Can someone be a genius a d an idiot at the same time?

[Still-alive]

Updates

1 y

Do you view these things as mutually exclusive or can they coexist in people? Can you give an example of a person who exemplifies both if so?

[msmissydc]

Yes, multiple reasons. First: purely intelligence speaking there are multiple ways to measure that. A person might be successful in one and fail at another.

Second: genius at a specific field and idiot at another.

Third: Not acting corresponding to their inteligence. A genius is able to do things one might call stupid. Even if they know better themselve in theory.

[HelpfulWoman]

easily.

you can have a really smart academic person who doesn't have a lick of sense/street smarts

[Still-alive]

And vice versa right? street smarts/common sense but little academic smarts?

[HelpfulWoman]

absolutely

[Static_In_The_Attic]

In the brain department some of us are sharp as a tack & some of us are as sharp as a marble. As for a genius the genius might be really smart however the genius could lack common sense as well. Some people are book smart & some people are street smart.

[DrPepper12]

Yup!!! You could be a stable genius like these guys:

[Nonamez]

Definitely can 👀😅
I know few people, who are genius on what they do , one of them makes programs for an ai for robots , but at home is completely imbecile, have no idea how to cook or fix broken stuff at home , complete idiot 😅🤓 so yes , people can be unbelievably smart at what they do and yet dumb as f u c k in other areas 👀🤔😅🤓

[Pete671]

My Uncle has a brilliant legal mind, yet one time he tried to replace a burn-out bayonet fitting light bulb with an ES fitted one,,,

While standing on a metal stepladder, in bare feet without even turning the lightswitch off,,,

He phoned me up and asked me why sparks kept coming out of the socket,,,

[thegreenyogi]

I believe so. Being a genius implies that you have great ideas but they can be so great to appear unreal and crazy to the point people can take you for an idiot.

[Kayla45]

Yeah, it’s me. lol. Brilliant in certain situations and topics.

Meanwhile I’m Sub-Brick at others. 🧱 XD 😆

[RageBabe]

Of course, they coexist, and not just as idiots; many geniuses have also been monsterous. Human "complexity,” that's why.

[susie22]

Absolutely! I've seen some very intelligent, very well educated people who basically have no common sense at all. They seem to over-think things, making something simple into something complicated.

[IslaTheWitch]

ofc... one can be brilliant in mowing the grass and an idiot in anything else :D

[red-lipstick-girl]

İLEYes, it is possible. No matter how genius a person is, he can turn into a fool when it comes to love. There is no such thing as being a genius in every subject.

[Caroline91]

Absolutely. My father was one of the most brilliant men I've ever known, but in all of his relationships... family, friends, work... he was really missing a couple of chips.

[purplepoppy]

Einstein had to keep his address written down or he'd forget it.

[loves2learn]

Idiot savant is a term I have heard before. It seems insensitive to me as I write it. But I do think some people can have isolated intelligence to one area and be ignorant in others.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

As said already by several members, yes. When genius signifies a person monomaniac in one field, high chances that they will suck at all other fields I'd say.

[Wiredone]

Yes they can be both. They can be book smart but common sense stupid

[Still-alive]

And vice versa?

[Wiredone]

Absolutely

[Abbycado]

I’m an idiot and yet had a 4.0 GPA in school. Idiocy comes in many forms XD

[avery58]

Oh yeah, someone can be book smart but not street smart.

[Lynx122]

Yes definitely I feel that way all the time :)

[Phoenix98]

O I'm sure they exist after all if you look at college graduates there's a lot of educated idiots out there.

[Anonymous]

No, it's impossible because idiotism is a form of mental retardation, it implies low intelligence.

However, it's possible to have some mental issues and be a genius.

For example, an autistic, or neurotic person can be a genius.

[llorando]

Yes, Sheldon Cooper is one example of someone both a genius and an idiot.

[jazzy34]

Yup.

[Still-alive]

Example?

[jazzy34]

Let’s say a person is an expert in mathematics. He knows how to solve any equation you give him. However, he doesn’t know how to interact with people. In other words, he’s book smart, but not street smart.

[RageBabe]

So he's smart but refuses to help someone who is perhaps a bit less smart, so he plays on that by being an intentional idiot?

[joehypo1]

Sure the invention of the a bomb

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Yes, I believe so

[electromagnetic]

ask trump.