Here’s part of an article my mom sent me about giftedness. She asked if I was gifted.

to Mom:

The last time someone asked me that was in 5th grade and I said yes. But I didn’t know what they meant. In fact I still don’t know what “gifted” means, really.

Who wrote this document, and where was it published? I wonder how credible it is.. how well it stands up to the larger scientific definition of “giftedness”, if there is one.

I’d say I fit some of the things here, but certainly not all of them. It sort of reads like a fortune cookie to me, and I think a lot of people would feel that way. So the short answer is no, I don’t think I’m gifted.

But what I’m really questioning here is the definition of “giftedness” .. I guess I see a gradient, not a yes/no kind of thing, when it comes to intelligence. So what’s the point of a term like giftedness—what value does it add? If you can’t pinpoint this thing called giftedness with some sort of test, or gene, or something, then what is it other than a term we’ve made up for people who exhibit most of the characteristics in this list? What’s the purpose of grouping people this way at all?

I think I know what the purpose is. I think to define giftedness is to define the constituency of MENSA… so they need this term. It’s not useful for much else until we really know more about how the human brain works.

Carl