Are geniuses aware they are geniuses? What would you say makes a genius, particularly a literary genius?

Are geniuses aware they are geniuses? What would you say makes a genius, particularly a literary genius?

Other urls found in this thread:

static.squarespace.com/static/5037f52d84ae1e87f694cfda/t/5055915f84aedaeee9181119/1347785055665/
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

start with the greeks

honesty

Joyce was certainly aware that he was a genius. Hard to say what really makes a literature genius a genius. If anything I'd say that a natural inclination towards language certainly helps. As well as the ability to deeply understand human thought, emotions, and interactions (which is one of the reasons why most people on this board will never get anywhere with writing. 99% of the stuff I read on here is completely detached from reality.)

yes we are

Good response. For most of my life, peers and professors have praised my writing, and I have been told consistently that I have a high linguistic and emotional intelligence. I wouldn't say I'm a genius, however - though I suppose I'm not entirely sure what it would feel like to be a genius or what a genius really is, hence this post. I'm studying great works right now and am trying to cultivate myself; I wish to be a great man and artist. I have always felt compelled to do this, even since I was a child, but as I grew older, I became both disheartened and invigorated at once. I now oscillate between the two, but the last words written to me by a teacher from secondary school left a deep impression on me and continue to haunt me to this day. He approached me to say goodbye as I was leaving for university soon - I was surprised at this gesture because we were never particularly close nor was I a remarkable student. He grabbed my shoulder, advised that I always wear a condom, and told me to push the human race forward.

>high linguistic and emotional intelligence

That's just a polite way to put "sperg with graphomania", which shows very much in your post.

Dang, you're right. Should I kill myself?

You don't have the guts

Right again. What would you advise I do?

Start with the Greeks. Then the Bible.

learn how to meditate - Anapanasati/mindfulness of breathing.

its the only way to up your fluid intelligence without resorting to self-destructive chemical aids. whatever your potential is without meditation, you can double it

Meditation is a waste of time, it works by self-imposing a placebo effect. Be honest wit yourself.

Thank you. Thoughts on psychedelics?

Blind leading the blind

Yes, it's rather facile for us genii to realise we operate on a superior level

>genii
How do I get my 3 wishes

And you - the great observer, without desperation or fear, unfettered by the stupidity of fellow boys in their early 20s.

You're the one who thought meditation of all things was a good idea

maybe. most actual geniuses are way ahead of their peers in school, and are obviously aware of that.

I'm not the meditation guy

rub the spout of my lamp and see what comes

Dude does that look like a picture of someone free from desperation and fear?

Apologies, you must have missunderstood: but someposts (new word I coined) I find myself confused for I am learning 5 languages at any given moment. English, you see, does not always have the capabilities of these languages and versa vice.

>always wear a condom
"Wrap it in latex, or she'll get your paychecks" last words said to me by my calc teacher.

It was a joke, if you used geniuses you would have prevented it, however genii is also acceptable even though it is also the plural of genie.

Houllebecq is an apathetic man. There's a certain threshold of desperation people like him and you can take. After that, cynicism, bitterness, apathy, and resignation take over as host.

>it works
checkmate

>thinks meditation is "placebo"
>offers bullshit advertising jargon "be honest with yourself" in return

You are lost.

Everything can work as a placebo.

Be honest, you know I'm right. That's not a advertising jargon, that's a statement of fact: If you look at meditation objectively you will find it to be nothing more than a placebo. However, I wouldn't expect you to have that capability - people who's hobby is cultivation of a placebo effect have already learned to forgo reason and go on emotion instead.

Just because most people haven't figured it out doesn't mean it's "placebo". To say that is going against thousands of years of training by monks who know a little more than you or I on the subject of happiness. Corporate mindfulness is a cancer, and leads to insanity at best. But meditation connected to a real spiritual tradition is a time-honored practice that cannot be discounted as some cheap feel-good trick.

>Houllebecq is an apathetic man

Resignation isn't apathy

Are you faggots fucking serious

What's your point, loser
never seen a discussion before

>Thank you. Thoughts on psychedelics?

psychedelics have limited utility but are more risky and much less l/t payoff - can potentially fall in the category of 'self-destructive chemical aids'. You can get a lot out of a psychedelic trip psychologically but there are plenty of burnouts floating around who've done acid 2 or 300 times and are worse off than where they started. There are psychological risks even with "good" trips: its common for psychedelics users to become excessively cynical and alienated, fail to achieve their potential.

I'd be a hypocrite to tell you not to do them, but if you can skip psychedelics, you're better off. I discovered meditation after years of psychedelics use, dozens of trips. But if I could go back in time, I would have skipped all of that and just started practicing meditation when I was 15. Psychedelics orient people towards collecting cool experiences, while meditation leads to systematically training the mind to become more concentrated, achieve greater sensate clarity, greater insight into phenomena - and there are more than enough cool experiences along the way. during times of heavy meditation practice, i've had visual hallucinations and lucid dreams that went WAY beyond anything I ever experienced on psychedelics.

since you seem like a thoughtful guy with genuine interest, I recommend checking this book out by Daniel Ingram

static.squarespace.com/static/5037f52d84ae1e87f694cfda/t/5055915f84aedaeee9181119/1347785055665/

its accessible and recent - dan is an ER doctor in alabama - but highly technical, hard-hitting, no-new-age-bullshit overview of how to *really* meditate and what happens when you do. good luck.

You are a fool, it won't make you a genius or a bigtime writer but it has benefits

this man is either a comedic genius or has genuine autism

>time-honored practice
i was gonna tell you why thinking that the ancient times were more right just because of "years of training by monks" is wrong. but i dishearten myself because youll never understand it anyway.

>its common for psychedelics users to become excessively cynical and alienated
is this just a function of intelligence? what I'm saying is the stupider acid casualties I know are all huge woolyheaded optimists into all the newage feelgood stuff. the opposite alienated

the opposite (of) alienated

all of the people I consider to be "geniuses" that I've read self-reflective material on were aware of their abilities. I think it's a bit contradictory to be a genius and not be aware that you are more intelligent than other people. don't interpret that statement inversely, insect.

If i told you a virgin could know sex feels good because the consensus has been that it feels good since the dawn of humanity, would you still tell me I'm just too dumb to understand whatever ass-backwards nonsense you were going to "educate" me with?

>literary
>genius
pick one

Not that guy but it's a fact as much as exercise "is good for you" is a fact, look it up.

Not necessarily. The "angry hippie" archetype is not explored enough IMO. But you'll find a lot of those people are pretty bitter. Meanwhile i've certainly tried to approach bitter and alienated people before, thinking they would be some kind of diamond in the rough, but they just ended up being retarded, which was the source of their isolation.

i dont know man. read the fucking monks, dont base her genius in the air or your fantasy about how awesome they supposedly are.

why not both?

All i'm saying is, it's a time-honored practice, in response to the idea that medtiation is simply hippie placebo garbage. I'm not sure where you're getting all this other stuff from. I have "read the fucking monks".

ok, but you have to explain why is not hippie placebo garbage, in your words, at least.
not to say is a time honored practice like it was the main reason why you should not criticize it.
but like i say in my first post. probably you wouldnt understand it anyway.

Why not, indeed.

probably. im not even that smart and i can tell how dumb most people are. im sure i look like a brainlet to geniuses