Genius people of mankind. Genius and genius people

The consulting company Synectics has published a list of a hundred geniuses of our time. The rating was formed on the basis of a survey conducted in the summer of 2007 in the UK. The study involved 4 thousand people. According to the data received, the largest number of geniuses lives in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom.

1. Albert Hoffman- chemist (Switzerland)

1. Tim Berners-Lee- Inventor of the Internet (UK)

3. George Soros- philanthropist (USA)

4. Matt Groening- cartoonist, creator of the series "The Simpsons" (USA)

5. Nelson Mandela- politician (South Africa)

5. Frederick Sanger- chemist (UK)

7. Dario Fo- writer, playwright (Italy)

7. Stephen Hawking- physicist (UK)

9. Oscar Niemeyer- architect (Brazil)

9. Philip Glass- composer (USA)

9. Grigory Perelman- mathematician (Russia)

12. Andrew Wiles- mathematician (UK)

12. Li Hongzhi- spiritual leader (China)

12. Ali Javan- engineer (Iran)

15. Brian Eno- composer (UK)

15. Damien Hirst- artist (UK)

15. Daniel Tammet- linguist (Great Britain)

18. Nicholson Baker- writer (USA)

19. Daniel Barenboim- musician (Israel)

20. Robert Crumb- artist (USA)

20. Richard Dawkins- biologist and philosopher (Great Britain)

20. Larry Page and Sergey Brin- creators of the Google search engine (USA)

20. Rupert Murdoch- publisher (USA)

20. Geoffrey Hill- poet (UK)

25. Garry Kasparov- chess player (Russia)

26. Dalai Lama- spiritual leader (Tibet)

26. Steven Spielberg- director (USA)

26. Hiroshi Ishiguro- creator of robots (Japan)

26. Robert Edwards- one of the founders of IVF (Great Britain)

26. Seamus Heaney- poet (Ireland)

31. Harold Pinter- writer, playwright (UK)

32. Flossy Wong-Staal- biologist (China)

32. Bobby Fischer- chess player (USA)

32. Prince- musician (USA)

32. Henryk Goretzky- composer (Poland)

32. Avram Noam Chomsky- philosopher and linguist (USA)

32. Sebastian Thrun- creator of robots (Germany)

32. Nima Arhani-Hamed- physicist (Canada)

32. Margaret Turnbull- astrobiologist (USA)

40. Elaine Pagels- historian (USA)

40. Enrique Ostrea- doctor (Philippines)

40. Gary Becker- economist (USA)

43. Muhammad Ali- boxer (USA)

43. Osama bin Laden- Islamist (Saudi Arabia)

43. Bill Gates- Creator of Microsoft Corporation (USA)

43. Philip Roth- writer (USA)

43. James West- physicist (USA)

43. Tang Wo-Ding- biologist, physician (Vietnam)

49. Brian Wilson- musician (USA)

49. Stevie Wonder- singer, composer (USA)

49. Screw Surf

49. Henry Kissinger- diplomat and politician (USA)

49. Richard Branson- media mogul (UK)

49. Pardis Sabeti- anthropologist (Iran)

49. John de Mol- television producer (Netherlands)

49. Meryl Streep- actress (USA)

49. Margaret Atwood- writer (Canada)

58. Placido Domingo- opera singer (Italy)

58. John Lasseter- cartoonist (USA)

58. Sunpei Yamazaki- physicist, computer developer (Japan)

58. Jane Goodel- Anthropologist (UK)

58. Kirti Narayan Chowdhury- Historian (India)

58. John Goto- photographer (UK)

58. Paul McCartney- musician (UK)

58. Stephen King- writer (USA)

58. Leonard Cohen- poet, musician (USA)

67. Aretha Franklin- singer (USA)

67. David Bowie- musician (UK)

67. Emily Oster- economist (USA)

67. Stephen Wozniak- computer developer, co-founder of Apple (USA)

72. George Lucas- director (USA)

72. Nile Rogers- musician (USA)

72. Hans Zimmer- composer (Germany)

72. John Williams- composer (USA)

72. Annette Beyer- Philosopher (New Zealand)

72. Dorothy Rove- psychologist (UK)

72. Ivan Marchuk- artist, sculptor (Ukraine)

72. Robin Escovado- composer (USA)

72. Mark Dean- computer developer (USA)

72. Rick Rubin- musician and producer (USA)

72. Stan Lee- publisher (USA)

83. David Warren- engineer (Australia)

