Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

Does genius exist in categories, or does the term belong to the truly exceptional, the 1 in a 1000000 or such a big number? I don't know so I thought I would ask. And who decides? History can give us a few amazing people who may deserve the term. We can all think of examples. No arguments if you say Shakespeare or Da Vinci. I laugh when I hear once in while on TV a fashion designer called a genius. Karl Flagerfeld or whatever his name is. Genius. He made some clothes no person actually ever wears.

Can a great athlete be called a genius? Was Babe Ruth the genius of baseball? I think not. Not a big enough contribution. So what are the categories? No comedian deserves the term. Perhaps no musician. It's too limited and not beneficial enough to the rest of us. Philosophers? Some may be, but have they helped us much? Have they changed our world enough?

I believe the term must be held for the few, the 1 in a million or more, who change the world. Not the brilliant who are great in a field, but the very few who really make a mark. And that list is short.

[manlyboy]

I equate genius with "inexhaustability". Shakespeare for example, studying his works is like being in a house with an infinite number of rooms. You can spend your whole life in the house, yet there will always be doors you haven't gone through or didn't know of. If it were say, Stephen King, you'd eventually run out of material.
Euclid, Newton, Einstein; there are applications for their theories that haven't been imagined yet. Beethoven, Mozart; you can listen to the same piece 1000 times and always get something new out of it. Charlie Chaplain, Groucho Marx; they could make people laugh at any time in any place. Their jokes are funny no matter how many times you hear them.

[Mashimaro]

borat is genius

[jajdude]

Thanks for replies so far, it's nice, I like, I like sex, in my country we have to pay 3 goats for sexy time with sister.

No, Borat is not a genius. No comedian is a genius. Maybe a few musicians like Beethoven or Bach are close because they truly changed the world. Shakespeare is obvious. Einstein too. Some people we do not even know may qualify. Some unknown may have made the world a good bit different.

I'd like to hear some serious replies. Maybe Gandhii and Nelson Mandela are geniuses? Not for intellect but for world changing effect. I'm interested in what that special term is supposed to mean.

"manlyboy" your reply was excellent but I cannot accept that the Marx brothers fit the bill. I really liked your 'inexhaustibility' idea though.

Euclid, Newton, Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Edison, Mother Theresa, I say genius.

[Muramasa blade]

My concept of genius is pretty simple. Geniuses are madmen, or people that society considers "crazy". If you can go against convention, or think outside the box, you're halfway there.

Benjamin Franklin? What kind of person flies a kite in a thunderstorm? Galileo, defied the church, and printed some crazy stuff about the earth not being the centre of the universe. Heliocentric as opposed to the earth being the centre of the universe.

I believe that genius can exist in categories. For example, a man may be a mathematical genius, but be completely inept when it comes to keeping accounts. Simply because a person is not an expert in all fields does not make them less of a genius.

Leonardo was remarkable because he was a renaissance man, gifted in many fields. The sciences, arts and other fields of endeavour, have become far more complex and rich since Leonardo's time. Therefore, being an expert, much less a genius in multiple fields has become very difficult.

[jajdude]

Good post. Of course Galileo was a genius. Am I shortsighted in thinking the term should only apply to world changers? Some world changers could have been dummies. I'm thinking about a redefintion of the term. What is genius? I'm thinking it's a person who creates a good influence for the world, or at least millions, for a long time.

Interestingly, some very famous people get no vote from me, but some unknowns deserve the term.

Example: Karl Marx. Brilliant, not a genius. No great lasting influence. (Oh, I know others will say what are you talking about? I'm saying did he really influence the world in a good way? I don't think so.)

Joe Schmo, designed a piece of technology we all now take for granted and use every day and depend on. (genius)

[Muramasa blade]

[Grimalkin]

I think a genius is a person who sees something (a truth?) that nobody else has seen before and then reveals it to us, and by doing so changes the way we look at things.

[Roch]

[numazawa]

[three-legged dog]

[Mashimaro]

[Grimalkin]

[Grimalkin]

[kimchi_pizza]