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Liberating Everyday Genius: A Revolutionary Guide for Identifying and Mastering Your Exceptional Gifts
Are you relentlessly curious and creative, always willing to rock the boat in order to get things done . . . extremely energetic and focused, yet constantly switching gears . . . intensely sensitive, able to intuit subtly charged situations and decipher others' feelings . . . a truth-teller who pushes toward perfection, driven by a sense of personal mission . . . ?
If these traits sound familiar, then you may be an Everyday Genius, someone who shares qualities with figures as diverse as Bill Gates and Mother Teresa. These are people who break the mold and change the world, who actualize their singular talents, who don't hesitate to "think different." They are not a tiny group of rocket scientists or profoundly brilliant prodigies, nor are they all former straight-A students. They are real people of unusual vision who share one overarching They push progress forward.
Far richer than standard IQ and as thought-provoking as Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, psychologist Mary-Elaine Jacobsen's Liberating the Everyday Genius draws on a wide range of groundbreaking research and her own clinical experience to show America's twenty million gifted adults who possess exceptional abilities how to identify and unlock their extraordinary potential.
Liberating the Everyday Genius presents the first practical tool for measuring unconventional "evolutionary intelligence." It identifies the dynamic interaction between multiple abilities, driven effort, sense of mission, and a need for revolutionary action. The sum of these seemingly disparate traits produces a new kind of intelligence.
Jacobsen's exploration of everyday genius cautions that in a society that loves innovation but is suspicious of innovators, such exceptional gifts often come at a high price. This revolutionary book demystifies what it means to be gifted. It offers practical guidance for eliminating self-sabotage, underachievement, relationship problems, low self-esteem, and regret. It also helps Everyday Geniuses and those who know, love, and work with them how to understand and support these unique personality traits.
This book contains an in-depth personality-type profile reminiscent of the Myer-Briggs and the Enneagram that allows you to rate your Evolutionary Intelligence Quotient. Liberating the Everyday Genius is the next step in our understanding of human intelligence--mapping the new frontier for gifted adults and for their families, friends, bosses, and colleagues.
If these traits sound familiar, then you may be an Everyday Genius, someone who shares qualities with figures as diverse as Bill Gates and Mother Teresa. These are people who break the mold and change the world, who actualize their singular talents, who don't hesitate to "think different." They are not a tiny group of rocket scientists or profoundly brilliant prodigies, nor are they all former straight-A students. They are real people of unusual vision who share one overarching They push progress forward.
Far richer than standard IQ and as thought-provoking as Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, psychologist Mary-Elaine Jacobsen's Liberating the Everyday Genius draws on a wide range of groundbreaking research and her own clinical experience to show America's twenty million gifted adults who possess exceptional abilities how to identify and unlock their extraordinary potential.
Liberating the Everyday Genius presents the first practical tool for measuring unconventional "evolutionary intelligence." It identifies the dynamic interaction between multiple abilities, driven effort, sense of mission, and a need for revolutionary action. The sum of these seemingly disparate traits produces a new kind of intelligence.
Jacobsen's exploration of everyday genius cautions that in a society that loves innovation but is suspicious of innovators, such exceptional gifts often come at a high price. This revolutionary book demystifies what it means to be gifted. It offers practical guidance for eliminating self-sabotage, underachievement, relationship problems, low self-esteem, and regret. It also helps Everyday Geniuses and those who know, love, and work with them how to understand and support these unique personality traits.
This book contains an in-depth personality-type profile reminiscent of the Myer-Briggs and the Enneagram that allows you to rate your Evolutionary Intelligence Quotient. Liberating the Everyday Genius is the next step in our understanding of human intelligence--mapping the new frontier for gifted adults and for their families, friends, bosses, and colleagues.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
286 people are currently reading
1835 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
August 11, 2017
So I finished reading 'The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius' from Mary-Elaine Jacobsen last Wednesday. I read the book because my psychologist and psychiatrist seem to be convinced that I'm 'gifted.' Personally I'm not convinced that I am gifted but I do have a bunch of problems that gifted people seem to have and because of this I figured it wouldn't hurt to find out how others deal with these problems.