83. Jon Fosse- writer, playwright (Norway)

83. Gertrud Schnackenberg- poetess (USA)

83. Graham Linehan- writer, playwright (Ireland)

83. Joanne Rowling- writer (UK)

83. Ken Russell- director (USA)

83. Mikhail Kalashnikov- designer of small arms (Russia)

83. Eric Jarvis- neuroscientist (USA)

91. Chad Worah- founder of the Samaritans charity organization (UK)

91. Nicholas Hayek- businessman, founder of Swatch (Switzerland)

91. Alastair Hanny- Philosopher (UK)

91. Patricia Bath- doctor (USA)

94. Thomas Jackson- engineer, developer of aerospace technologies (USA)

94. Dolly Parton- singer (USA)

94. Morrissey- singer (UK)

94. Renalf Fiennes- Traveler (UK)

100. Quentin Tarantino- director (USA)

Publication time: October 29, 2007 01:13 PM | last updated: Dec 7, 2017 08:56 AM

ALL PHOTOS

The international company Creators Synectics has compiled a list of 100 living geniuses in science, politics, art and entrepreneurship. Among them were three Russians. About a quarter of the participants in the list are natives of the UK - there is the highest concentration of geniuses per capita, The Daily Telegraph proudly notes (full text on the Inopressa.ru website).

The first place was shared by the inventor of the World Wide Web - the Englishman Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann - the discoverer of the hallucinogenic properties of LSD. The second place went to billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, and the third went to Matt Groening - the author of the cartoon "The Simpsons". Closes the list of geniuses American director Quentin Tarantino.

The list included 24 Englishmen and 43 Americans. Thus, in the UK there were the most geniuses per capita - one in 2.5 million inhabitants. Among them are physicist Stephen Hawking (7th), avant-garde artist Damien Hirst (15th), Sir Paul McCartney (58th), David Bowie (67th) and writer JK Rowling, author of books about the young wizard Harry Potter (83rd place). Some of the names on the list are surprising. Thus, Osama bin Laden took 43rd place, sharing it with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former heavyweight boxing champion Mohammed Ali.

Creators Synectics chose geniuses by assigning each a score of up to 10 points on five factors: role in changing the belief system, social recognition, strength of the intellect, achievement and cultural significance. This summer, the firm sent emails to 4,000 Britons asking them to name up to 10 living genius candidates. More than 60% of the resulting 1.1 thousand names were Americans and British. Only 60% of these people are still healthy.

Nigel Clarke, Managing Partner of Synectics UK & Europe, says: "Many argue that you can recognize a genius by turning conventional ideas about the world upside down. I think Albert Hofmann and Tim Berners-Lee are similar to the geniuses of the past in this. Both of them, in their own way, turned our world upside down. For this alone, they can be recognized as the greatest living geniuses."

10 most prominent geniuses of our time

1. Albert Hofmann, Switzerland. Chemist
The aged scientist is best known as the "father" of LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide. In 1943, he discovered the hallucinogenic properties of this drug. He is the author of more than a hundred scientific papers and an autobiography with the title "LSD - my problem child."

1. Tim Berners-Lee, UK. computer scientist
An Oxford graduate and computer scientist, he is the author of the HTTP protocol and the HTML language. In 1989, Berners-Lee proposed the global hypertext project, which marked the beginning of the creation of the World Wide Web. Since 1994, he has chaired the World Wide Web Consortium, which is responsible for Internet standards.

