There most be a thousand SF novels and short stories out there that feature super-intelligent characters. Read as many of them as possible.
Writing a super intelligent protagonist
- Thread starter Demilichlord
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I'm having trouble with this myself. I've been researching, but I'm afraid it's going to come up short.
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I don't know how legit a solution I can offer, only that I have a similar (related) problem in my WIP with a magic system that allows my protagonist to do or make just about anything.*
I have a few ways of dealing with it. Partly it's a chance to dig into some different prose styles and push into a little more obfuscation. I also don't show her actually using magic all that much--a little goes a long way to communicate the Otherness**. I also limited the effect by making the character in question almost completely unaware of her own powers, so really anything can happen but her intelligence is so instinctual and changes her worldview so much that it's often out of sync with what's practical, what's needed, or what will work.
So I'd treat your superintelligence a bit like a magic system, with the Arthur C. Clarke about sufficiently advanced technology in mind. A good magic system (YMMV) is limited in some way, or creates conflict by existing. A hyper-intelligent sentient computer can't necessarily evaluate morality (combine with your Narrative Anvil and you get Data), appreciate the process of a riddle or mystery, or reap the benefits of getting stuck. Moving too fast is often just as problematic. Search for your character as a person and then make the tech/magic/novum work around what's anchoring your story.
* I realize that goes against a lot of good rules that exist for good reason, and I didn't so much choose that system as it evolved from the nature of the story and world. It also works for the character. So I stuck with it and built the supporting structure around it.
** Worth remembering, as with any really original character, that you are in some ways creating categories and labels and those will have effects on how that person (or AI) is treated, how she sees herself, treats others, etc.
I have a few ways of dealing with it. Partly it's a chance to dig into some different prose styles and push into a little more obfuscation. I also don't show her actually using magic all that much--a little goes a long way to communicate the Otherness**. I also limited the effect by making the character in question almost completely unaware of her own powers, so really anything can happen but her intelligence is so instinctual and changes her worldview so much that it's often out of sync with what's practical, what's needed, or what will work.
So I'd treat your superintelligence a bit like a magic system, with the Arthur C. Clarke about sufficiently advanced technology in mind. A good magic system (YMMV) is limited in some way, or creates conflict by existing. A hyper-intelligent sentient computer can't necessarily evaluate morality (combine with your Narrative Anvil and you get Data), appreciate the process of a riddle or mystery, or reap the benefits of getting stuck. Moving too fast is often just as problematic. Search for your character as a person and then make the tech/magic/novum work around what's anchoring your story.
* I realize that goes against a lot of good rules that exist for good reason, and I didn't so much choose that system as it evolved from the nature of the story and world. It also works for the character. So I stuck with it and built the supporting structure around it.
** Worth remembering, as with any really original character, that you are in some ways creating categories and labels and those will have effects on how that person (or AI) is treated, how she sees herself, treats others, etc.
I think you need to come up with the proverbial "kryptonite" so to speak. What problems would be solved with a higher functioning mind and which problems might be accentuated? Certainly, most high-function protagonists tend to suffer from boredom without challenges, so the obvious answer is to keep them asking, learning and moving forward. With Sci-fi you can add the unknown and unexplained into the mix to keep the fires stoked. I think that could be a source of frustration for a character that may be accustomed to having all the answers is to create situations that involve phenomena that they are unable to process using traditional scientific dogma (i.e. magic). You could also have significant character flaws that despite their great intellegence, they are lacking in a number of areas that a "lesser" human could excel in.
One idea I did think about was the idea of insanity, many great thinkers throughout history have been reportedly seen as being quite...eccentric.So there seems to be some sort of link between the two concepts.
Even for a super intelligent being insanity could be a pretty powerful weakness so they don't seem all powerful. One thing I absolutely hate when reading a story is the all-powerful protagonist or villain because we all know how the story is going to end and it won't be all that interesting, like Lucy from that Lucy movie.
In that instance I would still definitely qualify maintaining the status quo and running internal simulations as getting something done, "getting things done" being defined as accomplishing some sort of objective.
Eliezer Yudkowsky has a series of excellent articles on writing intelligent characters.
I'd say that the core of it is that it's better to show the character demonstrating intelligence, rather than just telling the audience how intelligent the character is. Don't tell me a character has an IQ of 200. Show me, in a scene, a character presented with a problem I would find difficult, and then show the character solving that difficult problem. As an author, you have tons of time to think of solutions to said problem - you can even plan the problem around the capabilities of the protagonist.
Yudkowsky gets into a lot more detail, and he elucidates the argument more articulately than I can.
I'd say that the core of it is that it's better to show the character demonstrating intelligence, rather than just telling the audience how intelligent the character is. Don't tell me a character has an IQ of 200. Show me, in a scene, a character presented with a problem I would find difficult, and then show the character solving that difficult problem. As an author, you have tons of time to think of solutions to said problem - you can even plan the problem around the capabilities of the protagonist.
Yudkowsky gets into a lot more detail, and he elucidates the argument more articulately than I can.
I've had the fortune of knowing someone truly intelligent in real life. The difference, I've discovered, is not merely qualitative- being really good at many things, but quantitative as well. It's a question of processing speed, and multitasking ability, which leads to exponentially increased efficiency. In real terms, for example, the person can easily have four or five fully engaging conversations AT THE SAME TIME, while also reading a book, for example. Or taking a mental task with several steps, and doing them all at once, practically instantaneously. It's…very eerie to behold, and even more difficult to portray properly, so I've found it best to limit myself to protagonists of merely above-average intelligence.