Before I start ranting about this book I should say that I got a 'very high' score on her test so I'm not annoyed about this book because of any bitterness of scoring low or anything.
In short, of the 378 pages maybe 50 to 60 pages (absolutely not more than 80) were sort of useful although not necessarily just for the gifted adult. It could partially be because of the book being from the year 2000 but the author seems to have some strange and outdated ideas about what gifted means. She gives it her own definition. The book feels as a way of trying to convince herself that she is gifted and in the beginning of the book basically everyone seems to be 'gifted.' The author contradicts herself quite a bunch of times and she is convinced that believing in the 'divine' is a sign of intelligence. (This even influences your score in her test!) According to her a balanced gifted adult, I quote: 'Utilizes integrated extrasensory abilities' too. Claims like this make it very hard to take this book serious. It doesn't help that a very big part of the book is just endless quotes of supposedly gifted people (doubtful) and sadly in most cases no actually useful info is provided on how they deal with some problems and life in general. It took almost 300 pages to actually arrive at a part which had some ok info in it. I was hoping this would stay like that until the end of the book but apparently that was wishful thinking. I really tried my best to take this book serious despite the strange claims but I cannot recommend this book. If you need help with your 'giftedness' there must be better sources.
Before I start ranting about this book I should say that I got a 'very high' score on her test so I'm not annoyed about this book because of any bitterness of scoring low or anything.
In short, of the 378 pages maybe 50 to 60 pages (absolutely not more than 80) were sort of useful although not necessarily just for the gifted adult. It could partially be because of the book being from the year 2000 but the author seems to have some strange and outdated ideas about what gifted means. She gives it her own definition. The book feels as a way of trying to convince herself that she is gifted and in the beginning of the book basically everyone seems to be 'gifted.' The author contradicts herself quite a bunch of times and she is convinced that believing in the 'divine' is a sign of intelligence. (This even influences your score in her test!) According to her a balanced gifted adult, I quote: 'Utilizes integrated extrasensory abilities' too. Claims like this make it very hard to take this book serious. It doesn't help that a very big part of the book is just endless quotes of supposedly gifted people (doubtful) and sadly in most cases no actually useful info is provided on how they deal with some problems and life in general. It took almost 300 pages to actually arrive at a part which had some ok info in it. I was hoping this would stay like that until the end of the book but apparently that was wishful thinking. I really tried my best to take this book serious despite the strange claims but I cannot recommend this book. If you need help with your 'giftedness' there must be better sources.
July 31, 2007
Practical and fabulous. My favorite chapter deals with the Ten Criticisms of Gifted Adults and how to counter them with grace. "Why Don't You Slow Down?" becomes: "Going Fast is Normal for Me." "Can't You Just Stick with One Thing?" is answered with: "No, Probably Not." :)
November 10, 2019
No.
Just no.
This was an extremely frustrating read. It starts off fine enough setting up what is the most clinical definition of giftedness I heard yet and setting up pillars for the gifted person's identity (Intensity, Complexity and Drive) but it QUICKLY falls off a cliff and swerves DEEP into new age woo woo territory.
Everyone who reads this book can tell themselves they're a gifted person. Literally everyone. Once this book settles on a definition of giftedness, it become just any self-help book with a boring, unearned elitist edge. I didn't feel like I was talked to like an intelligent person by Mary Elaine Jacobsen. I didn't need anyone to tell me how to express myself or set boundaries with others. I'm still struggling with the idea of giftedness and I was looking into some insight to help me accept it and move on.
If you're looking for a good book on giftedness for adults, I suggest YOUR RAINFOREST MIND by Paula Prober. It's written with the same sweetness and empathy, but with a lot more respect and a deeper knowledge of how gifted people think.
Just no.
This was an extremely frustrating read. It starts off fine enough setting up what is the most clinical definition of giftedness I heard yet and setting up pillars for the gifted person's identity (Intensity, Complexity and Drive) but it QUICKLY falls off a cliff and swerves DEEP into new age woo woo territory.