3. George Soros, USA. Investor and philanthropist
An outstanding financier and speculator, whose huge resources allowed him to organize a series of attacks on the national currencies of Great Britain and Asian countries, earning billions of dollars. He has recently retired from business and is actively involved in philanthropic work through the Open Society Organization and philanthropic foundations in 25 countries.

4. Matt Groening, USA. Satirist and cartoonist
The author and producer, became famous thanks to the satirical animated series "The Simpsons" and "Futurama". The Simpson family and the fictional city of Springfield first appeared on television in 1987. Since then, the popularity of the series has not weakened, and in 2007 a full-length version of the cartoon was released on movie screens.

5. Nelson Mandela, South Africa. Politician and diplomat
The human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1993, fought for a long time at the head of the African National Congress against apartheid in South Africa, for which he spent 28 years in prison. From 1994 to 1999 he served as president of the country. Currently actively supporting the fight against AIDS.

5. Frederick Senger, UK. Chemist
Graduate of the University of Cambridge, biochemist, Nobel Prize winner. He is known for his work on the study of insulin, which made it possible to obtain it synthetically, and for research in the field of DNA.

7. Dario Fo, Italy. Writer and playwright
Theatrical figure, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997. In his work, he combined propaganda satire with the traditions of the medieval theater. Author of "Mystery Buff" (1969), "Death of an anarchist from an accident" (1970), "Knock knock! Who's there? Police" (1974), "If you can't pay, don't pay" (1981).

7. Stephen Hawking, UK. Physicist
One of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity. Being practically paralyzed, Hawking continues to engage in scientific and popularization activities. Bestselling author of A Brief History of Time.

9. Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil Architect
One of the founders of the modern Brazilian school of architecture, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction. Since 1957, he carried out the construction of the new capital of the country - the city of Brazil, participated in the design of the UN headquarters in New York.

9. Philip Glass, USA. Composer
Minimalist composer, performer. He became known to the general public after creating the soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaniskazzi". He also wrote music for the films "The Truman Show", "The Illusionist", "Hours", music for the opening of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

9. Grigory Perelman, Russia. Mathematician
A scientist from St. Petersburg proved the Poincaré hypothesis, formulated back in 1904. His discovery was recognized as the most significant scientific achievement of 2006. Despite this, the reclusive Russian turned down the million-dollar prize and the math world's highest honor, the Fields Medal.

Russians included in the list

In addition to Grigory Perelman, chess player Garry Kasparov and designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creator of the famous AK-47 assault rifle, were on the list of world geniuses.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is considered one of the strongest chess players of all time. At 22, he became the youngest world champion in history, and defended the title more than once. In 2005, the grandmaster announced the end of his sports career and took up social and political activities. Currently, he heads the United Civil Front organization and criticizes the current Russian government and president.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov is best known as the creator of the AK-47 assault rifle, adopted in many countries, known for its efficiency and ease of manufacture. For the creation of the famous weapons, he was awarded the Stalin Prize and many other awards. Currently lives and works in Izhevsk.

Admit it, you have ever tried to find signs of genius in yourself. No? But what about the phrase: “Well, am I not a genius ?!” How many times have you said it, doing something exceptional that others didn't think of? But genius is not at all in one smart thing that comes to mind. Genius is a whole complex of mental, creative and active possibilities, which are expressed in the constant manifestation of oneself. Although there are a lot of questions in this area. Who are geniuses? What are the criteria for defining a genius? And is it possible to cultivate a genius in yourself?

