GENIUS
Words are interesting. Today, I have been thinking about ‘genius’ and what it means to me.
I asked BINGchat
“How many ways has the word ‘genius’ been defined?
This is Bing. I’ll try to help you with that.
The word ‘genius’ has been defined in various ways. According to Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, the word ‘genius’ has at least 239 synonyms and antonyms 1. The same source also defines ‘genius’ as “a very smart person” and “a special and usually inborn ability” 1.
According to Dictionary.com, the word ‘genius’ can mean “a person having an extraordinarily high intelligence rating on a psychological test, as an IQ above 140”, “natural ability or capacity; strong inclination”, “distinctive character or spirit, as of a nation, period, or language”, and “the guardian spirit of a place, institution, etc.” 2.
Finally, The Free Dictionary defines ‘genius’ as “extraordinary intellectual and creative power”, “a person of extraordinary intellect and talent”, and “a person who has an exceptionally high intelligence quotient, typically above 140” 3
Next, I asked “Name history’s top 20 best-known persons of genius.”
There have been many geniuses throughout history who have made significant contributions to the world. Here are some of the most famous geniuses of all time, in no particular order:
Baruch Spinoza: A Dutch philosopher who was instrumental in the foundation of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, contributing to the historical developments in economics, politics, and science 1.
Galileo Galilei: An Italian scientist who gave us more than just the telescope and the discovery of planetary objects. Galileo was responsible for informing us that we reside in a heliocentric solar system (the Earth revolves around the sun) 1.
Marie Curie: A Polish-born physicist and chemist who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person ever to win two Nobel prizes in two different science fields. Curie is best known for discovering the elements polonium and radium and helping World War I soldiers with mobile radiography units 1.
Leonardo da Vinci: An Italian Renaissance man who conceptualized many technological productions that have advanced humankind 1.
Albert Einstein: A German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics 2.
Isaac Newton: An English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time 2.
Thomas Edison: An American inventor who is credited with developing many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures 2.
Nikola Tesla: A Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system 2.
Stephen Hawking: A British theoretical physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of black holes and cosmology 2.
Charles Darwin: An English naturalist and biologist who is best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory 2.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: An Austrian composer who is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers in Western classical music history 2.
Pablo Picasso: A Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer who is widely recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century 2.
Vincent van Gogh: A Dutch post-impressionist painter who is widely recognized as one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history 2.
William Shakespeare: An English playwright, poet, and actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language and one of the most famous playwrights in history 2.
Friedrich Nietzsche: A German philosopher whose work has had a profound impact on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history 2.
Sigmund Freud: An Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis who has had a lasting impact on psychology and culture at large 2.
Mahatma Gandhi: An Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead India to independence from British rule 2.
Martin Luther King Jr.: An American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 until his assassination in 1968 2.
This list is by no means exhaustive but provides a glimpse into some of history’s most brilliant minds.
The subjective nature of genius.
All 20 of these people have one thing in common. They achieved public notoriety.
In some cases, it is clear that a brilliant mind earned them the status of genius, and an IQ test may have identified this. In other cases, like that of Mother Teresa and Mahatma Ghandi, it is less clear that a brilliant mind is the basis of their alleged genius. Maybe a dogged commitment to certain principles is behind their fame.
My daughter has recorded a genius IQ, but she is not famous. She quietly applies her intellect as a pharmacist in a children’s hospital in southern Ohio.
I have interviewed over 10,000 IT professionals in my 36-year career as a professional Recruiter. I probably met a few persons of genius over that time. None to my knowledge went on to fame and glory like those on the Top 20 list.
Are there most geniuses today than in the past?
Likely.
Intellectual capacity is inherited, nurtured and expressed by most people who are identified as a genius. I have known a few that had IQ test scores in the genius range, but they failed to develop their genetic gift or channel it in a productive way. One took LSD on a daily basis and gradually destroyed himself. Another couldn’t hold a job because he failed to get along with others and eventually secluded himself to his garage to play rock music with his guitar. Yet another was fired from his job as a corporate CIO because, while his genius was evident in the ideas he produced, his leadership approach was too heavy-handed and so impersonal that none of the executive team would work with him. A low EQ was evidently his Achilles Heel.
An IQ of 140 may not be that special today.
There are likely many more people living among us today who might qualify for MENSA membership compared to the pre-Internet past. We all awash in data, information and tools to leverage them into new knowledge especially from the possibilities that consilience enables in the Digital Age. Author Tom Beakbane explains this new way of thinking in his book: How to Understand Everything: Consilience: A New Way to See the World.
A modern genius may be more like an orchestra conductor who can assemble ideas, technology and people to achieve results hitherto impossible.
People like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs both fit this description better than the solo innovators of the past who operated in small, poorly-equipped laboratories.
Artificial Intelligence tools, and many more domain of technological innovation, will surely unleash many more geniuses like Jobs and Musk.
I just hope that their genius will help humanity to flourish.
Contemporary figures like Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab possess an impressive track record of leadership through innovation. Their mastery of applying technology to shape the destiny of humanity leaves me feeling more pessimistic about the future than optimistic.
Like many things in life, genius can be put to bad use as well as good.