In a world full of cameras in our pockets, it is natural to conform to societal fashion trends or at the very least change into different clothes that are deemed acceptable. But what if you happen to wear the same clothing every single day, would you be considered a genius? or a cheapskate who never buys any clothes? Well, according to the scientists you might be the former one but read it completely before you decided to stop changing your clothes and get called the smelly Gary.
What is a Genius?
Any person is considered a genius if they show exceptional creativity, intellectual, or any other skill in the fields of science, arts, music et cetera. In addition to that, people who possess an IQ level over 140 are also considered geniuses. Now you can easily think of figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs who are almost always seen in a similar outfit and, of course, are considered brilliant beings.
Steve jobs wearing the same shirt at three separate events.
So, does not changing your shirt make you a creative powerhouse automatically? Not quite.
The science behind it
Some studies have been conducted and psychologists have observed patterns of geniuses to conclude their observations.
- Avoiding Decision Fatigue: It may not sounds like a real thing at first, however, it is very real. It is a psychological phenomenon where the person feels depleted after having to make constant decisions daily. These decisions don’t necessarily have to be drastic and major ones, these can be smaller decisions as well on an hourly basis. Once Zuckerburg was asked why he always wears the same shirt and he responded that if he utilizes his mental ability to decide what to wear it will be a waste of time and energy that will hinder him from serving the community. This statement of his, combined with decision fatigue gives us a clear indication that these individuals prioritize their mental energy to be utilized in certain areas.
Mark Zuckerberg and his famous Grey shirts.
- Dopamine from Clothing: Another fascinating thing about our brain is that it releases dopamine which is a pleasure chemical that gives us a sense of feeling good upon completion of a task by putting effort into it or engaging in pleasurable activities. Interestingly enough, it is triggered by buying new clothes as well. In fact, shopping addiction occurs due to this very reason, as the more a person shops the better they feel, and as soon as they stop they start feeling down. In the cases of geniuses, psychologists say that buying the same clothes that you already own has zero to no trigger on dopamine receptors. Not being under the influence of pleasure chemicals, geniuses can think and create much efficiently. As the inventor of Segway, Dean Kamen, always wear denim working clothes.
A representation of shopping addiction.
- Mental Attention: Though attention is usually seen as a part of studying or other aspects of life such as driving. It is often overlooked when it comes to disciplining oneself. As marketing and strategists knowns well how to lure unattentive customers. According to a statistic, if you happen to visit a supermarket for a laundry detergent, chances are you’ll be buying at least five other unnecessary items due to their placements and your impulse buying decisions. When it comes to the mind of a genius, mental attention is required to refrain oneself from impulsively buying random products which they do not need. That’s the reason why most psychologists believe if one happens to buy the same clothing over and over again, it trains their mind to be more attentive and ignore unnecessary internal conflict.
A man buying groceries.
- Pre-planning: This one doesn’t specifically apply to clothe but as it is a crucial habit of geniuses, it cannot be ignored. Most brilliant individuals pre-plan their mundane tasks or in the case of rich entrepreneurs, they pay someone else to do that for them. As an average individual, I have to plan my meals, as I’m done eating my lunch, I’m already thinking of what to cook for dinner but in the cases of these individuals, they had already planned one food item to be made without putting any more thought into it, whether they like it or not they consume that meal anyway. Similarly, when it comes to dressing they have decided already what to wear for the rest of their lives so they don’t have to invest any more energy into that process and they can focus on other crucial aspects of life. Most of us plan our daily lives, but that’s where we lack behind, we plan it every single day while these brilliant individuals only do it once a month or even less.
Dice being stacked so it read the word “plan”.
So to the answer, is wearing the same shirt every day a sign of a genius? Yes and no. Though all the studies suggest it is a sign of genius we just cannot overlook other major factors that make geniuses who they are. Their ability to focus on their work and ignore everything is what gives them that creative potency and thought pattern. If you happen to be like that, then yes you might a genius as well. However, just because you happen to wear the same shirt to become a genius while having an internal conflict as to what others will say or you should’ve worn something else, it defeats the entire purpose of it.