Definition and theories of manifestation

The concept of "genius" comes from the Latin genius, which means spirit, kind. There are a lot of definitions for the word, but they all boil down to the fact that this is the highest degree of manifestation of human mental and spiritual forces. There are 5 theories of the emergence of genius. Let's consider each of them in detail.

biological

The essence of the theory: geniuses are born as a result of a special rearrangement of genes. Research was conducted from different points of view. Versions have been put forward that anything can influence the ability to give birth to a genius, from the activity of spermatozoa to the strength of the maternal instinct. Today, scientists are inclined to believe that genius does not depend on one gene, but on a whole combination. But why, then, ordinary children are born to brilliant parents. No wonder they say that nature rests on the children of geniuses. It is possible that unique DNA somehow passes through generations, but so far these are only hypotheses.

historical

This theory in its own way answers the question of what genius is. If your contemporaries recognized your work as successful and different from others, then you have the right to be called a genius. But in practice, it often happens that a person receives recognition not from his contemporaries, but after many years. Therefore, paintings by artists not particularly famous at that time are now worth millions of dollars.

Psychological

The bottom line: the brain of a genius is unique, thanks to the originality of man. That is, the combination of the properties and qualities of a person, the reflection of his intellectual and moral-psychological traits, leads to the fact that a person becomes a genius. In other words, genius is distinguished by originality. And there is some truth in this: almost every poet, artist or sculptor has his own style.

Esoteric (mystical)

Theorists in this area proceeded from the question of how geniuses think, and concluded that such a mind could arise in a person only under the influence of unknown forces or some creature of a higher kind. This is a peculiar phenomenon of genius, a hallmark of genius. And it is impossible to create it artificially. According to esoteric theory, a genius is a child of a higher world, which is inaccessible to a simple layman.

Pathological

Most true to date. Genius in it borders on insanity or some kind of mental disorder. The theory of psychopathology arose from the analysis of the biographies of recognized geniuses. After all, it is known that Leonardo da Vinci suffered from a mental disorder - procrastination. He was afraid to put off important things for later, but still he was constantly distracted by everyday nonsense. Nikola Tesla had a phobia: he was terrified of human hair. It is not without reason that the main character of the American television series about scientists Sheldon Cooper ("The Big Bang Theory") was endowed with various oddities. He suffered from an anancaste personality disorder, mysophobia, was a hypochondriac, and so on.

Am I a genius?

Based on various definitions of genius and research on the subject 10 signs you are a genius. They are ambiguous, and someone can argue with this, but if you find at least a third of them, then it’s time to talk about your genius nature.

Knowledge of at least one foreign language. Especially if a person learned it involuntarily and easily. Although true geniuses are usually fluent in several languages.
High IQ level (more than 150). You can check it online. Just don't cheat.
Preference for cats over dogs. Those who are more fond of calm pets are less sociable. Fans of active dogs, on the contrary.
You are the eldest child in the family. This is not due to genetics, but to the special attitude of parents to the firstborn.
You are not indifferent to alcohol. No one talks about alcoholism, but a glass of wine with dinner or a glass of cognac before bed is a good thing for you.
You are left handed. Left-handers have higher cognitive abilities than right-handers.
Great sense of humor. This indicates a special perception of the world and people.
You often worry (for yourself, for loved ones, for distant things like abandoned children, etc.)
You are lazy. Procrastination is inherent in many geniuses.
You doubt your genius. Indeed, the brain of a genius usually denies this information so that there is something to strive for.

Now you know how to recognize a genius in yourself or another person. Of course, these are not specific or characteristic features. Therefore, you should not go to extremes and, based on them, conclude that a genius is a lazy left-handed alcoholic who lives with cats and writes humorous scripts. But there is definitely something ingenious in such a person.

How to develop?

And again, based on the signs of genius, someone might decide to start drinking or get a cat. A genius is a person who is subconsciously attracted to all this. In this case, is it possible to become a genius, and how to do it? Psychology has an answer to this question as well. Still, genius is not an innate gift, and it can be developed. Even Thomas Edison wrote that "Genius is only 1% inspiration and 99% self-improvement."

For the most purposeful and self-confident people, psychologists have identified 10 ways to become a genius.

