Hi! I am a genius!

Diogene · 12-10-2008, 07:53 AM

Do you have any great book to recommend?
Thank you very much!

I advise you all to read Witold Gombrowicz's diary (1953-1969).
It is the most essential reading for literate people. It can help your little self have a mature/lucidly immature relationship with the huge World of Culture...and thus become really intelligent, instead of just pretending. It will help you become more...true. And more aware of the fight to create a true you, the fight which pits you against yourself/others/society continuously making it complicated for you to create a form (of yourself) that faithfully expresses who you feel you really are.

From a review of one of his books on Amazon:

Perhaps the most instructive part of the memoir is his writing about the background to what is regarded as his masterpiece 'Ferdyduke'.
This is what he quotes Bruno Schultz as saying about 'Ferdyduke'."This means that in 'Ferdyduke a shameful inner world is revealed which can only be confessed to and formulated with the greatest difficulty.Yet the world is not the Freudian world of instinct and the subconscious. It is the result of the following process: in our relations with other people we want to be cultivated, superior mature, so we use the language of maturity and we talk about, for instance, Beauty, Goodness, Truth.. But within our own confidential , intimate reality , we feel nothing but inadequacy, immaturity: and then our private ideals collapse, and we create a private mythology for ourselves, which is also basically a culture, but a shabby, inferior, culture, degraded to the level of our own inadequacy. "
In the end Gombrowicz summarizes. "I am almost ashamed of myself. Where have my assaults on Form got me? To Form. I broke it so much and so often that I became the writer whose subject is Form. That is my form and my definition. And today I, a living individual am the servant of that official Gombrowicz whom I built with my own hands. I can only add to him. My former impulses, my gaffes, my dissonances, all this trying immaturity.. where has all that gone? In my old age life has become easier for me. I sail confidently between my contradictions and people listen to what I have to say Yes, yes.I've dug my hole. I've played my part. I am a servant. Whose? Gombrowicz's."

Gombrowicz spent most of his mature adult life in exile in Argentina (his country, Poland, was invaded by Nazis, then by Stalinists), forgotten, far from the heart of the intellectual World, then returned to Europe where, upon starting to be recognized as a genius (he finished number 2 for the Nobel Prize the first time other European intellectuals presented his candidacy, and "only" received the International Publishers Association's Prize), he died. Most writers who got a Nobel prize had to try hard for many years after being recognized as major writers to eventually receive this honor. As a result, he is the least known of the greatest geniuses in history.

His diary is also full of his confrontations with the greatest books of the twentieth century. You will also see how he relates freely and truly with the world of painting and the world of poetry. It is so refreshing. And stunning!

English:
http://www.amazon.com/Diary-1-Witold.../dp/0810107155

French::
http://www.amazon.fr/Journal-1-1953-.../dp/2070389308

Italian:
http://www.liberonweb.com/asp/libro.asp?ISBN=8807530139

German:
http://www.amazon.de/Tagebuch-1953-1...dp/3596164370/

Spanish:
http://www.amazon.com/Diario-Argenti.../dp/9879396618

RickyMaveety · 12-10-2008, 12:36 PM

Huh. According to my IQ score, I'm a genius too. Is that supposed to be important somehow??

I'm in the middle of reading all of the Discworld books right now (by Terry Pratchett). Deeply intellectual they are not. Hilariously funny they are. (Great, now I'm talking like Yoda.)

I've never been much for people who are all wound up in their brain power, but welcome to the forum anyway. Hope you enjoy your stay and find some other like-minded people with whom you can discuss topics of great depth.

Me? I can usually be found in the Lounge discussing who among us would be the last survivor of a plane wreck in the Andes. Smart money is on me.

mtravellerh · 12-10-2008, 12:49 PM

The Evil Genius

kaas · 12-10-2008, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Me? I can usually be found in the Lounge discussing who among us would be the last survivor of a plane wreck in the Andes. Smart money is on me.

Not true!
Since I would be sitting in the back, all of you heavy brains would act as nice cushions, absorbing the impact with the explosions of your mighty brains. And all the while little ol me would continue to snore, unperturbed by all the squishing...

pilotbob · 12-10-2008, 01:05 PM

When we were kids my older brother put a sign on his door:

Ginius At Work, Do Not Enter

(yes including the wrong spelling. He still hasn't lived that one down 25 years later. We still call him Gin-e-us.)