Everyone who reads this book can tell themselves they're a gifted person. Literally everyone. Once this book settles on a definition of giftedness, it become just any self-help book with a boring, unearned elitist edge. I didn't feel like I was talked to like an intelligent person by Mary Elaine Jacobsen. I didn't need anyone to tell me how to express myself or set boundaries with others. I'm still struggling with the idea of giftedness and I was looking into some insight to help me accept it and move on.
If you're looking for a good book on giftedness for adults, I suggest YOUR RAINFOREST MIND by Paula Prober. It's written with the same sweetness and empathy, but with a lot more respect and a deeper knowledge of how gifted people think.
May 16, 2011
In the late 1970s, I was enrolled in my school's Talented and Gifted (TAG) program. We were taught different ways to explore topics and ideas, and the time spent in the program was my favorite. I was bored in school (my oldest sister liked to play "teacher", so for years I was doing the same work she did...she's 4.5 years older than I am) and curious. I was a day dreamer. Before I hit high school in the early 1980s, the program was over. It simply didn't extend beyond middle grade years.
I rarely gave TAG much thought after that, until a Twitter friend, upon reading angsty tweets from me, asked if I had been labeled "gifted". Yes, but...was my reply. She recommended this book, and it has helped me to learn a lot about myself. All those years of fighting my "natural" ways of thinking and being are over. I see why I can process a lot all at once, why I can think around problems, why I am never satisfied, why I so often feel different.
Was this a life changer? Hard to tell, but at the very least, it is a meaningful book for me. If you were a TAG kid that was cut loose before you were taught how to cope with your differences, this is a worthwhile read. If you were never "labeled" but suspect you ought to have been, again, this is a worthwhile read.
I rarely gave TAG much thought after that, until a Twitter friend, upon reading angsty tweets from me, asked if I had been labeled "gifted". Yes, but...was my reply. She recommended this book, and it has helped me to learn a lot about myself. All those years of fighting my "natural" ways of thinking and being are over. I see why I can process a lot all at once, why I can think around problems, why I am never satisfied, why I so often feel different.
Was this a life changer? Hard to tell, but at the very least, it is a meaningful book for me. If you were a TAG kid that was cut loose before you were taught how to cope with your differences, this is a worthwhile read. If you were never "labeled" but suspect you ought to have been, again, this is a worthwhile read.
July 22, 2009
I was originally hesitant about this book because the term "gifted" sounds so elitist. I was pleased at the focus on multiple intelligences and personality traits of highly sensitive individuals. I definitely have been told I'm "too intense" by a variety of people, so I could relate to having lots of intensity, complexity, and drive. Though my drive has lagged the past couple years due to depression and anxiety (hoping to correct that!) A fun book, and helpful in understanding one's differences and personal problems.
November 20, 2011
This book is a very dry read, but it's a forgivable flaw. Jacobsen has written one of only two books on adult giftedness and the *only* book on adult giftedness aimed at helping us function better in a world that doesn't understand us. More than a self-help book, this is really more of a text book, the missing operator's manual for a gifted life. If you *know* that you're a deeply intelligent person and yet your struggling to function in a world where the rules of conduct seem both stupidly simple and yet infuriatingly difficult at the same time, you should definitely check out the ideas in this book.
May 30, 2016
SHE NAILED ME. This book is about me, in almost every way - good and bad.
Though a gifted adult, I've often made a mess of my life. Dr Jacobsen explains why and offers practical tips to help me from making the same mistakes I've made over and over, despite knowing better.
Parts of this book are repetitive, but maybe that's a good thing. I apparently need to hear the message multiple times.
A good read for those of us who have difficulty understanding why the rest of the world isn't like us.
Though a gifted adult, I've often made a mess of my life. Dr Jacobsen explains why and offers practical tips to help me from making the same mistakes I've made over and over, despite knowing better.
Parts of this book are repetitive, but maybe that's a good thing. I apparently need to hear the message multiple times.
A good read for those of us who have difficulty understanding why the rest of the world isn't like us.
July 1, 2016
This book could have been 1/3 of its total size. While there is some really great insight, it tends to get buried under inordinate amounts of anecdotes, seemingly endless repetition, and a little bit of preachiness surrounding her concept of a "mandated mission." The last of these was disclosed as not being a religious concept, however it sounded just like one in practice, even using the phrase "from the Divine" a few times.
