Differences Between Genius And Gifted

Did you know that in Spain, in the 2017/2018 academic year there were only 34,113 students with high abilities identified out of the total of 8,116,144 students enrolled in school? This represents 0.42% of the total, as shown by the data provided by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2017/2018 academic year).

Although the data today may have varied quite a bit, the truth is that it is not easy to detect a gifted or highly capable child in schools. In general, they are underdiagnosed children. We are talking about gifted children, but… what about geniuses? Is a gifted person the same as a genius?

The reality is that no and for this reason we want to explain some differences between genius and gifted. In a generic way, we can say that the gifted are very intelligent children, with an IQ (intellectual coefficient) higher than 130 (the average intelligence is 100 in the normal population), while geniuses are people who have excelled in a certain area thanks to a very specific talent.

However, geniuses do not have to develop precocious intelligence, like the gifted, but are “classified” as such because of their work, which is especially significant or important to society. But what else differences between genius and gifted do we find? Let’s discover them!

Genius and gifted: what are they?

Before delving into the differences between genius and gifted, let’s clarify the definitions a little more. The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy of Language) defines genius as ‘ extraordinary mental capacity to create or invent new and admirable things’. Instead, he describes the gifted as ‘ someone who possesses qualities that exceed the normal, especially referring to intellectual conditions’ .

But these definitions do not clarify many doubts, because a priori they seem very similar concepts (but they are not!). Beyond the RAE, in a definition more typical of psychology, we find that giftedness refers to those people who manage to achieve high potential in certain areas.

To consider a gifted person, his IQ (IQ) must be higher than 130. On the other hand, the definition of gifted is based on social attributes and according to the gifted psychotherapist, Leandro Quiroz, it would be someone who stands out in many facets. They are people who are characterized by a diverse way of functioning at the neural, mental, cognitive and executive levels. They also tend to have somewhat specific personality traits.

On the other hand, a genius would be a person who stands out enormously in a certain area, someone who does a great work (important and significant work for society). That is, someone with a special talent; a creative, groundbreaking and innovative person. As we see, and to be understood, a gifted would be for all areas and a genius for a more specific area.

Difference between genius and gifted

Without further ado, let’s learn about the most notable differences between genius and gifted. As we will see, these refer to the type of intelligence, the areas it covers and the motivation to learn, among others.

Logically, if working in the escort, psychopedagogical or psychological context, we find a child with a prodigious ability or with an intelligence above the average, it will be necessary to make a good evaluation before drawing conclusions and establishing an intervention plan that helps him in their development, quality of life and self-esteem.

Areas in which it excels

A gifted person would be a highly intelligent person for different areas: mathematics, languages, languages… That is, their intelligence would encompass many aspects.

On the other hand, a genius is someone who stands out a lot in a specific area, and is qualified as such for his work or deed.

Intelligence vs. talent

A gifted child generally has an innate ability to perform tasks and solve difficult problems ; that is, their intelligence is usually very early (and high) and can be detected from an early age (although it is not always detected early).

A genius does not have to be highly intelligent ; what defines him as a genius is his talent, his work, his work in a certain area (for example an artistic genius, or a great mathematician).

Precocity of intelligence

In line with the previous point, another of the differences between genius and gifted is precisely that precociousness that we mentioned. Thus, while in gifted people intelligence is high and very early (they are children capable of developing more difficult problems than would be expected for their age), in geniuses this does not have to happen.

A genius does not necessarily show that precocious intelligence and geniuses are defined as such based on the implementation of their talent. In other words, thanks to his works.

The motivation to learn or create

The motivation to develop a specific talent or to be good in a certain area would configure another of the differences between genius and gifted.

Thus, while, generally, gifted children must be motivated in schools and that is why the detection of high abilities is so important (to prevent them from getting bored); Geniuses tend to have a more intrinsic and innate motivation to develop their talents (because they do what they like).

This can be verified, since geniuses are considered as such based on their works, which they generally develop because they feel that way. That is, they are passionate about something that they are also very good at.

Detection

Although gifted children are not always detected in schools (or not always, early), the truth is that they tend to be more detected than geniuses. This would be explained because the gifted tend to learn much faster (or, on the contrary, they have a poor school performance, because they get bored); in any case, “it shows” that intelligence above the average.

On the other hand, geniuses do not have to be smarter or more “detectable”, since it may be that in school they are normative children (academically speaking), but that once they leave it they develop a special talent in a more specific field (for example in music). And this would be another of the differences between genius and talent.

If each child is a different world, imagine yourself between genius and gifted children… Differences always exist! And many times they are abysmal. Therefore, we must never generalize and we must analyze each case in particular.

The important thing will be to be able to accompany each child (either as parents, as professionals …) and adapt to their needs in order to enhance their strengths. Of course, the important thing will always be to contribute to improving the well-being of the child, promoting that he feels fulfilled in the areas that he wants.