Read, View, Critique- Gifted Individuals

Series: Big Bang Theory
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Date of Release: September 24th, 2007

Characteristics of gifted individuals

Portrayal of Sheldon Cooper

·         High IQ- 120 or above ·         Most gifted individuals come from middle or higher social economical groups ·         Can read before kindergarten ·         Very high verbal fluency- large vocabulary, enjoy debating issues, and challenges teachers and textbooks ·         Like to work independently ·         Have high motivation, and tend to refuse to change tasks ·         Have excellent problem solving techniques although it tends to be an unusual way of solving the problem. ·         Like to do scientific experiments about how things work ·         Tend to be very organized, and assume responsibility and discharges responsibilities to others ·         Have a strong belief in their own personal abilities, and therefore can have too high of expectations for others. ·         Have multiple interests, and are avid collectors and/ or hobbyists ·         Will try to organize people as well as things ·         Extremely high motivation and persistence ·         Enjoy difficult subjects, and spend extra time on projects ·         Have a greater risk of social problems ·         View themselves as introverted, less socially adept and more inhibited. ·         Tend to interrupt others ·         Fail to listen ·         Are argumentative ·         Critical of other peoples ideas ·         Bossy ·         Need help accepting failure ·         Have strong concerns for right and wrong

·         IQ of 187 ·         Comes from a single parent home ·         Goes to lectures and presentations for the fun of it, to make fun of the presenter. ·         Questions his superiors about their work and tries to find flaws in the work. ·         Orders people how to do their job, where to sit, and where to stand while brushing teeth. ·         Proves everyone else wrong ·         Teases penny about her career ·         Does a scientific experiment on gossip just for the fun of it. ·         Doesn’t understand sarcasm ·         Extremely organized- labels EVERYTHING in his apartment ·         Cannot keep a secret ·         Collects comics and super hero memorabilia ·         Has a hard time making friends ·          Doesn’t listen to Penny- Thinks her ideas are less important ·         He can’t accept that someone is better at him at work

Sheldon Cooper’s portrayal of a gifted individual is fairly accurate. The most accurate is his bossing everyone around, as well as being critical of other people’s ideas. The textbook says that most gifted individuals are from middle or higher class economical status, where as Sheldon comes from a single parent home. Although Sheldon portrays someone who is hard to make friends, not all gifted individuals find it hard to make friends. I would highly recommend the Big Bang Theory to others, because the portrayal of a gifted individual is very accurate. It is also funny and entertaining, so you’re getting information but also having fun at the same time! BAZINGA!