Who is intellectually gifted and who is not? This question has plagued parents and teachers for many years, yet the answers have been elusive at best. The answer is actually quite simple, it depends on what we mean by giftedness.
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In today's world the gifted are being found and called by a variety of different names. Most people are now saying that they are "highly intelligent," while others call them "innovative," and others say that they are "gifted in writing." When a person says that he or she is gifted in math, science, or history, the person is really talking about the person's intelligence in those particular areas. But, the question remains as to what constitutes being a "genius" in any given area.
One thing we can all agree on is that intellectually gifted children do indeed outperform other children on certain types of standardized tests. However, one must also take into account the fact that many gifted people have difficulty doing well on standardized tests because they tend to be extremely organized and disciplined.
It is a given fact that anyone who is very intelligent, no matter how gifted he or she may seem, will also have a very strong desire to do well academically. People who are highly motivated to get good grades often do very well in school. The difference between gifted students and non-gifted students, however, is that the highly motivated child is not necessarily highly academic. Often gifted students do not do very well in high school or in college simply because their motivation is weak.
There is some controversy as to the extent to which intellectually giftedness is genetic. Some people argue that the difference between gifted individuals and the average individual lies not in their IQ but rather in the number of genes they inherit from each parent. While the genetic component cannot completely account for why a particular individual is gifted, the genetic component can certainly be very important to an individual.
Those who are intellectually gifted often exhibit certain characteristics such as perseverance, persistence, and persistence. These traits are extremely important to the achievement of any goal, whether it is a goal of academic achievement, job advancement, or personal fulfillment.
Gifted people also often display remarkable problem-solving ability. It would appear, therefore, that the difference between gifted individuals and the average individual lies not so much in the level of intelligence but rather in their ability to solve problems.
Some other interesting facts about giftedness are that some people are gifted in a number of areas; however, most gifted people are only gifted at one or two things. So, while some are exceptionally brilliant in writing, for example, many others are really not as great at writing as they thought they were. And, while some are brilliant at math, others are actually quite average in math.