January 12, 2018
Very eye-opening for me. I you can confirm the following questions, go read this book:
- Do you always have an insatiable curiosity?
- Do you set high standards for yourself and can you be your own worst critic?
- do you have a powerful need to know and are you a seeker of ultimate truths?
- Have you been criticized for being "too much" of just about everything?
- Have you always felt deeply wounded by injustice and human suffering?
- Can you see many sides to nearly every issue and love a good debate?
- Have you got a lot of energy and often feel driven by your own creativity?
- Are you often seen as the "idea person" in a group?
- Do you love puzzles, mazes, paradoxes, complex ideas and words?
- Do you often feel responsible for problems that don't actually belong to you?
- Many times, have you felt different and sometimes do you feel like a minority of one?
- Are you a dyedin-the-wool perfectionist?
- Have you been criticizd for not "sticking with one thing"?
- Honesty, integrity and authenticity are very important to you?
- Do you have a history of questioning rules and challenging authority?
- Do you seem to be bothered by bright lights, aromas, and noises that others ignore?
- Do you have a well-developed sense of humor that is somewhat offbeat?
- Have you maintained your childlike sense of playfulness and wonder?
In this book, you can consult the Evolutionary Intelligence (EvI) test, which is very interesting, and beased on a large population of testees mainly in the US. The narrative is based on numerous case-stories too. Highly recommended.
- Do you always have an insatiable curiosity?
- Do you set high standards for yourself and can you be your own worst critic?
- do you have a powerful need to know and are you a seeker of ultimate truths?
- Have you been criticized for being "too much" of just about everything?
- Have you always felt deeply wounded by injustice and human suffering?
- Can you see many sides to nearly every issue and love a good debate?
- Have you got a lot of energy and often feel driven by your own creativity?
- Are you often seen as the "idea person" in a group?
- Do you love puzzles, mazes, paradoxes, complex ideas and words?
- Do you often feel responsible for problems that don't actually belong to you?
- Many times, have you felt different and sometimes do you feel like a minority of one?
- Are you a dyedin-the-wool perfectionist?
- Have you been criticizd for not "sticking with one thing"?
- Honesty, integrity and authenticity are very important to you?
- Do you have a history of questioning rules and challenging authority?
- Do you seem to be bothered by bright lights, aromas, and noises that others ignore?
- Do you have a well-developed sense of humor that is somewhat offbeat?
- Have you maintained your childlike sense of playfulness and wonder?
In this book, you can consult the Evolutionary Intelligence (EvI) test, which is very interesting, and beased on a large population of testees mainly in the US. The narrative is based on numerous case-stories too. Highly recommended.
Read
November 11, 2019I started reading this book (30-50 pages in or so, I think) a few years back and what stuck to me most was Jacobson focussing on how high achieving and effortlessly valuable the gifted's contributions were to society and how this was their true life mission blabla. When I read that, and there was definitely an elitist ("we are so special and privileged in our ultimate mission") air in there, I thought I was not gifted. I thought: well, I'm obviously struggling, underachieving and not effortlessly contributing to society's expectations in amazing ways (lol). Let's move on then.
Misleading! I realize now that in society there is a split between what giftedness exactly is, one group likes to focus on achievements/eminence (human doing - what can the gifted do for society?) while the other likes to focus on the psychological differences and special needs of the gifted person (human being - how can we help gifted people lead more healthy and happy lives?). I have not finished Jacobson's book. But from what I did read, I felt like I was not acknowledged in my "kind" of giftedness (the underachieving), and even if she did talk about it later on, the first few chapters were very offputting and invalidating to me.
For a nuanced and very insightful book about giftedness I would totally recommend Linda Silverman's Giftedness 101! I'm 1/3 in and it's terrific.
