For some reason there have been a lot of books about where geniuses come from recently. PR, er, genius Malcolm Gladwell seems to have written most of them and in his column in the New York Times David Brooks has ploughed this furrow even deeper. Brooks says that there's no such thing as god given talent, its all about practice:What Mozart had, we now believe, was the same thing Tiger Woods had — the ability to focus for long periods of time and a father intent on improving his skills. Mozart played a lot of piano at a very young age, so he got his 10,000 hours of practice in early and then he built from there. The latest research suggests a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical view of the world. The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft...
Of course neither Brooks nor Gladwell or anyone else talks about the downside of this supposedly "democratic" view. In the old days you could look at Hitchcock or Mozart or Dickens and say "well what do you expect, mate, he's an effing genius that bloke" but if we all could be like him it's just another stick to beat yourself up with. What haven't I made it to the big time? you wonder and the answer's simple: you're just a lazy git.
...
Another thing these gurus never consider is who gets to call someone a genius in the first place. I think the "genius" label says more about contemporary fashion than anything else. Tiger Woods' golf swing? Utterly and completely useless for the last 99.9999999 percent of human history. Mozart's genius? Almost entirely posthumous. Stephen Hawking? What did he win the Nobel Prize for again? Writers in particular are ships in a sea of shifting fashions. Reputations rise and fall and fall and rise. When Melville died several of the obituaries got his name wrong and didn't even mention Moby Dick. When Philip K Dick died the New York Times gave him a 3 paragraph obit, whereas Isaac Asimov got the cover and an entire inside page. History is stuffed full of authors who died or killed themselves after scores of rejections only to have their manuscript published to general acclaim. (A Confederacy of Dunces and The Leopard are two genuine masterpieces that spring to mind.) Were the rejectors wrong or did fashions change? Who knows? To this day people try to convince me of the literary merit of Ayn Rand or Dan Brown or Ayn Rand again (she has a lot of persistent, lunatic fans) so far to no avail, but maybe they're right. Time will shake it out. JS Bach finally became more famous than his offspring, Mozart more appreciated than Salieri, PKD seen as more of an original talent than Asimov. And all of that of course can flip again. Do you remember this great scene in Star Trek IV ? The punchline is right at the end, where Mr. Spock gives us a little perspective.
68 comments:
I love it when some people go out of their way to show how smart they are with some revisionist comment, and only expose their ignorance.
No one will argue that geniuses have to bust ass in order to create what gets them acknolwedged as geniuses. What Gladwell and Brooks forget is that genius is the part you can't teach or learn: it's what allows these people to figure out how to do what makes them special.
Let's use Mozart, since I have a music background. His genius lies not in his performance, nor in his compositions. His genius is the gift that allowed him to develop those skills so far beyond anyone else. Maybe his compositions weren't heralded at the time like they are now, but his genius was.
The famous Mozart story is about his trip to the Vatican, when he was about four, or some such ridiculous age. The Pope Marcellus Mass (I think that's the one) was only allowed to be peformed once a year, on either Good Friday or Easter. (I've been out of music schoo, 25 years; forgive my memory here.) Mozart heard it once, went back to his room and transcribed it, then presented the note-by-note transcription to the pope as a gift. You can't teach that, and he sure as hell didn't learn to do it as a four-year-old. That's genius.
There's a great scene in Amadeus where Salieri has compared his music to Mozart's and can't find any difference on the page, yet acknowledges Mozart's sounds better. Why does Mozart, using the same structures, sound so much better? He certainly didn;t work any harder at his craft than Salieri.
Genius.
Adrian:
I'm always amused by discussions of creative or intellectual merit. First, because such merit is very often ascribed by others for some reason or other wholly unrelated to the substance of the work or achievement. Second, because sport or artistic or business or political achievement is generally, and wrongly, seen as more worthy, or elevated, than the struggles of the average man and woman. Somehow, no one seems to think that keeping a family together in the face of disease and joblessness is worthy of much notice, while lots of crap work gets the periodic coronation in the media and public mind.
Then there is the stress between what is the product of will and work and what is the action of pure chance, or luck. Just when I think I understand the ratio, I am amazed by some new phenomena which seems to tilt the balance sharply in one direction or the other. I suspect I will be surprised to find after my death that admission to Heaven is based not on the worth or purity of my life but on a simple cosmic lottery.
One thing's for sure: being smart is no ticket to success or happiness, and bears only a tangental relationship to genius. Lots of fairly incompetent geniuses out there.
PKL
Wow, this is a strange bit of coincidence. In anticipation of seeing the new Star Trek this weekend, I borrowed Star Trek IV from the library. I just now finished watching it and stopped by your blog...
As for genius, I tend to agree with Dana. A lot of hard work and self-sacrifice go a long way, but the genetic factors IMHO are just as important and possibly paramount.
Dana
Also what about all those other prodigies we hear about in the eighteenth century? Turns out there were quite a few of them. But none of them became Mozart.
No, I agree, this 10000 hours thing sounds very dodgy.
