Which is easier: being a genius or being retarded?

I also read this article and found it very intriguing and gave me a lot to consider. One of my cousin's has Asperger's Syndrome so I have seen first hand how he lives and how others treat him because of the way he acts. He consistently growing up had a lot of behavior problems, in school and at home.

I think he had a lot of energy and activity going on his mind that (1) he didn't know how to express to others and (2) that built up to the point where it had to come out somehow. When he was a child, he tended to get in verbal arguments with other kids and sometimes even physical fights, but most of the time this was when he got frustrated with the gap in communication, and it could have been something as simple as wanting to play a game with another person at lunch. As he has gotten older (he is 16 now), that behavior lessened and he found ways to better express his thoughts and emotions.

From time to time, he still has him moments and you can tell when the frustration kicks in. I think that he is an incredibly unique person and to have seen him over the years change as much as he has is amazing. It was not a few years ago, that he had to look up while talking to someone and if they didn't understand he would get mad.

He started going to behavioral therapy which has helped him and which has given him the tools to be able to be more socially aware and liked. The hardest thing for him always was not being able to communicate with his friends or people he wanted to talk to, which is also a hard thing to see. Nobody wants to see their cousin or someone they are close to get made fun of or not invited to do something because they are "different".

I have spent a lot of time volunteering for a program called the "Best Buddies" program which pairs members of communities with another person who is living Autism, Aspergers, Down Syndrome, what have you and you spend time with this person. The thing that I have learned from most of them is to no matter what situation you are in to have a good outlook. They are some of the happiest people I know and I think its because once they got past the hardships of life and the illness, they found a way to cope and to surround themselves with people who didn't see the social awkwardness but who saw them.

I don't think its easier being one or the other and in all honesty I think that while obviously having Asperger's does impede your life more than someone without, I think it is the outside world or the people who are "normal" that make it harder for that person.

Wow. Tough question. First of all I'd like to admit to being mentally challenged and might I add how much I take serious offense to how loosely the word "retard" has been thrown around in this discussion.

I might not understand a lot of things, but I find that to be beneficial. Sure I might not understand why I have to go to this school, or why I'm bullied or picked on, or why do I have to wear this goofy helmet everywhere I go, but that misunderstanding also gives me the somewhat peace of mind not to dwell on it. It's not like I run around my whole life asking "why's everybody always picking on me?"

I wouldn't go as far to say it's ADD either. I don't have many worries, and fitting in or what most think of me isn't on that list. No, seriously though, I'm actually a pure bred genius.

Einstein and I would play one game of chess for literally hours and hours. Most of society to us are complete buffoons. Not to be misconstrued with baboons, although similar.It's completely frustrating having any conversation with most, or trying to convey an idea or thought as nobody really understands or comprehends what we're talking about.

(or getting at) It's become quite difficult accentuating my thought process. My conclusion, after personal extensive deliberation, would be that being that of the mentally challenged must be easier than being a genius.Exponentially.

Oh no, you didn't just ask a disability rights advocate to answer that. But oh yes, you did. I can answer it with a phrase my grandfather used to use: "Mox Nix."

It doesn't make a difference. They're both difficult. That article discusses loneliness, and a disabled man who said he never enen had a girlfriend.

Time and time again on Mahalo, I say that you have to blow things way out of proportion--you need to look at a ridiculous example to get a look at The Big Picture. . Let's take the case of a 13-year-old child who goes to college.

That kid is not going to have typical teenage years, won't have normal social skills, likely won't fit in with kids who are 18 and older, likely won't be able to find (or will be easily bored by) a mate his or her own age. While other kids might be discussing the The Goo Goo Dolls concert they went to, the younger child likely would not have gone to a concert with college classmates and might likely be more in academics. It is interesting to note that the only times he uses the word "retarded" are in the title of the article, in an example of what he was called, and in his wrap up, where it's accompanied by "or severely impaired".

If I had to guess, I'd say it was meant to draw attention, because the article itself uses the word "disability" or forms of it. He says how he's got a wife and a child--and he's published an article in Psychology Today.

