What do you think genius is? How would you describe it? Is it potential talent or something else? What genius is, and what isn't? Do you think that genius could be evil? And why? Who among philosophers is genius, and why? Is it defined by IQ or not?
And many other questions that I didn't ask are also welcome...
A genius is somebody that is better in his or her field then 99% of the others. What that field might be is irrelevant, IQ is also irrelevant. Some musicians are geniuses and they are likely idiotic as hell. A genius scientists on the other hand does of course need a high IQ.
better, in what way? I'm asking this because I want to determine the quality that makes some man genius...
I think that field isn't irrelevant, I think that only artists and philosophers can be named geniuses, because, I spoked with allot scientists, and they are great in that field, but none other, but with some philosopher or artist you can speak about everything, including science...
I also think that IQ does matter, because it's a lot easier for man with high IQ to process huge amount of informations very fast so he can discover the truth beneath it, someone who is highiqer can grasp some ideas when he's young while others came to it much later in life, so the difference between them is in quantity not quality...
Genius is when you are in the 99th percentile of your field.I was classified as a potential genius in terms of IQ when i was younger but i lost it-quickly.
Yeah, it's the psychological definition of genius, and it's not perfect, many gifted people were recognised as average, and may I say that many gifted are idiots...
"A genius is a person of great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work. The term may also applies to someone who is a polymath or a prodigy. Although the term is sometimes used to denote the possession of a superior talent in any field (e.g., Pelé may be said to have a genius for soccer or Winston Churchill for statesmanship), in many instances the term is used specifically to denote an exceptional natural capacity of intellect in areas of art, music, science and mathematics."
I would describe a genius as someone with natural talent in any field.
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Imagination is more important than knowledge... --Albert Einstein--
A genius is one who can create something utterly new, who can learn what everyone else learns, but then see in it what no one else saw. A genius is one who can not only work well with the thoughts of others, but who actually has thoughts no one has ever had before. A genius is one who does not recreate the work of others, but actually creates work unlike anything that has gone before. A genius has the power to change the world in a very fundamental way, to revolutionize an area of human thought. A genius can work in, and change any area of human life. Geniuses create, they don' t imitate, they don' t recreate, they create.
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It's not a precise definition from wiki, it expands on so many things, if we could find out some unique and precise definition of a genius...
I don't know about talent and genius, it looks to me that they are two different things...someone can have some talent and not to be a genius, and genius can do well without any specific talent...
I would picture a genius as someone who can perform any task faster than the average person. It would be like comparing two computers, the one performing faster in a special task. I would describe the one computer as being a genius in comparison to the other. I don't think a genius is someone who has acquired a lot of knowledge, rather someone who is able to acquire that knowledge faster than the average person. Yes, it is a deep question. Just my opinion
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Imagination is more important than knowledge... --Albert Einstein--
Many people can do something better then average people, that makes them better in something. Far from a genius, a genius has something unique. The exceptional skill that others lack, to do something that others can't with the same material.
Interesting... Couldn't it be argued that the ability to gather information at an extreme rate (compared to other humans) is a unique ability? The persons exceptional skill that others lack is the ability to gather information at an amazing speed. I would say that the main thing that makes a genius.
Compare two people. One has studied mathematics for ten years and has gathered 90% of the knowledge. The other person, who has been studying mathematics for 2 years, has gathered 60% of what there is to know.
Is the man that took 10 years to reach 90% a genius in comparison to the man who has gathered 60% in two years?
From this, I conclude that a genius has nothing to do with the knowledge you have, rather the speed at which you gather that knowledge or the manner in which you interpret the information (being "unique")
Your interpretation of genius is someone who possesses a "unique" ability. I agree with this.
I've probably made some large assumptions, but this is how i currently picture it.
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Imagination is more important than knowledge... --Albert Einstein--
I would argue that it's not gathering information that makes one a genius, but being innovative with that information. In effect paving the path of new discovery.
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"All morons hate it when you call them a moron." - Holden Caulfield
Great, I totally agree...
Someone can have some talent(example for math) but he doesn't have to be a genius. Genius must be original, as you said, not reproductive, he must be an exceptional individual... He must have deep interest in things around him, and have some profound ideas...imagination is also very important, as Einstein said...
He must have very good understanding of human nature, because his works are universal, and includes all people...
He thinks for himself, acts for himself, careless of others thinking, in our world many geniuses had a diagnose of madness, but they weren't mad, the world was and is mad...
I disagree with someone who compared genius with a computer...I know a girl who can take root from any number from 1 to 100000000...in a few seconds, and she is very very untalented in other areas, and NOT smart AT ALL...
I would call him bright, intelligent child...
Intelligence is separable from genius, of coarse, there is some minimum iq needed, but for example William James Sidis wasn't genius, he was just man with highest iq in the world...
I think this is the main area of disagreement. I would call the child a genius.
I don't know why exactly you wouldn't call William James Sidis a genius.
I've never heard of him before but I did a google search and I saw the words "genius" and "William James Sidis" appear many times.
From one site...
"William James Sidis was a genius. He was by far the most precocious intellectual child of his generation. His death in 1944 as an undistinguished figure was made the occasion for reawakening the old wives tales about nervous breakdowns, burned out prodigies and insanity among geniuses."
The way I pictured a genius was someone who could accomplish a task at greater speed than the majority of people. It is similar to unzipping a file on your pc. I picture a genius as someone who can accomplish a goal at an amazing speed. For example… If we have a very complex scenario, a genius who figures it out will be praised for the speed at which he did it. He will be praised for his insight. The average person would take several months to figure it out. I think, for genius to exist, there must be a goal in hand. If the goal is fulfilled, a genius is made. Think of any scenario, the creation of a theory, picture or a philosophical idea. The only reason a genius is different from the general public is that he acquires insights far quicker than the average man. If an average man reaches the same insight as a genius, but takes 50 years, is he now a genius? Let’s take the example to the schooling environment. If a class is faced with a problem and the genius of the class takes 4 minutes and the rest of the class take 4 hours, are the genius’s classmates as smart as he is? (because they came to the same conclusion)
A genius is a person of great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect , especially as shown in creative and original work.
I'm not interested in scientific, or biological explanation of genius, and I think you shouldn't care about it either, because this is philosophy forum, and I'm trying to explain genius from that point of view...
I wouldn't call WJS a genius because he wasn't innovative in philosophy or art or science in any way spectacular, he didn't have the entire world in himself like other geniuses, he was just pure intelligence, he was mind, but not spirit, and genius is inseparable from a spirit...
I think I made myself clear...
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Last edited by argesilen on May 12th, 2007 at 10:25 PM
I don't think a high IQ make a genius, if it was like that computers would be geniuses.
Doing calculations faster doesn't make you a genius, but being able to understand why processors and calculators are not intelligent makes you intelligent.
What makes a genius is a high capacity for abstraction, which is the type of intelligence you need to understand abstract concepts and ideas.
It is know that some of these people who can do extremely difficult calculations easily have a big problem doing abstractions.
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May 12th, 2007 01:25 PM