Patrick
Being lucky is so so important if you ask me. Every biography I've read (especially of actors) always has this random encounter which launched their career. Of course you have to be able to exploit the luck and there's skill in that, but even so its still out there.
And the flip side of what you say is that there are a lot of really smart down and outs too. I remember volunteering at a soup kitchen in Denver once and getting my ass given to me on a plate by a street wandering madmen who killed me at chess. The guy could think 7 or 8 moves ahead, which certainly impressed the hell out of me.
Brian
Hmm after seeing XI I feel I should post my new order:
2, 4, 8, 11, 6, 3, 1, 7, 9, 5, 10.
Ok,
Who is in the picture and what is your title referring to, its on the tip of my brain but I just cant quite recall it.
Ian
Ayn Rand & Thomas Edison.
"Double damn on you."
-Kirk to belligerent cabbie.
Here's my order without having seen XI:
2, 6, 8, 4, 3...and the rest I won't even bother to rank.
Brian
Nice shots of SF Bay there too.
On the one hand, I do think genius is of another order, and on the other all attempts to define it seem to fall flat. I think that's partly because definition isn't predictive of something entirely new, which it has no real categories for. I also think that's why sometimes the contemporaries of genius have a hard time spotting it.
'Genius' is probably a real category, though why it's worth anyone's while to think about whether someone is a genius or not is somewhat beyond me. You can't 'work toward it', for instance, even if David Brooks says you can. In myself I have the proof, though perhaps to me alone. I know beyond doubt that if I had golfed as many hours as Tiger Woods had, I still would not be Tiger Woods. I also believe, though I do not know with the certainty that I know about my own skills, that very few people, if any would.
When did the concept of 'genius' as we understand it come into being--does anyone here know?
well, well, well, so you learn something everyday. following your hint i looked up hawking. you're right. he's never won the nobel prize for anything.
It's a sad commentary on your blog readership when someone has to ask the identity of the author of the second most influential book of all time at the peak of her hotness.
As to the genius question...to his credit, Gladwell spends much of the rest of the book (after the 10k hour crap) pointing out how much luck and chance events had to do with the success of so many people, including Malcolm himself.
Jon, I can't comment on Adrian's blog readership in general but since I belong to it, it definitely includes some fairly ignorant types. It's too bad for him, but hopefully some of them are rich.
On the other hand, there are a few things that people can be made to feel small for quite unfairly and among them are the pronunciation of things and the identification of people in photographs. Also quotes in the headings of blog posts, but I am just not going to go there...
No intention to offend - I was hoping that the reference to my dear Ayn's heavenly appearance would convey my sarcasm. I felt that not recognizing her beauty would be like not being able to understand the literary genius of Bono.
@Ian - my apologies if you took me seriously.
Jon
Dont you think she has a kind of Helena Bonham Carter thing going on there?
Seana
Ian may not be back. He's probably already fallen under Ms Rand's steely allure.
Gotta say though Ayn Rand versus L Ron Hubbard - no contest.
Jon, I'm willing to lay odds on the fact that Ian can take it. And I can actually imagine that Ayn was considered quite a hot cookie in her day.
As was Tom Cruise in his.
The recent financial scandals have proved to me that despite our deference to experts, we are all pretty much on our own. As an old title has it "Don't Get Taken Every Time"
Every other time will do.
Adrian, I do have to disagree. Although L. Ron has his whole scientology thing going on, Ayn's still got steady sales in bookstores like mine. And a following among real readers.
I know--'real readers' opens its own can of worms.
Though of course they are both dead and don't care anymore.
Seana
No, I'm not kidding there's a definitely a Bonham Carter, Rachel Weisz, Sean Young thing going on. Very good posture too.
I actually dont mind the books too much. I managed to finish The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged (but I managed to finish Battlefield Earth too). The philosophy however is a bit silly. Its cod philosophy like the stuff you find in Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance.
no contest for Ayn I meant. L Ron Hubbard is the worst novelist who ever walked God's green Earth or Xenu's dark caverns.
Have you read everything?
I really am not entitled to speak about either author since I haven't read either of them. But of course that isn't going to stop me.
L. Ron Hubbard--the Scientologists accosted me on one of the worst days of my life--scenting the opportunity, I suppose. But I am made of stronger stuff.
Ayn Rand on the other hand inspired at least some part of Mary Gaitskill's brilliant Two Girls, Fat and Thin. And she has been a haven for several friends of mine who might be a bit libertarian in their core selves for the likes of more conventional me. But I value her for giving them a place to go instead of just jumping off a damn cliff.
Seana
No, not everything. I think its Atlas Shrugged that has a spunky female lead who's a damn sight more believeable than Johnny Goodboy Taylor.
Not offended in the slightest! Just couldnt remember that Edison quote and Google cant be a crutch your whole life.
Half way through 50G. Loving it so far.
Where is is the best place to review it?
Ian
Well thank you kindly sir.
Hmm, I dont know. I suppose the best vector is probably Amazon, because when you google 50G thats what comes up, but you have to have previously bought something on Amazon for that to work. Doesnt matter, Goodreads, Audible, are all are fine and very much appreciated.
