I'm 38 now, and the concept of geniuses dying in their mid twenties blows my mind. Hendrix was 27. Biggie was 24. Basquiat was 27.
How were they so good, so young? And then, like that, gone.
I'm thankful for the geniuses, but I'm also kinda thankful I'm not a genius. I wouldn't have had the maturity to handle fame. I don't know if I do now!
Also, I'm pretty sure being a genius doesn't lead to happiness.
@acjay
There's a saying that relates a person's life to a candle. In such cases as you indicated, they were bright flames that burnt too quickly.
@lucifargundam Yeah, I sometimes hate on aphorisms. But I think there's something to the dangers of youth+genius. I guess the problem with aphorisms is that even if they're right, they don't show their work.
Aphorisms are just paraphrasing a long, elaborate series of required factors to occur within a function in order to produce a comparatively simplified equation.
Each individual that has fallen under the previously mentioned group had been subjected to similar circumstances in comparison to to their contemporaries that actually walked entirely different paths. By delving deep into each individuals personal life and trying to hypothesize missing personal information, one can start to draw similarities between them with little creative work.
Slightly tangent here, how familiar are you to burnout and gaslighting? Looking back at (geniuses, savants, etc.), it's often speculated that a significant amount of burden occurs privately without exterior notice, only to increase exponentially as such individuals become more prominent.
@lucifargundam Also, I'm pretty familiar with burnout and gaslighting. In the context of this discussion, it reminds me of when Dave Chappelle famously checked out from fame and fortune. I believe he cited the burnout and the sense that he was stuck in kind of an illusion created by the fame (my paraphrasing).
@acjay
Whether it be fame, fortune or power- each arm carries a burden equal to its might.
The younger you are, the less prepared you are to handle such high expectations that most people will never experience personally in their lives or share a part of across generations 
.
By time they reach their mid to late twenties, they've accomplished more in their formative and young adult years than was expected 
- without any reprieve from it 
. Unequipped to maintain themselves and their relentless success, they die early from a Molotov cocktail of things like burnout 
, dependency 
, depression 
and physical exhaustion 
.
My apologies for mixing paraphrasing and aphorisms, but it's the easiest way for me to explain things in short without writing an entire essay or documentary within a Fediverse post 
However, the best way for such individuals to succeed and live- is to regularly fail. 
Putting yourself into the spotlight is the prime environment for long-term failure via short-term success. Keeping yourself distant from those who seek you out only for what you do will give you at least a little room to breathe and try to live a life outside of whatever skill or talent someone wants to replace your humanity with as an icon.
@lucifargundam I think that's all right. I'm actually truly astounded by young successful people who do manage to navigate it successfully. LeBron James stands out to me as an example.
