Gifted and Talented: Nikola Tesla

A publicity photo of Nikola Tesla sitting in his laboratory in Colorado Springs in December 1899. The photo was taken by Dickenson V. Alley, photographer at the Century Magazines. The laboratory was built in 1899. Tesla sent a copy of this photograph to Sir William Crookes in England in 1901.

The photo is cited as a double exposure by Carl Willis and Marc Seifer.

Tesla's Colorado Springs notes also identify the photo as a double exposure.

To give an idea of the magnitude of the discharge the experimenter is sitting slightly behind the "extra coil." I did not like this idea but some people find such photographs interesting. Of course, the discharge was not playing when the experimenter was photographed, as might be imagined.

Gifted and Talented Map

"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left." -- Oscar Levant 

Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy Of Needs" A Pathway to Greater Personal Potental and Satisfaction

Smirk readers -- hope to meet you at the tip-top!

Mary Rocamora: Common Characteristics Of Giftedness – Self-Test.

Roy Lichtenstein, Reflections on Minerva, Original lithograph, screenprint, relief and metalized PVC collage with embossing, Edition: 68, 1990.

Do Any of These Personality Traits Describe You?

“Even if you have doubts about the extent of your giftedness, you will really bring your talents to life if you will embrace your drive to become, serve, create, achieve, and contribute.
Self recognition is not to fuel egotism or elitism, but to align with a more powerful, creative part of you that will let your heart, your knowledge, your talent loose on the world.” (Mary Rocamora, M.A.)

General Characteristics:

Do you have a large vocabulary?

Are you multi-talented?

Do you have so many interests and abilities that it is hard to focus your energies on developing any of them to your satisfaction?

Are you possessed of an unrelenting (and possibly off-the wall) sense of humor?

Can you occupy time usefully without external stimulation?

Are you persistently goal-directed in your behavior?

Is your creativity apparent in all areas of endeavor?

Do you have the need and the energy to develop more capacity?

Entelechy:

“Derived from the Greek word for having a goal, entelechy is a particular type of motivation, need for self-determination, and an inner strength and vital force directing life and growth to become all one is capable of being. Gifted people with entelechy are often attractive to others who feel drawn to their openness and to their dreams and visions. Being near someone with this trait gives others hope and determination to achieve their own self-actualization.” (Deirdre Lovecky, “Warts and Rainbows: Issues in the Psychotherapy of the Gifted”, Advanced Development, Jan., 1990)

Are you directed by an inner vision of your purpose in life, or have a dream that is all-consuming?

Are you highly motivated to be all you are capable of being?

Are you deeply involved in creating your own destiny?

Do you continue to believe in yourself and your vision, even when no one else does?

Are others attracted to your vision, wanting to participate?

The Overexcitabilities (part of the Theory of Emotional Development of Kazimierz Dabrowski), which determine developmental potential:

“The forms of `overexcitability’ are particularly prominent in the gifted and creative because there we find a higher level of energy and capacity for sustained effort; enhanced differentiation and aliveness of sensual experience; greater avidity for knowledge, discovery, and attitude of questioning and questing; greater vividness of imagery, richness of associations, and capacity for detailed visualization, and greater depth and intensity of emotional life. One may think of these five forms of overexcitability as the substrate of giftedness and creative talent.” (Piechowski, Silverman, Cunningham, & Falk, 1982) —

Psychomotor excitability:

Are you a high energy person?

Do you love intense physical activity and movement?

Do you feel constantly pressured to take action?

Are you impulsive?

Do you have nervous habits?

Are you restless, always on the go, incapable of just relaxing?

Do you talk compulsively?

Are you a workaholic?

Sensual excitability:

Are you often moved to tears by music or the visual arts?

Are you prone to eating and drinking excesses because they give you intense pleasure?

Are you adventurous where new sensory experiences are concerned (food, music, erotic
experimentation, different environmental settings, for example)?

When you recall an experience, can you also recall the sensory aspects?

Is the touch, smell, taste, and sight of sex as important to you as having an orgasm?

Intellectual excitability:

(Not to be confused with high intelligence, since many highly intelligent individuals do not enjoy intellectual activities and pursuits)

Are you always questioning everything?

Do you love to explore a wide variety of theories and ideas?

