I like being right in-between though. I can learn from the best and brightest and take what I learn, decipher it, make it simple, and share it with the common folk. And we all know I am one of the "common folk."
I am on a new path, one that I think will really be the future of programming, so I am investing some time into seeing how that works out.
This node-based programming is a phenomena that I think will change programming. Yes, perhaps in the past it was irrelevant and such, but I have met some people who are implementing it (and very well). If it doesn't change general programming, it will at least affect game programming.
It's something old yet new, and it is exciting to be a part of something that is not so popular before it gets popular, and to tell you the truth, I have a knack for that sort of thing:
Apps (I called single task programs)
Augmented reality (not as big yet, but it is used on professional levels whether people know it or not)
3D printing (Yeah, saw it at SIGGRAPH a long time ago).
Geodesic domes (old but new)
The list goes on.
I don't think the problem is that they think you are a genius. I think the problem is that you think you are a genius. Its a phase most of us go through in our early careers and it its dreadfully restricting.
Sorry if that is harsh.