Are you a genius?! You seem to have read a lot based on the way you write.
 
I don't think of myself as a genius, though really any serious debate depends on how you wish to define the term. We could argue about "g" and "smart mice", pygmalion effects and gifted-child program inclusions, consideration of multiple-ability inventories (which I max out) or crystal/fluid ownership potentialities, but I think that a much more important indicator of adaptability and life success is how well an individual can set up and remain in a learning environment.

I have indeed read a lot. I grew up in a very strict family, my parents had my little sister and I watched constantly and we weren’t allowed to go play outside very much or meet with friends, so I picked up the habit of reading books every day, especially when I was sent to my room, which was often.

As home life became increasingly dysfunctional (a very long story I will skip), reading in total silence was the only unpoliced outlet for entertainment or human enrichment. Studies now indicate a lack of ability in the human mind to separate dedicated attentional resources- while most people attempt to "multitask" or learn something while listening to music or television or chatting with friends, looking over at who is buying biscotti at the coffee counter, interacting with wandering pets, etc. the best way to do it seemingly is to take all distractions possible out of the picture and read or watch something all the way through without distraction. Then instead of taking notes you should try to interact with the information in some way by commenting on it, preferably with higher levels of "Bloom's Taxonomy"(which I learned about I think in fifth grade thanks to the Extended Learning Program, although against theory I was one of the youngest members of my class).

Interaction can make information more permanent since it forces your mind to draw connections, and so discussing things with associates, or just imagining how you would discuss things with associates can help you write things into your long-term memory. You should try to retrieve the information you want to keep from time to time just to insure that the connections remain well-potentialized.

These days people are generally losing the ability to read long passages completely thanks to the corrosive effects of internet-skimming. Since I've continued to read books and longer articles both on the internet and in real life I seem to have remained unaffected so far, but realistically it is not a fair comparison since I am currently at the age of "peak mental efficacy".