BOb

DixieGal · 12-10-2008, 01:10 PM

Relax and enjoy yourself. This is a nice place to go and not worry about being the sharpest tack on the bulletin board. Everyone at MR is smarter than your average gibbon, but we don't let it define us. IQ is just a number, and you can cheat on the test anyway. It's what you do with the opportunities a big brain brings (alliterative!) that matters.

Not to be confused by my case, in which I'd say being the brightest sort of hindered me, because there were so many people with such high expectations for me. I assume they are dealing with the disappointment somehow.

Hey all of you geniuses who think IQ matters, listen up: I survived a terrible head injury 2 yrs ago. It's at the root of a lot of my vision loss. My brain is OK, although some would disagree. MOST IMPORTANTLY - I HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL WHEN I'M WITH A CROWD. You don't get those kinds of experiences if you never come out of your ivory tower, and that's a waste.

Like they say, live hard and come skidding into the grave, mangled, ragged, all used up with a big old grin on your face. (paraphrased)

And now I really really really must get back to work. Deadline is 3:00. Where'd that class action lawsuit against MR get off to, you know, the one where we are gonna sue them for taking up all of our time?

RickyMaveety · 12-10-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaas

Not true!
Since I would be sitting in the back, all of you heavy brains would act as nice cushions, absorbing the impact with the explosions of your mighty brains. And all the while little ol me would continue to snore, unperturbed by all the squishing...

Yes, but you see, if you slept through the crash, then one of us is going to pop you into the stew. It has recently been discovered that many of the MR geniuses are also unrepentant cannibals.

Gotta watch out for a hungry genius surrounded by less lofty minds ....

kaas · 12-10-2008, 01:19 PM

stay away from me! I see through your mascerade as a hamster wearing a pirates costume.
in truth you are nothing more than a lousy rat or -even worse- a mouse!
You will not get my kaas!

kaas

DixieGal · 12-10-2008, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Yes, but you see, if you slept through the crash, then one of us is going to pop you into the stew. It has recently been discovered that many of the MR geniuses are also unrepentant cannibals.

Gotta watch out for a hungry genius surrounded by less lofty minds ....

Let 'em sleep, it'll be easier to cull out the weaker members of the herd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaas

stay away from me! I see through your mascerade as a hamster wearing a pirates costume.
in truth you are nothing more than a lousy rat or -even worse- a mouse!
You will not get my kaas!

kaas

A ninja squirrel would never be caught dead wearing a pirate costume, but it's adorable on guinea pigs.

RickyMaveety · 12-10-2008, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaas

stay away from me! I see through your mascerade as a hamster wearing a pirates costume.
in truth you are nothing more than a lousy rat or -even worse- a mouse!
You will not get my kaas!

kaas

Mwaahahhhahahha!! I'll not only get yer kaas .... I'll get yer .... oh, nevermind, people are going to take that the wrong way.

And being that you are from the Netherlands, you probably wouldn't have seen the episode of South Park with the Guinea Pirate .... but I would estimate that the "little" bugger was about 40 feet tall and 200 feet from nose to tail. (And was actually the Director of Homeland Security.)

Note, this is only a spoiler if you are waaaay behind in your South Park viewing ... and if you are, then SHAME ON YOU!!

kaas · 12-10-2008, 03:36 PM

I do have to admit that I did not see that episode

I have only seen one involving a hamster, the teacher, the butt of a sm slave, and the hamsters voyage...
That wasn't you, was it?
As to me being dutch- I protest! I merely live -and work- there for the last two years. Originally I am from Tadjikistan, a former state of the USSR. I also did a brief , one year long, stint in TN as an exchange student as well as talk an admirable texan dialect if needed -it's easy, just talk as if you had a hot potatoe in your mouth

RickyMaveety · 12-10-2008, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaas

I do have to admit that I did not see that episode

I have only seen one involving a hamster, the teacher, the butt of a sm slave, and the hamsters voyage...
That wasn't you, was it?
As to me being dutch- I protest! I merely live -and work- there for the last two years. Originally I am from Tadjikistan, a former state of the USSR. I also did a brief , one year long, stint in TN as an exchange student as well as talk an admirable texan dialect if needed -it's easy, just talk as if you had a hot potatoe in your mouth

No ... no ... that was Lemmywinks!! He was the noble King of the Hamsters. This episode was about how Peruvian Pan Flute Bands keep us safe from roving bands of giant guinea pigs (and guinea bees, and guinea rabbits, and the guineasaurusrex

).

