Geniuses vs. Smart People

I can think of one guy I worked with who probably had a normal-ish IQ (in the 115 to 130 range) but was a true genius in his niche, which was real estate and its ancillary functions. He was such a nice guy, but his next level analysis and strategy and Excel skills and ability to understand maps and talk intelligently with $1,000/hour attorneys just made me feel like a complete moron. It's not like he had eons of experience--he was the head of a $1 billion asset family RE company at the age of 35. Some people just have the "it" factor.

His alma mater was a school so laughable that it wasn't even listed on his public linkedin profile. So, ya know, some genius develops later in life.

sometimes I think I'm smart, and then I come back from a run and realize I left them fridge open the whole time

Genius or visionary?  This is the real question.  Most geniuses end up in hyper specialized areas of focus where their genius is never really discovered outside of the narrow niche.  

I would argue vissionaries are the people who actually change things, they come from both the genius and smart people category.  But the difference here is they have the tools to actually put their intelligence to work on changes that impact millions if not billions of people.

speed at which you can learn something and then apply it. 

One of my close friends, learnt how to read by himself at 3 or 4. At top quant fund now (think Two Sigma, Citadel)

Well yeah he can be considered a genius. 

He learns everything much faster, can pick up abstract concepts quicker with little further explanation. He's a bit detached to others though, since he tends to get himself suck into intellectual avenues that others find obscure, the dude even spent his free time on astrophysics. Bit geeky but I guess that's who he is.

Doesn't care much about relationships even though he had a few girlfriends before. Once relationship drama ensued, he's out. Very low tolerance for dissonance and confrontation.  

are there any geniuses out there that are aggressive and proactive as well? (in a non socially austic way)

Pretty good question actually. The differentiation varies quite a bit depending on the role. For example I have a good friend at Two Sigma who I'd consider a genius and is easily the smartest guy I know by a long shot but I wouldn't call him the smartest given I bucket being "smart" in a professional context as having both the brains but more importantly the social and political acumen required to succeed in your chosen field. Some roles require one more than the other but I would say that the intellectual skills my buddy at TS possesses would certainly behoove him well in banking to a degree but he wouldn't be the best or smartest given he isn't as socially adept as others who aren't as smart on an IQ level but crush it on the EQ stuff. 

when I was going through my bipolar manic episode I thought that I was a genius. I felt like a genius at least. I thought that I was thinking 100x faster than usual, like my mind was on hyperdrive. if I was like that 24/7 I feel like people would be calling me genius in a spiritual shaman oracle type of sense.

One of my brothers is a genius. Displays some of the typical "absent minded" qualities you think of but it's just a matter of not being of interest vs. not knowing. He has a stunning breath of knowledge on anything he cares about. His unique ability is consuming, digesting, and internalizing  an enormous amount of material (both technical and non technical) quickly to the point where he is considered a topic expert. Then he can break it down to the laymen in fast order, almost immediately. He is both quant and non quant ( a scientist and a musician) so both sides of the brain are working full time. Capacity to plow through numerous projects simultaneously, while excelling at keynote speaking engagements and writing / performing the companies holiday jingles.

One attribute he possesses that sets genius' apart is his intellectual curiosity. He loves learning things just for the sake of gaining knowledge.

Yes a couple people at business school.  A lot of times people describe a genius then list all their eccentric qualities.  I don’t think all geniuses are eccentric, and there are definitely people out there that are more or less normal but definitely see the world at a higher level.  You can see it in their eyes and expressions that their brain is functioning at a much higher level.  I’m completely serious btw.  

Not worked with, but I have some friends who are in the literal genius category. Like top-of-their-class-at-MIT type smarts.

Yeah, I met a genius once in this business. He quit and now does something else.

Do you all think high finance attracts its share of geniuses? Really not sure of the answer as I have observed a significant percent of very bright candidates from schools such as UChicago, MiT, and Caltech (for example) seem to pursue other professional careers like computer science, mathematics, and engineering. 

By the way, some of the smartest people I know (or have met) are actually musicians!

Yes a few, they appear in the trading world. In the form of Phds/Quants and then some crazy good forward thinkers. Typically all of them have the qualities of a insanely good memory, ability to identify patterns and #s very fast, ability to digest information super quick, ability to apply a past model that works on "X" in "Y". Pretty much all are socially inept or keep to themselves, or as the first guy said straight can tell someone they are moron and "wasting their time". The last category forward thinkers is people have met who are on the very high up they just have the ability to digest stuff so much faster and those people usually ain't socially inept or all the things their success allowed them to buy let's be more comfortable in situations.