Misleading! I realize now that in society there is a split between what giftedness exactly is, one group likes to focus on achievements/eminence (human doing - what can the gifted do for society?) while the other likes to focus on the psychological differences and special needs of the gifted person (human being - how can we help gifted people lead more healthy and happy lives?). I have not finished Jacobson's book. But from what I did read, I felt like I was not acknowledged in my "kind" of giftedness (the underachieving), and even if she did talk about it later on, the first few chapters were very offputting and invalidating to me.
For a nuanced and very insightful book about giftedness I would totally recommend Linda Silverman's Giftedness 101! I'm 1/3 in and it's terrific.
December 28, 2007
This is a great book for understanding the motivations, penchants and challenges of smart people. I felt like everything in the book helped me understand either myself or someone I knew. It outlines three main differences between gifted adults and the general population: intensity, complexity and drive. Talk about hitting the nail on the head! I recommend this to anyone who works, live or knows someone extraordinary. And if you're like me, and you think "I'm not gifted", read the book. I had gotten this book as a gift 5 years ago and never read it until last year. As soon as I did, I realized that there's much more to it than I had thought. Happy reading!
September 9, 2009
For the unacknowledged gifted adult, this book is the permission you needed to see yourself as the talented individual God created you as.
October 19, 2023
I read it and took the test. I score very high; however, it seems to me that because this is self-assessed, everyone will score high. I question its legitimacy.
December 27, 2020
Utter trash.
If you enjoy reading about arbitrary magical concepts like Mandated Missions and Evolutionary Moments, by all means go ahead. I still suspect this book is a parody, or an undercover pamphlet for Scientology.
The advice is disappointing too. It makes all the usual pop psychology / self help mistakes like telling the reader to “just do XYZ”. (Jordon Peterson does this too if you’re curious — “be honest”.)
Psychology doesn’t work this way. You can’t just tell someone to “do XYZ” and they magically change their mind and all problems are gone. I would have expected someone with a career in the field to know better (but academics usually are not very good at this kind of thing anyways so...).
The book can be summed down to three lines:
- you’re different so be aware of it
- practice emotional intelligence
- keep doing your own shit
If you enjoy reading about arbitrary magical concepts like Mandated Missions and Evolutionary Moments, by all means go ahead. I still suspect this book is a parody, or an undercover pamphlet for Scientology.
The advice is disappointing too. It makes all the usual pop psychology / self help mistakes like telling the reader to “just do XYZ”. (Jordon Peterson does this too if you’re curious — “be honest”.)
Psychology doesn’t work this way. You can’t just tell someone to “do XYZ” and they magically change their mind and all problems are gone. I would have expected someone with a career in the field to know better (but academics usually are not very good at this kind of thing anyways so...).
The book can be summed down to three lines:
- you’re different so be aware of it
- practice emotional intelligence
- keep doing your own shit
December 11, 2016
This book is appropriate for adults who previously have not know they were gifted or those who like myself were in gifted education their entire childhood, but did not realize how much their giftedness defined them. After years of gifted education, I still never understood just how different I am. My experiences as a child and adult are markedly different from those who are not gifted. I always just felt that I was overly sensitive or defective in some manner because I was different from others. Being an introvert, exquisitely sensitive, and intelligent was not really prized in my world as a child. Reading this book and doing some research on giftedness has really improved my self image. Now I realize that I am different due to something that is essentially positive. I am not just defective and out of step with society. It's amazing to see how many gifted characteristics I had as a child and continue to have that were just deemed to be abnormal in nature by others. I believe this book does a great job of bringing giftedness into focus as a difference in how one experiences life. Giftedness is not necessarily correlated with what society deems to be successful. Life is experienced differently by those who are gifted.
July 23, 2025
Have you always known you were smarter than everyone around you, regardless of IQ score or achievements? Do you yearn to be validated that you deserve acclaim for your brilliance? Would you like to buy a book that speaks to your resentment of being, not an ugly duckling, but a beautiful swan amongst farm animals? This book is for you.
I've been surrounded by smart people my whole life, given rare opportunities for nourishing education, and felt included in school. I know that I'm "middle of the pack among the smartest," without an IQ score to tell me. My circles have spent a lot of time trying to understand what, if anything, makes us special, and what the difference between "intelligent" and "smart" is. So overall, I am solidly outside this book's "everyday genius" definition of gifted individuals.