Oh well .... not Dutch. Tis a pity .... my great gramma was Dutch (well, one of them anyway). I don't think I have any relatives from Tadjikistan ... or any of the "stans" for that matter).

I don't have a Texas accent .... and the one you are describing is more East Texas than West Texas (the potato in the mouth thing). On the West side they've got more of a twang. It's a lot harder on the ear ... but easier to understand (or so I think).

What were we taking about????

Diogene · 12-10-2008, 03:47 PM

The loneliness of the genius.
The foolishness of the common man who absolutely wants to express his void, of course meeting the warm camaraderie of his fellow fools who can not stand the incomparably deep loneliness of their chotic, incoherent, unintelligent brains.
Thanks to books the genius is not that alone. And does not need to make meaningless noise to have the illusion of connecting with someone. Anyone.

mtravellerh · 12-10-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diogene

The loneliness of the genius.
The foolishness of the common man who absolutely wants to express his void, of course meeting the warm camaraderie of his fellow fools who can not stand the incomparably deep loneliness of their chotic, incoherent, unintelligent brains.
Thanks to books the genius is not that alone. And does not need to make meaningless noise to have the illusion of connecting with someone. Anyone.

So why are you in a community? You just postulate. We do communicate "with our chotic (sic!), incoherent, unintelligent brains", it might just be too subtle for you to notice. Maybe our "meaningless" code might just be a bit too complicated for you.

RickyMaveety · 12-10-2008, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diogene

The loneliness of the genius.
The foolishness of the common man who absolutely wants to express his void, of course meeting the warm camaraderie of his fellow fools who can not stand the incomparably deep loneliness of their chotic, incoherent, unintelligent brains.
Thanks to books the genius is not that alone. And does not need to make meaningless noise to have the illusion of connecting with someone. Anyone.

Well ... sure, I express my void every morning, right after breakfast. But, I'll admit, I prefer to do that alone. So, what's your point??

12-10-2008, 07:53 AM	#1
Diogene Banned Posts: 71 Karma: 154 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: BeBook	Hi! I am a genius! Do you have any great book to recommend? Thank you very much! I advise you all to read Witold Gombrowicz's diary (1953-1969). It is the most essential reading for literate people. It can help your little self have a mature/lucidly immature relationship with the huge World of Culture...and thus become really intelligent, instead of just pretending. It will help you become more...true. And more aware of the fight to create a true you, the fight which pits you against yourself/others/society continuously making it complicated for you to create a form (of yourself) that faithfully expresses who you feel you really are. From a review of one of his books on Amazon: Perhaps the most instructive part of the memoir is his writing about the background to what is regarded as his masterpiece 'Ferdyduke'. This is what he quotes Bruno Schultz as saying about 'Ferdyduke'."This means that in 'Ferdyduke a shameful inner world is revealed which can only be confessed to and formulated with the greatest difficulty.Yet the world is not the Freudian world of instinct and the subconscious. It is the result of the following process: in our relations with other people we want to be cultivated, superior mature, so we use the language of maturity and we talk about, for instance, Beauty, Goodness, Truth.. But within our own confidential , intimate reality , we feel nothing but inadequacy, immaturity: and then our private ideals collapse, and we create a private mythology for ourselves, which is also basically a culture, but a shabby, inferior, culture, degraded to the level of our own inadequacy. " In the end Gombrowicz summarizes. "I am almost ashamed of myself. Where have my assaults on Form got me? To Form. I broke it so much and so often that I became the writer whose subject is Form. That is my form and my definition. And today I, a living individual am the servant of that official Gombrowicz whom I built with my own hands. I can only add to him. My former impulses, my gaffes, my dissonances, all this trying immaturity.. where has all that gone? In my old age life has become easier for me. I sail confidently between my contradictions and people listen to what I have to say Yes, yes.I've dug my hole. I've played my part. I am a servant. Whose? Gombrowicz's." Gombrowicz spent most of his mature adult life in exile in Argentina (his country, Poland, was invaded by Nazis, then by Stalinists), forgotten, far from the heart of the intellectual World, then returned to Europe where, upon starting to be recognized as a genius (he finished number 2 for the Nobel Prize the first time other European intellectuals presented his candidacy, and "only" received the International Publishers Association's Prize), he died. Most writers who got a Nobel prize had to try hard for many years after being recognized as major writers to eventually receive this honor. As a result, he is the least known of the greatest geniuses in history. His diary is also full of his confrontations with the greatest books of the twentieth century. You will also see how he relates freely and truly with the world of painting and the world of poetry. It is so refreshing. And stunning! English: http://www.amazon.com/Diary-1-Witold.../dp/0810107155 French:: http://www.amazon.fr/Journal-1-1953-.../dp/2070389308 Italian: http://www.liberonweb.com/asp/libro.asp?ISBN=8807530139 German: http://www.amazon.de/Tagebuch-1953-1...dp/3596164370/ Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/Diario-Argenti.../dp/9879396618

