The Nuances of "Genius"

Every so often, a person appears who completely upends their field of expertise. Like a flash flood, they wash away prevalent preconceptions of the possible. Their names are indelibly carved in the halls of time—Mozart, Einstein, Virginia Woolf, Frederick Douglass.

We call them geniuses, but what does this actually mean and what are the ingredients that make one? Well, for starters, a high IQ alone isn't enough. While intelligence is, of course, a prerequisite, there are other equally important factors.

Self-awareness, curiosity, creativity, a willingness to take risks and push boundaries, along with an innate ability to think outside the box and ask questions few others have ever asked. Geniuses are nearly always pioneers and are the giants upon whose shoulders we stand on.

In the movie,Amadeus, Salieri describes Mozart as almost channeling the music straight from God. This may be fictional, but genius has often been linked with the divine. Indeed, one of its original meanings was a "moral spirit who guides and governs an individual through life."

In his book,Divine Fury: A History of Genius,historian Darrin M. McMahon claims that we've robbed the lofty label of its substance. Particularly in the last century, he posits it's been applied frivolously and indiscriminately to everyone from sport coaches to rock stars.

While there is definitely truth to this, I personally don't subscribe to its inherent culturally elitist attitude. Though I'm not an advocate of a wishy-washy attitude to excellence, it's important to note that not all types of genius receive the fanfare they may deserve.

For example, Just because McMahon isn't savvy about the nuances of hip hop, does this mean legendary rapper Rakim isn't a genius? What about a nurse who has a preternatural ability to make patients feel at ease? Why should she be deprived of such a status?

In many ways, the application of this term is determined in part by power. This isn't to say that the Beethovens and Hawkings of the world don't deserve the epithet, but by in large, it is the cultural elite of society who decide who is truly worthy of it.

Though it may be dismissed by commentators like McMahon as saccharine, self-help nonsense, I do truly believe that everyone has the seeds of genius within them. You might not have what it takes to be Mozart, but maybe changing the landscape of classical music isn't your calling.

I believe a reevaluation is in order. By this, I don't mean that we liberally self-apply the term to boost our self-esteem. Rather, genius should be a goal we all aspire towards; something that drives us and is always out of our reach—a process rather than a destination.