High Cognitive Minds

Little by little, the characteristics so typical of the highly gifted are being de-pathologized--by the people who pathologized them in the first place. I suppose we should be grateful for being given permission to be ourselves, and not carp about it, but carping is what I do best. I have my list of the Phrases I Hate to Hear: "you think too much," "why do you have to analyze everything to death," and my very favorite--"why don't you get out and socialize more?"

Psychologists are finally coming around to the idea that mental health
doesn't absolutely require that you have a flock of friends, party the week-ends away, and spend a good portion of your time on the phone, chatting about the latest ephemera. You can be a loner and be okay. It's a pleasant surprise to read that "Introverts aren't just less sociable than extroverts; they also engage with the world in fundamentally different ways. While outgoing people savor the nuances of social interaction, loners tend to focus more on their own ideas—and on stimuli that don't register in the minds of others."

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