Regular physical activity. It improves blood circulation and brain function.
Complete sleep. During rest, the brain generates ideas even more intensively.
Balanced diet. The brain needs certain vitamins and minerals that are found in fish, meat, cheese, vegetables, fruits, dark chocolate, nuts.
Learning languages. Excellent training of hidden brain resources. And getting to know a new culture helps to learn a lot of interesting things and communicate with foreign people.
Playing a musical instrument. This is the stimulation of fine motor skills, the development of talent and flexibility of the mind.
Creativity. This will help to become brilliant through the development of extraordinary thinking.
Neurobics. It's like aerobics, only you need to train your brain. Try to bring something new into your usual activities. Write with your non-working hand, hide the TV remote for a week, master touch typing, etc.
Mental gymnastics. The Internet is full of logical puzzles and examples, by solving which you can develop logic, perception, observation, memory, attention and reaction speed, learn something new.
Solving complex problems. Do not be afraid to take on those things that at first seem impossible to you. In any case, this will help to gain experience and develop aspiration.
Regular brain activity. One should not spend a single day in passive thoughts. The brain needs daily exercise to keep the mind sharp.

Genetic psychopathology

If you look at the so-called brilliant elite, then approximately 80-85% of all its representatives will turn out to be mentally unbalanced people. And many of them had family problems. Take even the most famous people. A.S. Pushkin was a hot-tempered mother. Criticism of Belinsky V.G. I was beaten by my parents as a child. Grandfather A.A. Blok ended his life in a mental hospital. D. Byron's father took his own life. And A. Schopenhauer became a philosopher largely thanks to his brilliant mother, who wrote about 25 literary works. The list can be continued for a very long time: in the biography of almost every gifted person there are similar stories.

In the 30s of the twentieth century, Doctor of Psychotechnical Sciences G.V. Segalin introduced such a concept as "Europathology", which generalized the psychopathology and genetic predisposition of geniuses. The scientist studied for a long time how geniuses become. Segalin was sure that genius cannot be considered only from the point of view of mental abnormalities. In other words, not all geniuses are psychos, and not all psychos are geniuses. But to the question: are there any normal geniuses in the world, Segalin answers directly. Nevertheless, in his opinion, a man of genius cannot have absolute mental health.

Scientists are notoriously strange people. In any case, a person needs to be very different from the majority in order to be able to offer non-standard ideas. Many scientists were eccentric and caustic, others were arrogant who could not understand why everyone around them was so stupid. And some were ready to devote their whole lives to making a discovery that would turn the world upside down. So it's quite interesting to take a look at ten of the strangest facts about the most famous scientists in history.

no beans

You can thank Pythagoras for one of the pillars of geometry, the theorem named after him. However, some of his ideas were not so brilliant. For example, he followed a vegetarian diet, but at the same time he did not want to eat beans. Legend has it that the beans were partly responsible for his death. Allegedly, bandits attacked his house, he started to run away, but ran into a bean field. He decided that he would rather die than set foot there with even one foot, and his throat was quickly slit.

When to leave

The 16th century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe was a nobleman known for his eccentric manner in both life and death. He lost his nose in a college duel and has worn a metal prosthesis ever since. And he loved to party - he had his own island, where he invited his friends to do various wild tricks. He showed the guests an elk, which he had tamed, as well as a dwarf, whom he kept as a court jester and fed him leftovers from the table like a dog. However, his love of partying was the cause of his death. At a banquet in Prague, Braga had to go to the toilet, but he stayed at the table, as this would be a violation of etiquette. And he made a mistake, as he ended up with a kidney infection and his bladder burst 11 days later.

