Eccentricity in High Ability Children

Jonah's mother said she would take heart and hope that her wildly unpredictable thirteen year old might in fact some day achieve one of the many goals he set himself - that is of course if he could first learn to control his temper and try to get on with others.   She sounded doubtful as she said it but I assured her that her son's eccentricities were minor compared with many of his highly able compatriots from the pages of history.

Beethoven was said always to have been headstrong and obstinate, rude and ill mannered. Cezanne (like Jonah) was prone to furious outbursts of temper. Van Gogh was shy and had a most unsociable manner. Toulouse-Lautrec was hyperactive and disobedient. Bunyan was easily frightened and suffered from nightmares. Goethe had wild temper tantrums on a regular basis for his entire life. Wordsworth was stubborn and difficult to discipline – and remained so. Lord Byron was unpopular and eccentric. Keats was always in fights with other boys, Alexander Dumas cried very easily and very frequently, Hans Christian Andersen lived almost entirely within the world of his own imagination. Nietzsche was a quiet, introspective child who enjoyed singing hymns and reading the Bible. Other children laughed at him. He did not like to play games, preferring to sit and think. Oscar Wilde hated games and exercise of any kind all his life and was clumsy and awkward. Conan Doyle was a very aggressive child, given to fighting and argument. Yeats was easily frightened and cried a lot. He was the perfect target for bullies.
Edison was always in trouble and particularly fond of arson. Saint Francis was a wild reckless boy.  Mary Baker Eddy was given to hysteria and often became unconscious which was terrifying for her parents. Bismarck liked to dominate his school friends and was bad tempered when thwarted. Lord Montgomery was also dominating as a child and was said to always have shown leadership qualities and strength of character. Florence Nightingale is said to have been rather odd with passionate ideas about right and wrong.   Her parents worried about her and wanted her to be like other girls.    She could have been a lot worse couldn’t she?