While I am not a genius, I think on know enough genius's to comment on this aspect. Paul Graham's essay "Why nerd are unpopular " is quite insightful. Even though a nerd might really want to be popular, they don't want to be popular as much as they want to be smart.

The fact that they choose this should mean that they are generally happier than someone who is retarded and who hasn't made this choice. Of course, some retarded persons may not realise or care about there limitations, especially once they are older and don't have to deal with other children teasing them. On the other hand, a genius is more likely to put themselves (or be put) under more pressure than they can handle.

So before I read what stephaniewettstein wrote, I was going to say with no doubt that it is easier to be retarded. I was going to say so, because of how I see mentally disabled people being treated; I work with two, and come into contact with a couple of people now and again. Stephaniewettstein is right when she says that growing up with a mental disability is difficult, because they grow up with kids who also don’t understand it.

Kids can be painful, hurtful, and unassuming. You can’t blame kids for reacting to something they don’t understand. You should blame their parents.

:) Most adults understand when a person is retarded. They put up their own emotional walls, because they understand HOW to treat retarded people. Most adults will not get mad or frustrated at a retarded person.

A lot of mentally disabled adults may understand that they have a disability, but some don’t, or they just don’t care that they have a disability. For those who don’t care about having a disability, they get along in life just fine. They ‘have girlfriends, jobs, cars, a house…etc.€™, certainly with the help of those who are not retarded.

I know I for one have continually repeated that “I order everything that has to do with coffee� , to one of the retarded people I work with. He doesn’t remember, but I don’t get mad.

I understand that he can’t remember, so though I am frustrated, I will never show it to him, because I understand he only has such a capacity. I guess my point is, as an adult, I will naturally expect less from a retarded person than a regular person such as myself. I don’t know if I have ever met a genius, but I would imagine it would be a little bit difficult, as expectations for that genius are higher than those for someone of regular mental status, and much higher than those who are retarded.

Even someone with just a little power has those expectations as well. In the back of my mind I hear “If they’re so smart why don’t they try to solve ____� , fill in the blank.

€œThese scientists are the smartest we have in the nation, why can’t they cure or fix ____â€? Fill in the blank.So I still hold that geniuses have a bit harder time, after reaching adulthood, than a retarded person. I do agree that as a child it is hard to be either a genius or retard.

From the article “One person said, "I have never even had a girlfriend,"� , many people go their entire lives, retarded or not, without a significant other.My retarded co-worker has a wife and three children. A church couple were both retarded, had 5 kids.

It’s NOT because they are retarded. Its because they haven’t accepted who they are, and find someone similar to themselves. Because its that what ‘love’ is all about, finding someone similar to you, so that you can live with each other?

The article goes on to say something about I never dated in high school, not because I was retarded, because I was Hmong, going to a mostly white school. I was too white washed for Hmong people, and too Hmong for white people. So I never dated.

But I am still happily married, YEARS later, to a white man. Retarded or not, we must NOT focus on what happened in high school. It was just one of the first stepping stones in our lives.

Gh school is mostly about being popular, not about finding out about who you are, or finding love. Uh oh, another similarity, I was alone in grade school too. Maybe I’m retarded and just don’t know it, OR maybe the similarity is in that he and I were different than those around us.

He was retarded, I was Hmong, going to an all white grade school. I did not see one Hmong person in that school the entire 5 years I was going there, besides myself. I was alone because, parents still considered it OK to call Hmongs, ‘gooks’, and have their children ridicule other ethnicities.

This was in the early 90s. This is truly the quote of the day “better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all�. I, for one, am still debating this one.

I have to often wonder, is it Hollywood that makes being in love so romantic? Would I feel like I need to be in love, if Hollywood didn’t pound that into my brain since the age 6 (or so)? I don’t know.

I still don’t have an answer to that question. €œgiven enough stressâ€? , anyone can pop.

Trust me on this one, we are all human, we do not have the infinite patience of God.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.