Unsung hero

Nikola Tesla was one of the unsung heroes of science. He came to America from Serbia in 1884 and immediately went to work for Thomas Edison, making a number of breakthroughs in radio engineering, robotics and electronics, some of which Edison appropriated for himself. In fact, it was Tesla who invented the Edison light bulb. However, Tesla was not just compulsive in his scientific wanderings - he most likely suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, refusing to touch anything if there was even any dirt in it. He was also afraid of hair, pearl earrings and everything round. In addition, he was obsessed with the number three - for example, walking around the building three times before entering. And at every meal, he used exactly 18 wipes to clean his cutlery.

absentminded professor

Werner Heisenberg is a perfect example of a brilliant theoretical physicist who always had his head in the clouds. In 1927, he developed the famous uncertainty equations that govern quantum mechanics, the rules that explain the behavior of small subatomic particles. However, he practically failed the doctoral examination, as he knew practically nothing about experimental techniques. When the examiner asked him how the battery works, it turned out that the physicist had no idea about it.

prolific polymath

The physicist Robert Oppenheimer was a polymath, fluent in eight languages and had a wide range of interests, including poetry, linguistics and philosophy. As a result, Oppenheimer sometimes found it difficult to understand the limitations of others. For example, in 1931, Lev Nedelsky worked with him at the same university. One day, Oppenheimer asked a colleague to write a report for him, giving him a book that contained all the necessary information. Later, a colleague returned puzzled - after all, the book was in Dutch. Oppenheimer was no less surprised, because he believed that Dutch was an extremely simple and accessible language.

Chronology

The architect and scientist Buckminster Fuller is best known for his creation of the geodesic dome in the 1930s and for several other spectacular discoveries. But Fuller is also remembered by everyone as an extremely eccentric person. He wore three wristwatches set to different time zones when he traveled long distances, and also slept only two hours a night (he later had to abandon this idea). But he also spent a lot of time chronologizing his life. From 1915 to 1983, Fuller kept a detailed diary, which he updated every 15 minutes. As a result, his diary reached 82 meters in height and is now kept at Stanford University.

homeless mathematician

Pal Erdős was a Hungarian mathematical theorist who was so devoted to his work that he never married, lived on the street and could show up to his friends at any time, drop in without asking and stay in the house for several days while he worked on his theories.

Joker physicist

Richard Feynman was one of the most prolific and famous physicists of the 20th century. But he was also a joker and mischievous. For example, while working on projects, he amused himself by picking locks and security systems to show how imperfect they were. In addition, he spent time with the girls from Las Vegas while waiting for the Nobel Prize, learned the Mayan language and did many more strange things.

strange furniture

British mathematician and electrical engineer Oliver Heaviside was a genius who made many discoveries. But at the same time, he was incredibly strange - he furnished his house with granite blocks instead of furniture, painted his nails bright pink, could only drink milk for days on end, and so on.

Bone Wars

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Cope were the leading paleontologists of the dinosaur breakthrough era in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. And both scientists used dirty tactics to get around the other—sending spies, bribing watchmen, stealing dinosaur bones from each other, and publicly humiliating each other. But at the same time, they still made a huge contribution to paleontological knowledge about dinosaurs.

The question of genius was asked a long time ago, tried in many ways, discussed many times, many paths taken, and many answers given. However, no one has answered the question about its origins, about its nature, structure, and, of course, the most exciting question: “Why him, and not me? After all, I…”

And, of course, many of the same essays and research papers were written. Take, for example, Cesare Lombroso, who argued that genius is a relative and child of insanity. He made such a conclusion based on phrenological portraits (now only psychologists or sorcerers can determine the personality, character and vices of a person, calling the rest arrogant upstarts).

However, in his work on the subject, "Genius and Madness", the conclusions do not lie on a plateau of dubious statements bordering on mysticism or prejudices like "signs above the head" ...

What is genius?

So what is genius? A special path of a person chosen from above (according to theologians), his persistent work on himself, a genetic joke or a mistake? Or just a lucky coincidence, after which just yesterday an ordinary person becomes a genius?

