Giftedness means many different things.

We know that gifted people develop differently from birth. In their first years many gifted children walk earlier, talk earlier, concentrate on information earlier. Many, but not all figure out numbers or reading with hardly any help from adults. Adults usually recognise them as being “different” by how long they can concentrate on
something that interests them. (Columbus Group , 1991 Asynchronous Development)

Gifted babies might look at faces very carefully, demand certain toys or books, or insist on doing things for themselves before other children the same age do these things. Most young gifted children are 1/3 ahead of
children their age. They are also very curious.

If you drove your parents mad insisting on knowing why all the time, (and they still remember that) you are probably gifted. (Wanting to know why is different from asking why).

Gifted people have much stronger emotions, they may cry more often about books, movies, music , ideas or important events. They have heightened empathy and compassion for other people and feel strongly that situations which are “not fair” should be changed, by them if necessary.

Gifted people tend to analyze themselves a lot and may judge themselves by impossibly high standards. This can also make gifted people more susceptible to depression, especially when they feel they are the only ones who really care. In a regular population gifted people may appear introverted, some only feel comfortable around other gifted people.

Giftedness is Asynchronous Development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counselling in order for them to develop optimally.