Are you able to examine ideas outside of the framework of your own opinion?

Do you enjoy research, analysis, and theoretical thinking?

Is problem-solving a source of immense satisfaction?

Imaginational excitability:

Do you write, speak, think, or dream in vivid imagery?

Do you embellish the plain truth in ways that make your end of a conversation more impactful or amusing

Do you express yourself in ways that demonstrate a rich association of images and impressions?

Do you entertain yourself endlessly with private jokes and wacky visual, auditory, or associational images?

Do you creatively reframe events to support your perspective on life?

Emotional excitability:

Are you excruciatingly sensitive, with intense emotions?

Can you describe your feelings with great precision?

Do you have intense emotional attachments to others?

Are your emotions sufficiently profound to take you beyond yourself into areas of philosophical consideration?

Do you suffer from extraordinarily high levels of fear and anxiety or suffer attacks of psychological depression?

High Intelligence:

“Gifted adults differ intellectually from others. They are more sophisticated, more global thinkers. In addition, they have the capacity to generalize… They can grasp difficult concepts and phenomena. Their imagination and creativity are often incomprehensible to the average person… they have the ability to predict consequences… and foresee problems which are likely to occur. Gifted adults are able to see the pattern of development and growth, and therefore will recognize a trend. This allows them to predict and, by certain actions, to influence the trend.” (Annemarie Roeper, “Gifted Adults: Their Characteristics and Emotions”, Advanced Development, Jan. 1991)

Are you an independent thinker, individualistic, and mentally self-sufficient?

Are you a divergent thinker with unique and interesting perspectives?

Are you highly intuitive, with insight and foresight?

Do you enjoy experimenting with psychic and metaphysical ideas?

Are you relentlessly curious and investigative?

Are you verbally agile?

Do you love intense discussions?

Do you have an exceptional memory?

Do you think things out at an accelerated pace?

Can you work with extraordinary amounts of mental data?

The Search for Truth

“Those of us who are contemplative from the heart cannot tolerate the idea that life is accidental, purposeless, directionless. Therefore, we are faced with two alternatives: to erect and inhabit belief systems so as to posit meaning and purpose, or to cultivate the capacity to feel and experience life directly, and allow it to teach us its secrets, in accordance with our level of development.” (Mary Rocamora, director of The Rocamora School)

Do you strive to understand the nature and meaning of life?

Have you read extensively on the nature of mind or done any meditation practice designed to help you experience the nature of mind directly?

Are you attracted to, and long for, spiritual or mystical experiences that will provide the basis for a deeper understanding?

Are you preoccupied with death and the possibility of after-death experience?

Are you determined to make a meaningful contribution during your life?

Do you have strong feelings regarding issues of morality and justice?

The “Autonomous Factor” (from psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski)

“… the autonomous factor enables the individual to transcend the limitations of both heredity and environment through self-determination. The autonomous factor is a sense of inner-directedness, an inner drive to make conscious choices in accordance with those principles which are highest in oneself.” (Linda Kreger Silverman, Institute for Advanced Development)

Are you driven toward self-actualization and self-perfection?

Are you highly self-aware?

Have you demonstrated the capacity for intrapsychic transformation?

Do you feel a great deal of empathy and compassion for others?

Do you exhibit a high level of moral responsibility and integrity?

Perfectionism

“In a world in which emotional health is defined in terms of contentment, ability to relax, satisfaction with self and with life, and lack of inner conflicts, it is no wonder that the perfectionist is perceived as neurotic. Worse, the consistent messages that perfectionists receive throughout life convince them that there is some basic flaw in their personality which must be eradicated. This greatly exacerbates the amount of inner conflict with which they must cope. Not only do they feel shame, guilt and inferiority for not meeting their own standards; in addition, they feel shame, guilt and inferiority for having all this inner conflict. And this is where the tension can mount to the point of paralysis.” (Linda Kreger Silverman, 1987)

Are you determined to do your best at all costs?

Do you feel inadequate to measure up to your personal standards?

Are consumed with self-doubt and self-criticism?

Is self-perfection or the perfection of your life’s work the central driving force of your existence?

Do you have a sense of your potential destiny and feel responsible to live up it?

Do you have inappropriately high expectations of others?

