I have always had an almost unique way at looking at the world. I see things a bit differently than most, and as a result often have viewpoints that are a bit out of the box. This has aided me in being inventive and good at problem solving.

I look at talent as a form of intelligence. Picture a cake with icing on it. Usually, icing is applied smoothly and evenly over the entire cake, with some small ridges and bumps for decoration. Each one is unique in the way the icing is distributed, just like snowflakes.

Intelligence is similar. Each person has a measurable amount of intelligence that we call an IQ. But we don't know how to measure the specific concentrations of intelligence in various areas. If you think about cakes and icing, it's like we know how much icing is used in total, but not for any given spot.

Now look at the so called "idiot savant". This is a person who can perform math or some other talent far in excess of the capacity of most people. Yet, they can't even take care of themselves because all of their intelligence is dropped in one spot. Almost like a dollop of icing on a part of a cake. Someone forgot to smooth it out over the rest of the cake.

One day, science will develop a method of measuring the amount of intelligence in any one area. It could be conceptualizing, hand eye coordination, math, science, the ability to memorize notes or foreign languages, whatever we may look at as a talent.

I can not draw to save my life. Yet some people can create beautiful drawings without thinking. If you have ever watched an artist at work, often the final product can't be guessed at until most of the drawing is done. Lines appear to be haphazard in the drawing until it comes together. Yet the artist had the plan in his or her mind all along. That is a talent. Or, is it a concentration of intelligence or synapses that fire all at once in a very specific area of the brain? When we can measure IQ in specific areas, maybe we will know for sure.

I have a few friends that think I am a genius. Now, I am no genius, but I have an above average IQ. Maybe I am a genius in that one area, as many people have talent in a specific area. I am creative as applied to inventions, electronics and new ideas. Nothing more than a talent in this area. Yet, if there were a specific test for IQ in this area, maybe I would be off the charts. Other areas, like foreign language, I would come up way short. No genius there!

Anyhow, that's my thought for today. Anyone have an opinion?