牛顿曾说过：“如果我看得比别人更远些，那是因为我站在巨人的肩膀上。”因为站在更高处，所以有超乎寻常的眼界，同时也身处孤独。
美国作家詹姆斯·格雷克（James Gleick）是一位科技史家，也是《混沌》、《费曼传》、《牛顿传》以及《信息简史》的作者。他探索费曼、牛顿等科学家的人生轨迹，发现了他们的共同点：
I tried to get in their heads, understand their minds, the nature of their genius. I sort of felt I was seeing things that they had in common, and there were things that had to do with aloneness. They all had the ability to concentrate with a sort of intensity that is hard for mortals like me to grasp.
我希望能够潜入他们的内心，了解天才的思想和本质，我感觉我发现了他们的共同点，他们的个性中带有一种“孤独感”。他们都能全神贯注于一件事，这种专注度是我们常人难以企及的。
美国商业内幕网（Business Insider）曾总结了高智商人群的八个性格特征：
►Intelligent people are flexible and able to thrive in different settings.
聪明的人具有灵活性，能够适应不同的环境。
►They understand how much they don't know.
他们知道自己所了解的还远远不够。
►Intelligent people let themselves become fascinated by things others take for granted.
高智商的人会对别人认为理所当然的事物着迷。
►They're open-minded. Smart people don't close themselves off to new ideas or opportunities.
他们保持开放的心态。聪明的人不会拒绝新的想法和机会。
►They like their own company.
他们喜欢独处。
►They have high self-control.
他们高度自律。
►Highly intelligent people tend to have a great sense of humor.
高智商的人往往都有很强的幽默感。
►Smart people can almost feel what someone is thinking or feeling.
聪明人与别人的想法/感受高度共情。
成为万众瞩目的天才不是一蹴而就的。他们要经受漫长的孤独，不断打磨自己的心性，也就是“天才的共性”。艰难困苦，玉汝于成。