Introversion

“All introverts are perfectionists. All gifted individuals are perfectionists in something (usually not their rooms). The gifted introvert is the perfectionist squared.” (Linda Kreger Silverman)

Do you prefer depth to breadth, concentrating on one activity at a time?

Are you hard to get to know, more involved with your internal world than you are with others, and have only a few close friends that know you well?

Are you easily humiliated, therefore keeping people at a distance?

In a social situation, do you wait to be approached rather than introducing yourself, and take time to observe others before engaging?

Do you develop skills in private before showing finished products to the world?

Do you need privacy, respect the privacy of others, and resent having your personal space invaded?

Idealism

“Advanced development has to do with recognizing and admiring a universal principle such as justice — and then growing to the point where you do justice. You do justice, not only because it is right but more so because you cannot do otherwise. You don’t believe in one thing but find yourself doing another; you become a just person.” (Karen C. Nelson, 1989)

“Excellence may be a universal ideal, but it is a personal goal for only a few. The attainment of excellence begins with a vision — a vision of what is possible. The vision does not visit everyone; it selects the most fertile ground for its development. What criteria does it use? Inherent capability, surely. However, there must also be emotional receptivity, a willingness to embrace the vision and devote oneself to it. If the ability is there, but the receptivity is lacking, the vision will be fleeting. It only remains with those who are willing to work toward its fruition.” (Linda Kreger Silverman)

Are you driven to achieve “what could be” when you think of “what is?”

Are you solidly connected to an inner vision and aware that that vision will continually evolve?

Do you feel compelled to connect directly with painful social ills, so as to educate others through your compassion and sacrifice?

Do you work tirelessly to make a contribution to better the world, in accordance with your ideals?

Gifted and Talented

Being a single Baby Boomer, I've only just recently learned  a bit about the topic of "Gifted and Talented" learners. When I was in Rogers Park Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska during the sixties, we had two classes, one for those deemed to be the "faster" students and one for those labeled the "slower" students.

We also had this brief self-paced teaching program, the SRA study guides. These were color coded, and as you mastered each module,  you moved ahead to the next section at your own speed. All that specialization stopped after sixth grade. I had no idea that "Gifted and Talented Students" could also have learning and behavioral problems until Dr. R. mentioned during one of my sessions that I might not be an Aspie, but might just be "Gifted." I found this amusing ("Gifted?" How could that be a problem?), until after I engaged in some googling, and stumbled some onto "Gifted and Talented" learning theory online. Have a look.

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:
A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.
To him...
a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.
Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - - - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."  -- Pearl Buck
 
Identifying The Gifted

Albert Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
When Thomas Edison was a boy, his teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything.
F. W.Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21. But his employers would not let him wait on a customer because he "Didn't have enough sense."
A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had "No good ideas"
Enrico Caruso's music teacher told him "You can't sing, you have no voice at all."
Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college.
Verner Von Braun flunked ninth grade algebra.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd had been retired from the navy, as, "Unfit for service" Until he flew over both poles.
Louis Pasteur was rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College
Abraham Lincoln entered The Black Hawk War as a captain and came out a private
Fred Waring was once rejected from high school chorus.
Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade.


Recognizing the Characteristics of Gifted Children

ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (1985) cites three types of characteristics of gifted children: general behavioral, learning, and creative characteristics.

General Behavior Characteristics   

Gifted children's behavior differs from that of their age-mates in the following ways: 

Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school. 
Gifted children often read widely, quickly, and intensely and have large vocabularies. 
Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice. 
They are better able to construct and handle abstractions. 
They often pick up and interpret nonverbal cues and can draw inferences that other children need to have spelled out for them. 
They take less for granted, seeking the "hows" and "whys." 
They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods. 
Their interests are both wildly eclectic and intensely focused. 
They often have seemingly boundless energy, which sometimes leads to a misdiagnosis of hyperactivity. 
They usually respond and relate well to parents, teachers, and other adults. They may prefer the company of older children and adults to that of their peers. 
They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive. 
They tackle tasks and problems in a well-organized, goal-directed, and efficient manner. 
They exhibit an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore and are often very persistent. "I'd rather do it myself" is a common attitude.