In my opinion, every person possesses genius to one degree or another. After all, even if being diversified, that is, being Leonard's "Vitruvian man" or "universal man" is difficult and sounds laborious and difficult, but how many people have an addiction to this or that science, be it exact, natural, humanitarian or social?

And how many have an addiction to a particular science? By the way, after all, it is the fanatics of a particular scientific discipline that are usually recognized as “geniuses” in their field, while not possessing an outstanding mind and abilities, when ambition and luck played a large share in success.

From the foregoing, we can assume that any, even the most ordinary person, a respectable citizen is capable of being outstanding and brilliant in his field. But why, then, "genius" has become not an ordinary word, but a rare one, a praise that is applied to only a few, very few? Although, maybe if people paid less attention to everything "socially correct", such as family, work, money, prestige, fame, their own reputation - maybe then the number of geniuses (whether geniuses, or "stubborn"? ) would be much larger.

One way or another, I consider genius to be rather the excessive originality of a person that fits within the framework of his time. Yes, of course, everyone is original, has its own unique appearance, destiny, thought, idea ... but someone is a little more original than an ordinary original person, let's say. Ask: "What's the time?" And I will answer. Time determined the society in which the "original original" lives.

Genius - originality or bad luck?

Or rather, not even time, but social conditions, the material level of being. Society determined how much a genius could develop his potential. For example, you can imagine flying over the ground. Airplane, or any other aircraft. A person living in ancient times or in modern times, when minds were equally liberated, could speak about his ideas, thoughts and beliefs without fear and fear, without fear of being punished for it.

And, who knows, maybe aircraft would have appeared much earlier than we imagined. If an inventor had talked about "machines of the future" in the 18th or 1st century AD, he would have been considered a genius, a beacon of reason, everything good and beautiful, and the like. But if his words were heard by the people of the harsh Middle Ages, then the infamous fate of the one burned alive and scattered to the wind would not be long in coming. And no, I do not criticize the Middle Ages at all, since each time has its own characteristics. Simply, Antiquity is the genius of materiality and oratory, and the Middle Ages is the genius of the soul and mind.

Genius people in the modern world

It's easy to find a genius these days. It is enough to find a video in which, from improvised means, a person assembles a lighter with the function of a flashlight and a video camera, a self-writing notebook with a voice recorder, or, at worst, discovers new expanses of space in order to assure mankind that “in twenty or thirty years we We can live on Mars." A satisfied public will surely forget both the name and the essence of the discovery ... But at the same time, it will certainly get arguments from the farthest corners of its memory to defend its atheistic positions in a dispute with.

In other words, a genius is now just a person who somehow managed to amuse the public, at least for a while. And it has nothing to do with "Modern Art Swoon," as Russell Connor would say, or the good old and short "Cultural Decline." It's just that people have become more pragmatic.

Indeed, why would an ordinary person need to know about growing artificial vocal cords or about nitric oxide as a superconductor? The maximum benefit from this is a bold throw of cheap pride in the face of a drunken environment, and a good attempt to say "nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrin" after pouring alcohol into oneself. It looks, of course, funny, but everyone will quickly forget.

Nikola Tesla is a genius

The question of why in our time there are no outstanding geniuses whose names will be pronounced years later is vain, and belongs to philosophers, of whom there are also quite a lot now. Maybe that's where the clue lies?

However, I don't think all is lost. After all, geniuses come by chance and spontaneously. Smart people will always exist, but people who will be called "geniuses" are still the exception to all the rules. Although they appeared at the right time and in the right place, passionate about their work, and ready to go all the way for it. A genius is still a fanatic of his work. There is no greater pleasure for a genius than the fruitful result of long and painstaking work. No wonder Lombroso spoke about fanaticism and mental disorders.

I believe that the last geniuses died in the twentieth century. But I will not name scientific geniuses like Albert Einstein, Paul Dirac, Rutherford and others. For the reason described above. I don't think anyone is interested in hearing about the theory of relativity or Dirac's quantum equations.

