Interesting? Or NOT!

Maybe this is not that INTERESTING?

Genius? Every person alive is a sheer genius.

Most people don't look closely enough to see it
and understand in what way someone fulfills their genius.
Our blindness to the individual does not mean
they are any more or less engaged
with their form of knowledge and experience.

I don't think that there is a formula for genius, but most minds will never attain it no matter how stimulating the environment and how well-educated they are. Potential geniuses can be stunted by malnutrition or repressive conditioning. You have to be born with the right kind of a brain AND nurture it.

Good point but Try thinking harder, according to Gorgias it seems as if there is a formula. Nietzsche believes so according to human all too human. This idea and questioning derived from what several philosophers have stated. I advise you to look more closely and thanks for your responses! This should get the mind ticking!

"Genisis of the Genius"-"The prisoner's wits, which he uses to seek means to free himself by employing each little advantage in the most calculated and exhaustive way, can teach us the tools nature sometimes uses to produce a genius (a word that I ask be understood without any mythological or religious nuance). Nature traps the genius into a prison, and piques to the utmost his desire to free himself.
Or, to use another image, someone who has completely lost his way in a forest, but strives with uncommon energy to get out of it in whatever direction, sometimes discovers a new, unknown way; this is how geniuses come into being, who are then praised for their originality.
We have already mentioned that mutiliation, crippling, or serious lack of an organ often causes another organ to develop unusually well because it has to carry out both its own function and another besides. From this we can divine the origin of many a splendid talent.
One should apply these general comments about the origin of the genius to the special case, the genisis of the perfect free spirit."-Nietzsche human all too human 231 translation by:Marion Faber and stephen Lehmann

<cav pokes his head in for a moment>

First off, it's 'Genesis', and I really don't know what 'hat mutilation' is, but would love to find out

I disagree with Gorgias George's theory that there is a formula for 'genius'. IMO, genius is a product of lateral thinking, which all of us are capable of, should we choose to use our powers for good and not evil. The Einsteins of the world haunt strange and interesting places often....

I take it that instead of understanding the above paragraph you decided to whip out your handy red pen and correct typos and spelling errors.

Not really...it's a big 'duh' to me that the difference between the average and the brilliant is the ability to break through the confines of our environment, which also relates to our particular socialization. These terms are pretty much mutually exchangable, 'environment' and 'socialization'. I just disagree with the theory that there is a way to 'pinpoint' the reason some of us are geniuses, and some are not. I stick by my original point, it comes down to lateral thinking, which we are all capable of, as it relates to our survival instinct. The criminal may be a genius in his own way, but likely does not see the other applications of his own brand of 'genius'. That requires 'circular thinking', which is a very difficult thing to do for most people. Circular thinking requires breaking the barriers of lateral thinking, and therefore, just takes work. We are all capable of that as well, but it's harder. Our perception of our individual capabilities is the only thing that separates the plodder from the genius.

Also, I don't know about goat's milk, but epiphany can certainly be an insight into one's personal genius as well. I agree there, for those who think epiphany-like.

First of all you didn't read the above post carefully as you stated:
"I disagree with Gorgias George's theory that there is a formula for 'genius'. "
Gorgias did not make a formulation of genius, I did. And besides contradictory to what you just stated in the above quote, you then again say that it's a matter of no duh, suddenly you agree once again with Gorgias? Im confused! And as I recently stated as well as gorgias, the environmental conditions are what created "genius", this thesis is contradictory to what Gorgias states "everyman is shaped by his environment, a genius is curious mind that learns what is beyond that environment." and therefore he made a boo boo! You seem to believe in the same thing. What I was hoping you would see that Gorgias constantly contradicts himself. The question was what made the mediocre man break out of his environment and attain knowledge beyond what his environment enabled him to do so? An earlier post stated that it was the curiosity of that man! Now once again with the upmost clarity, what is your take on this issue?

Well, I would say neccessity (which inspires lateral thinking, but not always circular thinking). Also, what of the wimmins? All this talk of what mins thinks....btw, ALL philosophers contradict themselves...comes with the territory.

I see, thank you for your opinion!

It seems to me that "genius" is (a) retrospective to any production and (b) is not in the main different from "the norm" because "the genius" must communicate his findings within a known context.

The originality of the genius seems to lie in instituting a "paradigm shift" (Thomas Kuhn) or "new way of looking at X" but this is often based on a "known way of looking at Y". If we take Einstein's relativity as an example, his surprising results stem from his axiom that the speed of light should remain constant irrespective of the speed of the transmitter. This simple idea then leads to complex and psychologically bizarre paradoxes with respect to "time", which Einstein resolves at the mathematical level by the creative usage of his former exposure to a wide range of mathematical models. (Interestingly, Einstein's axiom about the speed of light has now been partially rejected in order to account for new data).

Of course not all "geniuses" use mathematical models to generate new data but analogy at some level seems to be the key to transmission of their concepts to lesser mortals.

I would say, very simply, that a genius is not shaped by his/her environment; but a genius refuses to bow to the confines of traditional thought, and shapes their own environment.

My 2 cents

Since each of us is born with approximately the same number of neurons it would seem that the key to genius lies in how a genius utilizes the neurons. The genetic template will determine the ability to create the proper alignment of synapses which in turn will create either perfect or flawed pathways to implant memory and or recall it. It also depends on the level of curiosity created by the genetic template which would be manifested by the alertness of the very young child. Those that have the insatiable curiosity and the predisposed ability to grasp memory(knowledge) and then recall it for later comparisons will be the geniuses of the world. There is no other way to explain the child prodigy who can do college level work at the age of 9 and graduate from college at say 13.

The perfect mix of chemicals in the brain is also a factor----the chemicals that will allow the perfect strength of the synapse at every level---

The environment of the genius will determine how he uses this capability and to what end but you are endowed with this gift at birth. The rest of us stumble along and make a life for ourselves but will be forever on the outside looking in on the world of the genius.

That's understandable!

The difference between you and Einstein is nothing.
He did his thing in his way, you will do your thing in your way.

The only reason we say Einstein is "smarter" or more accomplished, is because his thing led to some world-changing results and the ensuing media blitz canonized him and repeatedly burned this image into your mind.

That's society's action, not Einsteins, and the mob mentality is not always apropos. There are thousands of things you will do in your life that only you are capable of. Not even Einstein can approach the genius you have in what you do.

You will far surpass everyone else, just like everyone else.
All you have to do is use a different measuring stick.

There is a point in time when I recognized my limitations.

I will amend a famous quote from Brillat-Savarin:

"Beasts feed, men dine, geniuses recognize that the meal was pretty good, but could have been better."

HUH?