Learning Characteristics   

Gifted children are natural learners who often show many of these characteristics: 

They may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have an eye for important details. 
They may read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for children older than they are. 
They often take great pleasure in intellectual activity. 
They have well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis. 
They readily see cause-effect relationships. 
They often display a questioning attitude and seek information for its own sake as much as for its usefulness. 
They are often skeptical, critical, and evaluative. They are quick to spot inconsistencies. 
They often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly. 
They readily grasp underlying principles and can often make valid generalizations about events, people, or objects. 
They quickly perceive similarities, differences, and anomalies. 
They often attack complicated material by separating it into components and analyzing it systematically. 


Creative Characteristics 

Gifted children's creative abilities often set them apart from their age-mates. These characteristics may take the following forms: 

Gifted children are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas. 
They are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving. 
They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information. 
They can also see relationships among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts. 
They are elaborate thinkers, producing new steps, ideas, responses, or other embellishments to a basic idea, situation, or problems. 
They are willing to entertain complexity and seem to thrive on problem solving. 
They are good guessers and can readily construct hypotheses or "what if" questions. 
They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show emotional sensitivity. 
They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events. 
They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine. 
They can be less intellectually inhibited than their peers are in expressing opinions and ideas, and they often disagree spiritedly with others' statements. 
They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values. 


Who are the Highly Gifted?

Highly gifted children tend to be those who demonstrate asynchronous development. Due to their high cognitive abilities and high intensities they experience and relate to the world in unique ways. These children are often found as a result of extremely high scores on an individually scored IQ tests, generally above the 140 IQ range. Others may be prodigies in areas such as math, science, language and/or the arts. Profoundly gifted children can score in excess of 170 IQ. 

Highly gifted children demonstrate characteristics such as the extreme need to: 

Learn at a much faster pace. 
Process material to a much greater depth.
Show incredible intensity in energy, imagination, intellectual prowess, sensitivity, and emotion which are not typical in the general population. 
The child of 160+ is as different from the child of 130 IQ as that child is different from the child of average ability. Current research suggests that there may be higher incidence of children in this high range than previously thought. Due to their unique characteristics, these children are particularly vulnerable. Highly gifted children need a specialized advocacy because very little has been done to develop appropriate curriculum and non-traditional options for these children. 

From the Hollingworth Center for Highly Gifted Children 

Some Myths About Gifted Children

Gifted Kids are like cream that rises to the top in a classroom: 

Not necessarily. Gifted Children can have hidden learning disabilities that go undiscovered because they can easily compensate for them in the early years. As time goes on though, it becomes harder and harder for them to excel. Which can lead to behavior problems and depression.

Gifted Kids are so smart they do fine with or without special programs: 

They may appear to do fine on their own. But without proper challenge they can become bored and unruly. As the years go by they may find it harder and harder as work does become more challenging, since they never faced challenge before.

Gifted and Talented means the same thing: 

Again, not necessarily. There is no rule that states that a child who is capable of scoring to the high ninety percentiles on group achievement testing must be considered gifted. We must remember that achievement tests like the Metropolitan Achievement Tests are "Grade Level Testing".  Such a child is most definitely Academically Talented. But further individualized IQ and out of level academic testing must be given before we can define that child as "Gifted".   At the same time, there is no rule that states a child identified as gifted should be Achieving to high standards in the classroom. This type of stereotyping can do serious and irreversible damage to both groups. Any child can benefit from enrichment. Academically Talented Children can benefit from Honors (Grade Level) Classes. Intellectually Gifted children need a differentiated curriculum and possibly even a different environment.

They need to go through school with their own age mates: 

Where it's true that children need to play and interact socially with other children their age, they do not need to learn with them. Especially in the case of a highly gifted child who may have a chronological age of six and a mental age of 11 who has been reading since two. To put that child in a reading class with other six year olds who are just learning to read is sheer torture for that child.

Giftedness is something to be jealous about: 

This is perhaps the most damaging myth. More often than not gifted children can feel isolated and misunderstood. They have more adult tastes in music, clothing, reading material and food. These differences to other children can cause them to be shunned and even abused verbally or physically by other children. Experts in the field of gifted education are beginning to address the higher incidences of ADHD and Spelling/Handwriting disabilities in the gifted population verses those in the much larger normal population.