12-10-2008, 01:10 PM	#6
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I have a high IQ and low work ethic. I'm usually in the Llounge also. Relax and enjoy yourself. This is a nice place to go and not worry about being the sharpest tack on the bulletin board. Everyone at MR is smarter than your average gibbon, but we don't let it define us. IQ is just a number, and you can cheat on the test anyway. It's what you do with the opportunities a big brain brings (alliterative!) that matters. Not to be confused by my case, in which I'd say being the brightest sort of hindered me, because there were so many people with such high expectations for me. I assume they are dealing with the disappointment somehow. Hey all of you geniuses who think IQ matters, listen up: I survived a terrible head injury 2 yrs ago. It's at the root of a lot of my vision loss. My brain is OK, although some would disagree. MOST IMPORTANTLY - I HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL WHEN I'M WITH A CROWD. You don't get those kinds of experiences if you never come out of your ivory tower, and that's a waste. Like they say, live hard and come skidding into the grave, mangled, ragged, all used up with a big old grin on your face. (paraphrased) And now I really really really must get back to work. Deadline is 3:00. Where'd that class action lawsuit against MR get off to, you know, the one where we are gonna sue them for taking up all of our time?

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12-10-2008, 12:36 PM	#2
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	Huh. According to my IQ score, I'm a genius too. Is that supposed to be important somehow?? I'm in the middle of reading all of the Discworld books right now (by Terry Pratchett). Deeply intellectual they are not. Hilariously funny they are. (Great, now I'm talking like Yoda.) I've never been much for people who are all wound up in their brain power, but welcome to the forum anyway. Hope you enjoy your stay and find some other like-minded people with whom you can discuss topics of great depth. Me? I can usually be found in the Lounge discussing who among us would be the last survivor of a plane wreck in the Andes. Smart money is on me.

12-10-2008, 12:49 PM	#3
mtravellerh book creator Posts: 9,635 Karma: 3856660 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Luxembourg Device: PB360°	The Evil Genius

12-10-2008, 01:05 PM	#5
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	When we were kids my older brother put a sign on his door: Ginius At Work, Do Not Enter (yes including the wrong spelling. He still hasn't lived that one down 25 years later. We still call him Gin-e-us.) BOb

12-10-2008, 01:19 PM	#8
kaas Muncher of ebooks Posts: 312 Karma: 6423 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Fürth, Germany Device: Pocketbook 360	stay away from me! I see through your mascerade as a hamster wearing a pirates costume. in truth you are nothing more than a lousy rat or -even worse- a mouse! You will not get my kaas! kaas

12-10-2008, 03:36 PM	#11
kaas Muncher of ebooks Posts: 312 Karma: 6423 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Fürth, Germany Device: Pocketbook 360	I do have to admit that I did not see that episode I have only seen one involving a hamster, the teacher, the butt of a sm slave, and the hamsters voyage... That wasn't you, was it? As to me being dutch- I protest! I merely live -and work- there for the last two years. Originally I am from Tadjikistan, a former state of the USSR. I also did a brief , one year long, stint in TN as an exchange student as well as talk an admirable texan dialect if needed -it's easy, just talk as if you had a hot potatoe in your mouth

12-10-2008, 03:47 PM	#13
Diogene Banned Posts: 71 Karma: 154 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: BeBook	The loneliness of the genius. The foolishness of the common man who absolutely wants to express his void, of course meeting the warm camaraderie of his fellow fools who can not stand the incomparably deep loneliness of their chotic, incoherent, unintelligent brains. Thanks to books the genius is not that alone. And does not need to make meaningless noise to have the illusion of connecting with someone. Anyone.