188.WHAT IS EPILEPSY?
In ancient times, people didn’t understand diseases and what caused them. So they often behaved very cruelly to victims of certain diseases. People who had epilepsy in the Middle Ages were thought of as lunatics, or bewitched! Yet did you know that many great people and many geniuses were epileptic? Among them were the Duke of Wellington, Richard Wagner, Vincent van Gogh, and Louis Hector Berlioz.
Epilepsy is a disease of the nervous system. People with epilepsy have sudden spells during which they have spasms called convulsions after which they may become unconscious or fall into a coma.
187.WHAT IS AN I.Q.?
A person’s mental and physical growth usually correspond. Both types of growth stop at various ages, depending on the individual. For instance, one person may be 1.6 meters tall at the age of sixteen, and never grow taller. But his brother may continue growing until he has reached 1.8 meters at the age of nineteen. Mental growth for most people stops some time during the teens.
186.WHAT IS A GENIUS?
Every now and then we hear about someone in school who is considered a genius. Or we may read in the papers about someone who has done something so exceptional that he is described as a genius. And, of course, in studying history, we have learned about many famous men whom we recognize as geniuses.
Exactly what is a genius, and what does it take to be one? The word “genius” is used to describe someone who possesses extraordinary intelligence. The way the world can recognize a genius is by knowing what he has accomplished.