There are certainly people in my life who fit this book's wide-ranging and self-contradicting definitions of genius. I'm sure they could have achieved much more with that intelligence under other life circumstances. The people who fit are also not the acquaintances who come to mind when I think of "effortlessly brilliant." Its definition of genuis - being bored in school, obsessively organizing your toys, unable to be constrained by categories and rules - is a very specific and toxic view of the matter. By the end, when the author was finally getting somewhere, I had to wonder if this book was aimed at giving feedback to a specific type of ego. One who craves the label "genius," struggles with antisocial behaviors, and won't hear the feedback otherwise. But, who's to say, since the definition and examples were so wide-ranging that they seemed to catch everyone at one point or another?
For extra credit, spot the author's ubermenchy undertones and milkshake duck references to famous people!
I've been surrounded by smart people my whole life, given rare opportunities for nourishing education, and felt included in school. I know that I'm "middle of the pack among the smartest," without an IQ score to tell me. My circles have spent a lot of time trying to understand what, if anything, makes us special, and what the difference between "intelligent" and "smart" is. So overall, I am solidly outside this book's "everyday genius" definition of gifted individuals.
There are certainly people in my life who fit this book's wide-ranging and self-contradicting definitions of genius. I'm sure they could have achieved much more with that intelligence under other life circumstances. The people who fit are also not the acquaintances who come to mind when I think of "effortlessly brilliant." Its definition of genuis - being bored in school, obsessively organizing your toys, unable to be constrained by categories and rules - is a very specific and toxic view of the matter. By the end, when the author was finally getting somewhere, I had to wonder if this book was aimed at giving feedback to a specific type of ego. One who craves the label "genius," struggles with antisocial behaviors, and won't hear the feedback otherwise. But, who's to say, since the definition and examples were so wide-ranging that they seemed to catch everyone at one point or another?
For extra credit, spot the author's ubermenchy undertones and milkshake duck references to famous people!
December 28, 2024
This book had essentially very little useful information. It started out ok, however it quickly takes a turn. The strange emphasis on the divine and have extrasensory experiences as being part of being gifted comes out of nowhere and is given no explanation. It felt like a large portion of the book was spent making sure everyone fits the definition of being gifted, with lots of quotes from her clients. However, she doesn't actually give any helpful advice on how these patients navigated the struggles she says are common for gifted adults. I think this book could have been 100 pages total and had the same impact.
Overall, I was really excited going in but was left disappointed and don't feel like I can really recommend this to others.
Overall, I was really excited going in but was left disappointed and don't feel like I can really recommend this to others.
September 18, 2025
In many ways, I enjoyed this at least as much as Your Rainforest Mind, but it is a little dated, having been published 26 years ago in 1999. Still, I did give it four stars, so it's worth reading if you are gifted or have a gifted person in your life.
September 28, 2017
Found myself skipping large parts with too much irrelevant storytelling in the beginning and the final chapter, but also found myself underlining large parts that did make a lot of sense. Don't agree with some opinions of the author, nor do I like the writing style in which the reader is addressed as "we", but hey did pick up more than a few good pointers, so 4 stars for those parts of the book.
November 14, 2024
Not sure I'm going to start walking around referring to myself as an "everyday genius," but given that I've only ever thought of myself as a gifted child, it was enlightening to read this and find many similarities. Certainly could've been abbreviated as it was quite repetitive in some places - maybe to get it through our stubborn minds.
July 16, 2025
This book changed my life. Finally, after 33 years, everything seems to have an explanation.
It might not be a fit for everyone, as not everyone has the condition described in this book as some of us may - wether you call it gifted or anything else is not important - which is honestly not a gift, until you discover you have it… that’s exactly the essential message of this book.
For me, there will be the before and after Mary-Elaine Jacobsen.
If you have any suggestions as what to read next, leave a comment :)
It might not be a fit for everyone, as not everyone has the condition described in this book as some of us may - wether you call it gifted or anything else is not important - which is honestly not a gift, until you discover you have it… that’s exactly the essential message of this book.
For me, there will be the before and after Mary-Elaine Jacobsen.
