that a creative genius might behave, or have some of the same habits. If you’re one, make sure that ultimately you have something other than this article to prove it.
Do you identify with the traits described in the article? Do you think it’s possible to define a creative genius through their habits and personality traits?
I am disorganized with my stuff and I am also a cat lover. I am a creative genius! Totally agree about the study of cat owners are more intelligent xD
This was a amazing article and i totally agree this article signs to find genius person thank you for sharing this wounder ful article
Many of us have undiagnosed brain injuries that alters performance and compensations for functioning . We learn to find the less stressful prioritising method of living our life. Realizing what works for us is th ehealthies way to thrive , Forced conformity is deperssing and stiffiling leading to illness addictions and physical illness Brain Cancer etc .I know this frome expereince with my self and my Son who was far ahead of his peers was denied special education even after Brain Lesion was disgnosed the leasions developed to a Tumor there was scar tossue in the region as well. He was alwys trying to please his teachers he nose poured blood he needed Visual correction for strabismus what was ruled out the first three years of School. He had brain surgery at age 32 seizures followed he was detremine and earned a Degree in Computer Science , he passed away in 2019 at age 44, I hope this can be a warning to others of any age turst your gut when others judge or label you , I stood by him until he wanted to be with losers, who was low IQ and died of curable ailments .At age 80 I’m self suficient residing in another Country learing another language and helping people learn about what it is to be imortal while experincing mortality. Genious requires solitude we are best when distractions are low or 0 ,Each day new discoveries emerge due to the minds questions and abality to visualize many coins with two sides of information or translation of the same.