How would you define and/or whom do you consider "genius"?

shockedcanadian

Diamond Member
Aug 6, 2012
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So I was considering this question as I have always been lured to genius, regardless of the vocation or application.

To define genius is very difficult unless one just narrowed it down to Intelligent Quotient, which I believe is far too narrow a definition. Genius involves immense creativity. Pushing a boundary to the point you create a new boundary. Perhaps contributing in such a way that it is very difficult to see a peer in your sphere of life.

Thus, for me at least; genius goes WELL beyond just mathematics and the like. It involves discovery and thinking outside the box in such a manner so as to rewrite history, influence and stand as a giant among men. From war time to music and creation, there have been countless geniuses, many which we never knew or worse, never reached their potential (which is why I despise people who define and pigeon hole others limits).

Off the top of my head, in this moment in time, my partial list. Many of them deeply flawed humans of course:

Thomas Edison- Just brilliant in his inventions and application of creativity.

Isaac Newton- altered the way we view the world

Galileo- courageously altered the way we see the solar system

Leonardo Da Vinci- most known for his art, but lesser known for his inventions. Look up his contributions.

Howard Huges- the Elon Musk of our time though less diverse and even more eccentric.

Elon Musk- reinventing the world and the imagination of humanity.

Geoffrey Hinton- Canadian/UK computer scientist who basically identified and first applied backwards propagation to A.I. His efforts spawned Machine Learning and Neural Networks which have increased the development of A.I exponentially.

Alan Turing- so much current technology owed to him not to mention countless soldiers lives due to his efforts.

Orson Welles- from radio to television, one of the few true Renaissance Men in history and a maverick to boot.

Jimi Hendrix- not since Chuck Berry had the guitar meant so much and he reinvented psychedelia, distortion and the creativity only he could find

Jimmy Page- the most diverse and virtuoso of guitarists to ever play and influence rock.

Albert Einstein- for theory of relativity though he was an even better prognosticator of what was to come with the invention of the atom bomb

Winston Churchill- lead the world at a time when few objectively believed the Germans could be stopped. He probably didn't even believe it, but he could never surrender or make a deal, despite the pressure.

Juan Garcia (Garbo)- Spanish spy who was a double agent and made up the most outlandish stories and was being paid by the British and the Germans while he fooled them about D Day (and many other events)

John Stuart Mills- the defender of the dignity of freedom and individual liberty

Sun Tzu- influenced military men and the structure of the corporation

Martin Luther King- for understanding the basis of human nature and the erasing of differences of men through no fault of their own, to define it as the "content of their character". Maybe the most simple, yet profound description of how we should view one another

Bobby Fisher- ignited the interest of chess in America and defied the Russian Bear.

Paul Morphy- Also a chess player. So dominant at a time and unmatched anywhere by anyone. The distant between him and the next best player was never more further in world history and it was all natural for him.


There are quite a few more, but these are who I think of in the moment. Not just about X's and O's, but profound contributions and ideas.

What say you?
 
J. Moses Browning


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So I was considering this question as I have always been lured to genius, regardless of the vocation or application.

To define genius is very difficult unless one just narrowed it down to Intelligent Quotient, which I believe is far too narrow a definition. Genius involves immense creativity. Pushing a boundary to the point you create a new boundary. Perhaps contributing in such a way that it is very difficult to see a peer in your sphere of life.

Thus, for me at least; genius goes WELL beyond just mathematics and the like. It involves discovery and thinking outside the box in such a manner so as to rewrite history, influence and stand as a giant among men. From war time to music and creation, there have been countless geniuses, many which we never knew or worse, never reached their potential (which is why I despise people who define and pigeon hole others limits).

Off the top of my head, in this moment in time, my partial list. Many of them deeply flawed humans of course:

Thomas Edison- Just brilliant in his inventions and application of creativity.

Isaac Newton- altered the way we view the world

Galileo- courageously altered the way we see the solar system

Leonardo Da Vinci- most known for his art, but lesser known for his inventions. Look up his contributions.

Howard Huges- the Elon Musk of our time though less diverse and even more eccentric.

Elon Musk- reinventing the world and the imagination of humanity.

Geoffrey Hinton- Canadian/UK computer scientist who basically identified and first applied backwards propagation to A.I. His efforts spawned Machine Learning and Neural Networks which have increased the development of A.I exponentially.

