Two Philosophers Explain The Difference Between People Who Have 'Great Minds' & Those Who Are Less Talented
It's quite a simple theory.
EFKS / Shutterstock A man has sparked an interesting conversation around a theory that can test whether or not you're a genius.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Julian de Medeiros explained the ideology of two philosophers that people could use to determine whether they are intelligent or not.
Two philosophers explained the difference between people with 'great minds' and those who are less talented.
"Here's a simple sign that you are intelligent, that you have a great mind, and it's a simple theory," Medeiros began in his video.
He explained that the distinction of intelligence was first observed by the philosopher Aristotle, who once wrote, "No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness." In that quote, Aristotle, according to Medeiros, suggested that there was a fine line between being a genius and being a madman.
Medeiros continued, by dissecting philosopher Schopenhauer who wrote, "Talent is when you can hit a target no one else can hit, genius is when you can hit a target no one else can see."
"Now, to have a great mind therefore means that you can see and think things that other people can't," he added. "But this puts you on a kind of border where there's a liminal line between what is real and what is not."
He claimed that people with "great minds" were often dealing with a double-edged sword that was both a blessing and a curse. Highly intelligent people often teetered on the edge of an abyss, and as Aristotle noted, there was never a great mind without just a touch of madness.
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It's been found that highly intelligent people often have severe mental health issues.
According to Origins Behavioral Healthcare, while higher intelligence has many advantages, including getting better grades in school, better jobs, higher pay, and even a longer lifespan, there are drawbacks too. Studies have found that higher IQ is associated with more and earlier drug use as well as mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
In a study led by Ruth Karpinski of Pitzer College of more than 3,700 members of Mensa, a society whose members must have an IQ in the top 2%, the team was asked about many factors, including mental health. They discovered that mood disorders and anxiety disorders were extremely common among Mensa members.
On top of that, a 2015 study found a direct link between anxiety and academic performance. In this study, 126 university students were asked to report feelings of worry or anxiousness about test taking and other school work. The study found that students who reported higher levels of anxiety were also the ones who scored higher on tests.
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The acknowledgment that anxiety and other mood disorders may accompany people with high IQs prompts the multifaceted reality of intelligence. As Medeiros noted in his video, high intelligence is often a double-edged sword, and that a "great mind" is not without its own shadows.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.