| I'd think there can be vastly different messages from brilliant parents, depending on the amount of interest in the next generation. My dad was exceptionally intelligent as well successful without looking as if he was trying very hard. An incredible intellect as well, with myriad interests that he followed with great dicipline. I was never seen as having much promise and others were mostly an audience for his accomplishments. He was a great example of someone who lived a very interesting life, and some of that rubbed off. But there was little interest in his kids and their paths. As recent research on Aspergers has come to light, I've realized that some of those patterns have been part of my family, perhaps for generations. Perhaps I'm not the only one whose family has been touched by both brilliance and Aspergers.
As I've gotten older, I've come to see that maybe I'm not so dumb after all. But I grew up in a different age and time, with perhaps my own set of neurological and socioeconomic issues that kept me from his level of accomplishment. |