...I'm no genius

I was a big fan of the NBA legendary player Michael Jordan when I was in middle school. I wished I were as gifted as him in basketball, least to say my height or body shape. After all, I am not, and never will be.

Some time ago last October when I was on the way to mainland China, to where my grandparents were born, on the coach I was reading David Shenk's The genius in all of us : why everything you've been told about genetics, talent, and IQ is wrong (New York : Doubleday, 2010).

Intelligence is a process, not a thing. Everyone is born with differences, and some with unique advantages for certain tasks. No one, however, is genetically designed into greatness. Talents are the result of a slow, invisible accretion of skills developed from the moment of conception. We have far more control over our genes - and far less control over our environment - than we think.

1. Despite appearances to the contrary, racial and ethnic groups are not genetically discrete; and
2. Gene don't directly cause traits; they only influence the system. (p. 86-7)

So, how to be a genius? Find your motivation, be your own toughest critic, beware the dark side, identify your limitations - and then ignore them, delay gratification and resist contentedness, have heroes,  and find a mentor.