If you have any suggestions as what to read next, leave a comment :)
June 26, 2025
This book profoundly changed my life, and I'm deeply grateful to Mary-Elaine for her contribution. It helped me understand my past, my intensity, complexity, and drive, and ultimately, embrace who I am today. I'm excited to apply its insights to better manage myself.
While this book was incredibly impactful for me, I recognize that some people, whose character traits are described within its pages, might reject its message and not finish it. From my perspective, these very traits are precisely why someone would dismiss the message, although this nuanced connection isn't explicitly stated. I believe a degree of openness and certain existing axioms about life will significantly aid in the book's resonance, helping one to gain a big-picture understanding of its underlying philosophy and perceive its message beyond the literal words.
If you're curious about giftedness, this could be an interesting read. If you identify as gifted, or have ever wondered if you might be, I highly recommend this book.
While this book was incredibly impactful for me, I recognize that some people, whose character traits are described within its pages, might reject its message and not finish it. From my perspective, these very traits are precisely why someone would dismiss the message, although this nuanced connection isn't explicitly stated. I believe a degree of openness and certain existing axioms about life will significantly aid in the book's resonance, helping one to gain a big-picture understanding of its underlying philosophy and perceive its message beyond the literal words.
If you're curious about giftedness, this could be an interesting read. If you identify as gifted, or have ever wondered if you might be, I highly recommend this book.
October 29, 2019
THIS BOOK DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH METAPHORS!
No, it actually does, it has tons of them. The central irony of this book might be that it's written as one would for a child, while the so-called everyday genius, an apparent oxymoron, longs to be taken in ernst. Admittedly, the book contains some good insights (involving spirituality as a marker of intelligence not being one of them) but it's far too long winded and at times pseudo-scientific (eg different types of people, kinesthetic, visual, auditive,... that old spiel) to stay interesting. Towards the last part (Liberate yourself) which mostly consists of anecdotes of the life of famous smart people I really had to struggle to finish.
No, it actually does, it has tons of them. The central irony of this book might be that it's written as one would for a child, while the so-called everyday genius, an apparent oxymoron, longs to be taken in ernst. Admittedly, the book contains some good insights (involving spirituality as a marker of intelligence not being one of them) but it's far too long winded and at times pseudo-scientific (eg different types of people, kinesthetic, visual, auditive,... that old spiel) to stay interesting. Towards the last part (Liberate yourself) which mostly consists of anecdotes of the life of famous smart people I really had to struggle to finish.
July 7, 2020
The book contains a number of interesting remarks in order to identify damaging behaviors and how to deal with them, but these is too little content from the totality of the book.
The most helpful for me would be some practices on how to deal with high standards and procrastination, which although didn't provide with much new material, reinforced my confidence in some practices I've already started in the recent past.
The main reason I'm rating this book with 2 stars, is that it pissed me off with all the religious and god references. Phrases like: "ideas are gifts from god", "Creator’s blueprint for evolution", and "the Divine purpose for which we were created", were too much for me to deal with in a repeated basis.
Additionally, (as you can also deduce from the second phrase), I highly suspect that the author doesn't understand evolution and is supporter of intelligent design.
Given these two reasons, I can't really accept her "Evolutionary Intelligence (EvI)" which she promotes as a replacement to IQ. I understand the motivation and reasoning behind it, and also think it could provide a good side metric for some general reference. But the author is trying too much to connect it to evolution and "hard-science" terms, which end up having the opposite effect.
(She's also using the term "quantum leap" a number of times, but given that this a term that the wrong meaning has been established as the right, I'll give her a pass on it)
I'm very new to this literature and read this book due to a recommendation / request, so I don't know how fares compared to others. My suggestion would be to skim through it the first time and note down the essential parts, and then review and think about them later.
The most helpful for me would be some practices on how to deal with high standards and procrastination, which although didn't provide with much new material, reinforced my confidence in some practices I've already started in the recent past.
The main reason I'm rating this book with 2 stars, is that it pissed me off with all the religious and god references. Phrases like: "ideas are gifts from god", "Creator’s blueprint for evolution", and "the Divine purpose for which we were created", were too much for me to deal with in a repeated basis.
