Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Gifted disenfranchised adult.

Wow... That is a very strong view held by StevenASylwester. As a devout athiest I'd just like to say that his isn't the only view out there in gifted land (in case you're not religious). Just wanted to mention that in case you're feeling that your interest in science just got hyjacked by someone wanting to push their own agenda. I have no issue with people choosing to believe in whatever they wish to, but I think it is appalling that you (StevenASlwester), have chosen this forum, and in particular, this particular issue, to push creationism.

I think it is admirable that StevenASylwester wants to help this young man, and perhaps he can write in a private message.

Thanks for the links Steven but I do not have time or interest to read them. I agree with Giftodd, you went off on a tangent. And many of us do (I cannot throw the first stone in this case -- to use a biblical reference).

So, as James Carville suggests, repeat the message, please send these more detailed views of who and what this young person looks like, dresses like and should do about it, in a private message.

Ren

In my experience, when a young person speaks, adults should listen.

In my experience, when a young person speaks, adults generally do not listen.

When a young person speaks, I try very hard to listen very carefully, because I have found that young people generally speak their truth with plainly stated clues to their deeper self.

In my day, rebellious young men had long hair and wore brightly patched denim, and I was one who had long hair and wore brightly patched denim. Today, rebellious young men have tattoos and body piercings, and wear black clothing � it is the culture. Perhaps grjeremy has been able to hold his own while remaining outside of the culture. I hope so, but how he self-described himself suggests that he tried to fit in where he did not fit in, and now he is alone in his plight.

grjeremy has been wandering between places that generally do not overlap. He wrote:
1. "At 10 years old I wanted to be a paleontologist and enthusiastically dragged my grand parents to UC Berkely to hear Jack Horner's theorems on endothermic and exothermic quadrupedal dinosaurs, though personally I found Robert Bakkers' theories more to my liking."
2. "I also attended classes for gifted youth at UC Irvine, and junior classes in law at DC."
3. "... thus was the case with the proprietary Art school I previously received my associates from."

Paleontology. Law. Art.

The killer is this comment: "I graduated high school with a GPA of 1.9" Well, a "C-" GPA describes quitting, and that is plain and simple if grjeremy is as smart as he claims to be.

Quitting can be honorable, and it is certainly understandable in many cases. Unfortunately, quitting often leads to regret, and regret can be a very destructive emotion. If grjeremy did what he had to do to survive during the past ten years of his life, then he should stand tall and go forward with confidence and self-respect. Many will judge him with suspicion, but grjeremy should always remain his own best friend in whatever he does.

If grjeremy thinks having a conversation with Robert Bakker is going backwards to a place that no longer interests him, he might consider going to Paris, France, to attend lectures at College de France. The lectures are free and open to the public:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coll%C3%A8ge_de_France
http://www.college-de-france.fr/default/EN/all/college_en/

At College de France, grjeremy would be able to rub shoulders with some of the greatest intellectuals in the world. Paris might cost a little bit, but College de France would be free.

Steven A. Sylwester

Newbie here. Like others here, you (grjeremy) have experienced some of the same things we have. I have a younger brother who is even brighter than I am and he married a woman who is likely smarter than both of us put together. During a recent conversation with my sister-in-law, I expressed surprise that she had grown tired of the "sophisticated" entertainment of the symphony and the ballet, and instead found it refreshing to go to a Utah Jazz game and get rowdy. My sister-in-law first earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and then decided that she liked to argue and so went on to earn her J.D., passing the bar on her first try. She will soon make partner in her law firm.

The point of all my rambling is this�my sister-in-law (and to a considerable extent, my brother) have been, for most � if not all � of their adult working life, in what seems to me the enviable position of working with and for people who are more or less their intellectual equals. That being the case, I can readily see the appeal that less �elite� or �highbrow� forms of entertainment would hold, and I am sure I would feel the same had my life followed a path similar to her and that of other members of this board.

As things actually turned out, I spent the first 20 years of my adult working life as an enlisted member of the U.S. Navy, largely working with and for (with some notable exceptions) people who may well have been the real-life inspiration for Beavis and Butthead and could not figure their way out from underneath a wet piece of single-ply toilet paper. I, like you, have been intellectually starved for most of my life and would love to work in an environment where others did not expect someone else to do their intellectual �heavy lifting� for them. After my workday is over I want to be as far away from such people as possible, which means I eschew the more �blue collar� forms of entertainment that those I encounter during my normal workday prefer.

On the other hand, Wren is right, and you must pull off the trick of lot letting the mis-perceptions of others hold you back and simultaneously not feel like you are entitled. Admittedly, that "trick" can be difficult in a culture that often seems to award mediocrity rather than excellence. For my day job, I work in the field of employment services, i.e. "Job Service," for my state. You may want to get in touch with your state's department of labor or social services and look into what kind of vocational rehabilitation services they may offer. Key to your journey will be the documentation, by qualified professionals, of both your unique aptitudes, and the unique hurdles, you face.

Best of luck in your quest.

Oops...My reply was meant for grjeremy...sometimes I can mind-numbingly dumb...