Alan Turing- so much current technology owed to him not to mention countless soldiers lives due to his efforts.

Orson Welles- from radio to television, one of the few true Renaissance Men in history and a maverick to boot.

Jimi Hendrix- not since Chuck Berry had the guitar meant so much and he reinvented psychedelia, distortion and the creativity only he could find

Jimmy Page- the most diverse and virtuoso of guitarists to ever play and influence rock.

Albert Einstein- for theory of relativity though he was an even better prognosticator of what was to come with the invention of the atom bomb

Winston Churchill- lead the world at a time when few objectively believed the Germans could be stopped. He probably didn't even believe it, but he could never surrender or make a deal, despite the pressure.

Juan Garcia (Garbo)- Spanish spy who was a double agent and made up the most outlandish stories and was being paid by the British and the Germans while he fooled them about D Day (and many other events)

John Stuart Mills- the defender of the dignity of freedom and individual liberty

Sun Tzu- influenced military men and the structure of the corporation

Martin Luther King- for understanding the basis of human nature and the erasing of differences of men through no fault of their own, to define it as the "content of their character". Maybe the most simple, yet profound description of how we should view one another

Bobby Fisher- ignited the interest of chess in America and defied the Russian Bear.

Paul Morphy- Also a chess player. So dominant at a time and unmatched anywhere by anyone. The distant between him and the next best player was never more further in world history and it was all natural for him.


There are quite a few more, but these are who I think of in the moment. Not just about X's and O's, but profound contributions and ideas.

What say you?
creative problem solving, whatever the percentages if inspiration and perspiration

my favorite genius is r buckminster fuller. franklin is another good one. archimedes. as well.

the only genius i'm sure i've met was a navy admiral named hyman rickover.
 
Pure brilliances:


Friedrich Nietsche -God is Dead

Al Di Meola - Great guitarist and musician

Bob Guccione - a sexual visionary

Mikhail Kalishnikov - pew pew!!
 
So I was considering this question as I have always been lured to genius, regardless of the vocation or application.

To define genius is very difficult unless one just narrowed it down to Intelligent Quotient, which I believe is far too narrow a definition. Genius involves immense creativity. Pushing a boundary to the point you create a new boundary. Perhaps contributing in such a way that it is very difficult to see a peer in your sphere of life.

Thus, for me at least; genius goes WELL beyond just mathematics and the like. It involves discovery and thinking outside the box in such a manner so as to rewrite history, influence and stand as a giant among men. From war time to music and creation, there have been countless geniuses, many which we never knew or worse, never reached their potential (which is why I despise people who define and pigeon hole others limits).

Off the top of my head, in this moment in time, my partial list. Many of them deeply flawed humans of course:

Thomas Edison- Just brilliant in his inventions and application of creativity.

Isaac Newton- altered the way we view the world

Galileo- courageously altered the way we see the solar system

Leonardo Da Vinci- most known for his art, but lesser known for his inventions. Look up his contributions.

Howard Huges- the Elon Musk of our time though less diverse and even more eccentric.

Elon Musk- reinventing the world and the imagination of humanity.

Geoffrey Hinton- Canadian/UK computer scientist who basically identified and first applied backwards propagation to A.I. His efforts spawned Machine Learning and Neural Networks which have increased the development of A.I exponentially.

Alan Turing- so much current technology owed to him not to mention countless soldiers lives due to his efforts.

Orson Welles- from radio to television, one of the few true Renaissance Men in history and a maverick to boot.

Jimi Hendrix- not since Chuck Berry had the guitar meant so much and he reinvented psychedelia, distortion and the creativity only he could find

Jimmy Page- the most diverse and virtuoso of guitarists to ever play and influence rock.

Albert Einstein- for theory of relativity though he was an even better prognosticator of what was to come with the invention of the atom bomb

Winston Churchill- lead the world at a time when few objectively believed the Germans could be stopped. He probably didn't even believe it, but he could never surrender or make a deal, despite the pressure.

Juan Garcia (Garbo)- Spanish spy who was a double agent and made up the most outlandish stories and was being paid by the British and the Germans while he fooled them about D Day (and many other events)

John Stuart Mills- the defender of the dignity of freedom and individual liberty

Sun Tzu- influenced military men and the structure of the corporation

Martin Luther King- for understanding the basis of human nature and the erasing of differences of men through no fault of their own, to define it as the "content of their character". Maybe the most simple, yet profound description of how we should view one another

Bobby Fisher- ignited the interest of chess in America and defied the Russian Bear.

