How To Be A Genius
	What Does It Mean To Be A Genius? <  Previous Contents Next  >

The word “genius” is not by any means a technical term, but when we speak of geniuses, we're thinking of people who go far beyond what is considered ordinary in various domains. And in many cases these geniuses show their capacities at a very young age.

One domain where we often speak of genius is intelligence. Now intelligence can be broken down into several components. The first of these is memory. Somebody who learns very quickly, and in particular, someone who has a photographic memory is often considered as a genius.

Another component of intelligence is comprehension, the ability to understand complex notions. Also, to be recognized by others as a genius, a person has to be able to communicate their special understanding to other people. We generally more easily recognize intelligence and genius in people who devote themselves to academic subjects, such as mathematics, science, philosophy, sociology, economics, etc.

Another area where we are likely to use the word genius to describe someone is in the realm of creativity and the arts - music, painting, sculpture, and literature.

But there are other areas where people have shown themselves to be exceptional, and yet the word genius is not so often used. Think of business, for example. Some people are financial geniuses and they know how to make tons of money. As much as we may envy them, we don't often use the word genius for them.

And think about sports. Sports are very popular all over the world, and to succeed in them on a professional level demands huge capacities, but we still seldom use the word genius to describe these people.

And then, there's the domain of human relations. It's not easy to get along with other people, and some people are exceptionally good at it, but how often do we hear them being referred to as geniuses? How many mothers who have raised ten children and raised them well, receive the title of genius? Not any that I know of, but don't you think that they might deserve it?

Another requirement to being called a genius is how well-known the person is. Everyone's heard about Einstein; everyone's heard about Mozart, and they were indeed very special people. But there were other scientists who made important discoveries, and other musicians who composed hauntingly beautiful music. It's not because the world didn't get around to calling them geniuses that they were not geniuses in their own right.

So we can see from the above that the word genius is used rather selectively. It actually depends more on how much respect we have for the domain being considered, how out of the ordinary the activity is, and how well-known the person is than on their intelligence and creativity.

So let's not forget all those people who have been refused the title of genius for the above reasons, in spite of their capacities and accomplishments.

And let's not forget those who had the capacities but were blocked from developing them for various reasons. We'll never know who they were or what they could have accomplished and there's nothing we can do about past unknown and undeveloped geniuses.

What we can do is play our part in putting a stop to the waste of talent that is still going on today. We need to start by recognizing our own genius and developing it to the best of our ability, and then we can turn to others and help them do the same.