Neophilic interests often span areas that are taboos within (American) mainstream society. It seems to come with the territory of genius, but some are better at hiding it than others. Tesla's ether physics and Wilhelm Reich's orgone come to mind. From [1]:
(Eric S.) Raymond observes a high concentration of neophiles in or around what he calls "leading edge subcultures" such as science fiction fandom, neo-paganism, transhumanism, etc. as well as in or around nontraditional areas of thought such as fringe philosophy or the occult.