Strands of Genius: Twisted + Straight, Conformity Be Damned, Teaching Smart People

psychologist Edwin Hollander called idiosyncrasy credits—the latitude to deviate from the group’s expectations. Idiosyncrasy credits accrue through respect, not rank: they’re based on contributions.

She was teaching us that the goal isn’t just having the most ideas; it is having different ideas. Better ones. Twenty-five little lightbulbs went on and we were set out into the world to become creative, status-quo-changing thinkers. That definition

This is the first form of courage: being brave enough to embrace discomfort and throw your learning style out the window.

Very smart people tend to be weird since they insist on thinking everything through for themselves.

Go against the grain.