Paul Morphy- Also a chess player. So dominant at a time and unmatched anywhere by anyone. The distant between him and the next best player was never more further in world history and it was all natural for him.


There are quite a few more, but these are who I think of in the moment. Not just about X's and O's, but profound contributions and ideas.

What say you?
When I found that St Therese and Lincoln had both said the same thing, I changed interiorly

"God must love ordinary people,He made so many" Genius is over-rated and on that topic I follow THE GENIUS St Augustine , who advised "DO NOT ENVY THE MAN OF GREAT INTELLECT for he can run down the wrong road faster than you can"
 
When I found that St Therese and Lincoln had both said the same thing, I changed interiorly

"God must love ordinary people,He made so many" Genius is over-rated and on that topic I follow THE GENIUS St Augustine , who advised "DO NOT ENVY THE MAN OF GREAT INTELLECT for he can run down the wrong road faster than you can"
thanks for that. my grandmother wore a st theresa medal (i hope my sister still has it) . theresa is "incorruptible". her body does not decompose. (one of only a few, most, but not all, saints.) most of her is on display at alba, but .........

  • Rome – right foot and part of the upper jaw
  • Lisbon – hand
  • Ronda, Spain – left eye and left hand (the latter was kept by Francisco Franco until his death, after Francoist troops captured it from Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War)
  • Museum of the Church of the Annunciation, Alba de Tormes – left arm and heart
  • Church of Our Lady of Loreto, Paris, France – one finger
  • Sanlúcar de Barrameda – one finger
  • have you read any of her books?
not sure why that got a "bullet point" but probably not worth cleaning up.
 
When I found that St Therese and Lincoln had both said the same thing, I changed interiorly

"God must love ordinary people,He made so many" Genius is over-rated and on that topic I follow THE GENIUS St Augustine , who advised "DO NOT ENVY THE MAN OF GREAT INTELLECT for he can run down the wrong road faster than you can"
"If You're So Smart, Why Haven't You Made the Rich Richer?"

You're being manipulated by the thought-control class. Geniuses created all the wealth that the plutocracy browbeat out of them. Accumulation through humiliation.
 
Genius is an extraordinary ability to process information in an organized and logical manner in order to discover hidden correlations.
 
Genius is an extraordinary ability to process information in an organized and logical manner in order to discover hidden correlations.
That is too narrow a definition.

I forgot to add

Henry Ford- Revolutionized the assembly line and created an entire industry on his own AND he even helped immensely in the war effort.
 
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I agree that 'genius' is about more than just intellect. In addition to exceptional intellect, it's about original thought, inventiveness, creativity....and as you put it, pushing a boundary, or being a trail blazer.

Is it a gift? I think so. I think that a number of famous people in history known as geniuses were divinely gifted and inspired. Not all alleged geniuses though. I think that some got their inspiration from a different source. But that's all I have to say about that. / forrest gump voice.
 
I don't see how Einstein gets left off any list.

I'd add Jesus of Nazareth, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Mahatma Gandhi.

I believe their contributions to the world are timeless.
 
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I don't have specific examples, but I figure there are some geniuses hiding in plain sight. They think outside the box enough to reach unwelcome, unacceptable, forbidden, or banned conclusions. There are plenty of people smart enough to reach those conclusions, but they back away. The geniuses go forward, act on their conclusions, and are ready for the results.
 
First, "genius" in its generic form, can be measured.
Stanford–Binet Fifth Edition (SB5) classification[4]
IQ Range ("deviation IQ")IQ Classification
145–160Very gifted or highly advanced
130–144Gifted or very advanced
120–129Superior
110–119High average
90–109Average
80–89Low average
70–79Borderline impaired or delayed
55–69Mildly impaired or delayed
40–54Moderately impaired or delayed

While the word, "genius" is not used, when you get over 145, it would be difficult to dispute.

Alternatively, one can be a "genius" in a particular field. Oscar Petersen was universally said to be a genius on the keyboard, some people are genius with respect to speaking foreign languages, mathematical genius, strategic genius (sports). You can even be a political genius.

More important perhaps are being knowledgeable and wise...not the same thing.
 

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