Underachievement and "Giftedness"

Gifted You were probably a relatively gifted child, though there were probably some others that were even more so.

test yourself at geekykid.net

My score was 85% if anyone really gives.

Look, that wasn't a brag, just an intro into a topic I've been thinking about lately. Just what the hell is giftedness, anyway? I haven't found a single source that defines it to my satisfaction.
I remember once on-a-pon a time, my mother was obsessed with this topic, convinced that my sister and I were "gifted," whatever that means to her. I know that when I was a kid I seemed ahead of the game; I read way past grade level, talked very well very early, had a perfect linguistic, verbal and directional memory. But nowadays I can't say there's too much about me that stands out. I've read that children who seem developmentally advanced as young children will often end up average. So why is that?
I was reading something recently (yes, I read a lot) about "underground giftedness." My mother told me once that she thinks I am the "classic underachiever," which means I could do really well in school if I wanted, but I coast, instead. Well, heck, lotsa kids do that, so what's this "underground" thing about? Same thing? Nope. See, my mom believes I'm just a lazy bum (well, that too) but this "underground" refers to a kid who dumbs down to get along with other kids. Well, that sure rings a bell. The other kids in school hated me until I learned to stop waving my hand in the air every time a teacher asked a question.
So, what, does that mean I'm gifted? Well, honestly, I doubt I could reach my previous intellectual level. So I have a small theory; I believe that by limiting myself intellectually in pursuit of "coolness" (or at least friends) that I have stunted my brain's growth. Well, maybe "stunted" is the wrong word. But I've read (hmm, reading again) that if you stimulate your brain throughout life, it will keep growing. So this is just the opposite, I guess.

What's my point? I'm not sure, but I think that my not "living up to potential" is due in part to that fact that I don't want to run into the limits I sense up ahead.

(no subject)

We're studying genetics in science, and in our textbooks it says that "index finger shorter than the ring finger" is a dominant allele in males and recessive in females.

So I checked with my family. My father has a shorter index finger, as do I (*grins*), as does my sister. Oddly enough, my mother has mixed traits - on one hand her index finger is shorter than the ring finger, and on the other hand it's longer. Weird.

Blood types: my father is A+ and my mother O-, so depending on whether my father's alleles for blood type are heterozygous or homozygous, I'm either A+ or O+. If my dad has heterozygous blood-type alleles, I have a 50% chance of being a rare blood type.

Which is pretty cool, as long as I don't get shot.