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 I've written about that and it's somewhere in the archives. Basically, I've defined a condition called 'Brilliantitis' that is a brain defect from Northern Europe, probably the Vikings. It is a sliding scale of brain serotonin and it is hereditary, about 1 in 3 kids. It leads to great depression by 40, but the super-bright die early. Strikes poets, artists, etc. All the bright people self-medicate with booze, drugs, etc. If you can avoid early death, then start taking Paxil in micro doses, near 40, and then heavier. I get the brain storms in the morning and whack it down with cannabis, if its bad. Without drugs the brain storms last all night, and you are more suicidal.
@hasmis Could you say more on that? I've never thought of a serotonin connection.