GENIUS: BORN OR TRAINED?

(a summary)

 

Is it possible to cultivate genius? In the modern era, Immanuel Kant and Darwin ‘s cousin Francis Galton wrote extensively about how genius occurs. The latest, and possibly most comprehensive, entry into this genre is Dean Keith Simonton’s new book Genius 101: Creators, Leaders, and Prodigies (Springer Publishing Co., 227 pages). (See pictures of Albert Einstein.)

For most of its history, the debate over what leads to genius has been dominated by a bitter, binary argument: is it nature or is it nurture — is genius genetically inherited, or are geniuses the products of stimulating and supportive homes? Simonton takes the reasonable position that geniuses are the result of both good genes and good surroundings. (Read TIME’s 2007 cover story, “Are We Failing Our Geniuses?”)

There are IQ tests, of course, but not all IQ tests are the same, which leads to picking a minimum IQ and calling it genius-level. So Simonton falls back on his “intelligence, enthusiasm, and endurance” formulation. Would you be the genius?

Gladwell featured Ericsson’s work prominently in Outliers. Gladwell is a believer. Simonton rather dismissively calls this the “drudge theory.” In a 2002 study, Simonton showed that the average IQ of 64 eminent scientists was around 150, fully 50 points higher than the average IQ for the general population. Simonton writes that geniuses tend to be “open to experience, introverted, hostile, driven, and ambitious.”

 

For the complete article click on:

 

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1879593,00.html

 

“Search to know the Truth

And the Truth will set You Free.”

(my aim is not to convince, but to share what I have found for your consideration. – mackie)

 

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