Additionally, (as you can also deduce from the second phrase), I highly suspect that the author doesn't understand evolution and is supporter of intelligent design.
Given these two reasons, I can't really accept her "Evolutionary Intelligence (EvI)" which she promotes as a replacement to IQ. I understand the motivation and reasoning behind it, and also think it could provide a good side metric for some general reference. But the author is trying too much to connect it to evolution and "hard-science" terms, which end up having the opposite effect.
(She's also using the term "quantum leap" a number of times, but given that this a term that the wrong meaning has been established as the right, I'll give her a pass on it)
I'm very new to this literature and read this book due to a recommendation / request, so I don't know how fares compared to others. My suggestion would be to skim through it the first time and note down the essential parts, and then review and think about them later.
May 13, 2025
I was very excited to read this, but ended up being very disappointed. A lot of the things that characterize gifted people are also related to neurodivergence (which is not mentioned in the book). And the main problem I have with this book is the same one I have with most convos on neurodivergence and disability: the burden of the work that needs to be done is put on gifted/neurodivergent/disabled people who are biologically wired differently. They are required to adapt (which is really different forms of masking that are detrimental to the individual who is forced to prioritize others). Non-gifted/neurotypical/non-disabled people are never educated or encouraged to change spaces and sociopolitical structures to be more inclusive (which always ends up benefitting everybody, anyway). We always have to be the ones doing the work and it freaking sucks!
November 9, 2020
Highly, highly recommend this book! Mary Jacobsen has created a thorough assessment that measures 15 traits that measure Evolutionary IQ----a new way to look at multiple intelligences.
Her book addresses the Ten Criticisms that gifted adults commonly hear throughout their lives:
* Why Don't You Slow Down
* You Worry About Everything
* Can't You Just Stick With One Thing
* You're so Sensitive and Dramatic
* You Have to do Everything the Hard Way
* You're so Demanding
* Can't you Ever be Satisfied
* You're so Driven
* Where do you get Those Wild Ideas
* Who do you Think you Are
Fascinating read about personal and professional navigation.
Her book addresses the Ten Criticisms that gifted adults commonly hear throughout their lives:
* Why Don't You Slow Down
* You Worry About Everything
* Can't You Just Stick With One Thing
* You're so Sensitive and Dramatic
* You Have to do Everything the Hard Way
* You're so Demanding
* Can't you Ever be Satisfied
* You're so Driven
* Where do you get Those Wild Ideas
* Who do you Think you Are
Fascinating read about personal and professional navigation.
January 27, 2010
I don't read a lot of self-help books so take the following with a grain of salt. I liked the premise and I could follow the hypothesis well enough. In fact the book made me smile in acknowledgement a couple of times. The practical aspects of what to do know that you know - almost 75% of the book - were more of a let down. Some of it was obvious to me and some of it seemed to veer in the opposite direction presenting a solution more cumbersome than the original problem. I ended up skimming the last half of the book.
October 13, 2014
Excellent reading that conveys several positive messages to gifted adults. The originality of the book is related to the way giftedness is defined, that is people whom the main characteristics are high intensity, drive and complexity. Instead of identifying giftedness based on IQ scores (or similar metrics), the book provides an interesting and original survey that enables to scale oneself intelligence based on those 3 features (intensity, drive and complexity). Also, I loved the idea of the necessity for gifted people to find self’s our own mission/call.
December 6, 2018
This book gives more insight in the personality and socio-emotional dimensions of being gifted. It is refreshing to find an author who does not focus entirely on the cognitive side, but gives enough attention to the other human realities and consequences of being gifted. At certain moments she tends to overstretch and meanders off into fluffy and spiritualistic rantings that diminishes the believability of her more grounded ideas. Such a pity!
April 23, 2024
For a book about people that are easily bored, it was too slow :). The beginning was interesting and I took a lot of useful stuff from it, though it was a bit winy. Later sections, I jumped to what sounded most interesting to me, but most advivce wasn't much different than eg other advice on relationships. Conclusion, I took some things from it, and that was great.
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