So, these geniuses were from literature (Sartre, Jean Genet, Huxley, Burroughs, Kharitonov) or from psychology (the legendary Freud and Jung, Kinsey, Klein, etc.). First of all, they were called geniuses because most of them showed extraordinary courage in asserting their views. Enough extravagant and extraordinary in their time.

There is nothing to say about the "universal people" of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. At the same time, artists, mathematicians, sometimes physicists, naturalists, sculptors and sometimes writers (Michelangelo wrote poetry and sonnets). All spheres of life resonated in their minds. And now we have unique cultural heritage. For example, Da Vinci's work on anatomy provided the basis for further medical research.

Brilliant people of Russia

However, Russia is not deprived of its geniuses either. At least, the Soviet writer, director and playwright Yevgeny Kharitonov can be safely called a genius. At least for the fact that he said that there are no geniuses, and the townsfolk invented them to distinguish them from themselves. But it is worth mentioning geniuses who are not related to art and culture.

This, of course, is Mendeleev, pardon the banality. The merit at least is that a person was able to streamline the system of chemical elements, that is, to solve the problem over which many world chemists and physicists of that time puzzled. Further it is worth mentioning Kulibin with his steam engine, the Cherepanov brothers, Polzunov, Ilya Mechnikov, Academician Vernadsky, Pavlov, Tsiolkovsky and many others.

But what is interesting is that these geniuses were often not only specialists in their field, but often in another. For example, Kulibin and Tsiolkovsky were actively involved in philosophy, and Tsiolkovsky's expressions about the soul and immortality are still quoted. In certain circles, of course.

The Russian genius is also present in life. After all, the Russian genius has its own thinking. At the same time, for a long time, Russian genius seemed closed only because the world was not very interested in thinking about the soul of other people, especially when they had their own. Most of the Russian geniuses were still late with the development of philosophical thought in literature and art, so they took ideas, transforming them into their own. However, there is no doubt that the Russian genius has made many technical breakthroughs, as mentioned above. What is the construction of a rocket and the first flight into space worth!

Genius: good or evil?

And, finally, the most ancient philosophical question: "Genius - is it good or evil?"

The question is older than "To be or not to be?". A genius is a person, just more original, in our opinion. Evil and good are not objective criteria for its evaluation. After all, a person perceives his actions subjectively. You can be a great politician and manipulator of souls, like Hitler, but you will be hated for your brutal anti-Semitism and the murder of Jews. By the way, what is a personality described.

You can be a brilliant artist, sculptor, boldly open the bodies of the dead for the plausibility of paintings, but people will more often remember rumors about gay people and your life, as was the case with Da Vinci. You can be a brilliant artist, one of the few mentally ill creators, but people will think about your severed ear.This story can be spawned endlessly.

The mistake is that people evaluate a genius from their “bell towers”, and the genius of other people from theirs. A genius may be a disgusting person himself, but people will remember his actions and judge by them. Also, a genius can be both evil and good, depending on his actions. Genius decides for himself what he is. And if a genius acted fruitfully, if his actions and creations benefited society, everyone says that HIS genius is good, light and good. If his deeds bring death, death and destruction, he is cursed. The latter befell Hitler and Napoleon in their time.

The only thing that can be said about the moral side of genius is based on the results: it is impossible to fully evaluate the act, since its meaning is relative. And it is impossible to accurately assess the phenomenon of genius for the same reason. A genius can be happy watching the chaos he has created.

Those around him hate him, but he is glad, because in chaos he sees order, only he knows. He may be indifferent to his deeds, because he is bound by obligations, but everyone around him praises his genius. There are "brilliant villains" that no one can remember without partiality. Nor can one say what genius is.

In the end, I just want to say that a genius is a person. Genius is not Nietzsche's superman. Excessive originality does not define it as "good" or "bad". Nobody gets genius out of nowhere. But geniuses can also be ordinary people.