Google can be a crutch your whole life, though, if you happened to be born just now.
Has anyone else had the experience in the not so distant past of just wishing someone had brought their IPhone or something similar to the table when sitting among friends? There are so many things that could be answered or resolved so easily if we didn't have to depend on our paltry individual human brains...
tried to leave that review on amazon, but you need to have bought something there first or have a gift voucher. sorry. i was going to give you five stars too. sorry.
Seana
As you long as you dont bring it to pub quizes.
Ian
You're the second person thats had difficulty on amazon. Dont sweat it in the slightest. I appreciate the thought brutha.
Ian: You don't have to buy anything (just register) to put your rave on Barnes and Noble.
Jon: I am the FIBRT (fairly ignorant but rich type) that Seana referred to above. Speaking from my own deficit of knowledge on the subject, I do observe that L. Ron Hubbard, the worst writer of all time, was smarter than Ayn Rand in the obvious sense that his little invented religion is still rich and flourishing while Rand's Objectivism hasn't been taken seriously since the Reagan days (and, it could be argued, suffered it's final beheading in the recent global financial collapse).
Does anyone think any longer that the state that governs least governs best? Does anyone believe any longer that the man who acts in his own true self interest (as though that were identifiable) will make the best decisions for us all? In the end, Rand's world-view is right out of High Noon.
Anthem and Atlas were pretty cool when I read them in seventh grade, but they don't hold up today. I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida instead of Rand's St. Petersburg, Russia. I used to see Hubbard tooling around Tampa Bay on his Sea Org,
and thought him mad but clearly someone who knew how to have fun. I would hazard a guess that Star Wars and Star Trek each owe a little inspirational debt to the chubby guy with the tax-free income stream.
Only a masochist would actually read Hubbard's novels, but his non-fiction works (drivel though they are) remain in print and continue to sell vigorously. It's been a long time since anyone waxed elegiac about Ayn Rand. Until you came along.
But why am I tilting at this windmill? You were obviously just kidding about Ayn Rand being hot.
PKL
Pat
Yeah I agree, I think. Its funny about old Ayn. I've heard the excuse that, well, English isnt her first language but ,well, it wasnt for Nabokov either and he wrote some of the most elegant English prose of the century. I will take issue with you about her hotness though. First of all, we gentlemen should not even be discussing these things, but, secondly, she does have a Kahloesque intensity that I like.
Here's an image to put you off your cornflakes: apparently she had an affair with Alan Greenspan.
PKL,
Well, according to the Lehrer Newhour there are a lot of people in South Carolina who still believe that the state that governs least governs best, and they have the inreased gun sales statistics to prove that they think self-reliance is the best thing. High Noon is still a powerful image in the American psyche, Obama's approval ratings not withstanding.
And like I say, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead sell steadily--far more steadily than some other books that have a much better claim to the name 'classic'. I do think that adolescence is the most typical time to be seized by her ideas, and also that the hold is not typically permanent.
I'll let you gentlemen get back to the more important discussion of her hotness or lack thereof. Got to get to work.
Adrian:
I know you're an accomplished author and a man of the world and all that, but I've been around the block, and feel I can speak authoritatively on the subject of hotness.
Kahlo: Hot. She kept up with Diego, made magical art, went lesbian and even cultivated a moustache. The number of hot things she was and did are legend.
Rand: In her maidenhood, she entranced Alan Greenspan and Nathaniel Branden.
I rest my case.
Seana:
I grew up in the South when it was still segregated, and will readily agree that stupidity has a long shelf-life.
But when your neighbor's kid was killed in Iraq, and some fund manager's bonus is more than you will earn in a lifetime, and your wife needs hospitalization but the Medicare won't kick in for another four years and you are going slowly broke paying for the prescription, and your 401K just got magically reduced by 2/3rds, and all the politicians you used to trust have screwed you, you begin to get the point.
In the end, the sense of Bentham an Lincoln triumph over the manipulations of Limbaugh and the Unseen Hand.
At least I sure as hell hope so.
As to Ayn Rand selling to teenagers, at least they're reading something. As they Twitter that they are on page 322, and eating Fritos.
I imagined Ayn Rand a bit differently. She looks like a cousin of mine.
Of course I only know her because Ditko surreptitiously inserted Objectivism into Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
Rush were also big fans, but my Prog Rock period didn't last long.
v-word: guesses
I am happy to announce that part one of my new opus entitled "Bring Me The Head Of Jeremy Bentham" is now available HERE for your reading pleasure. Fair Warning: Those of you who still harbor romantic notions about Warren Oates should proceed with caution. Adrian, I know you think this is all a big joke, but I am serious as Ayn Rand here.
If you're wondering about those mysterious deleted comments, it was just this FIBRT trying to apply Master Marco's magic linking rings formula, and failing in flames. 3rd times the charm!
Patrick
Nice work me old china plate.
Seana
I went to college with Amanda Foreman who's father wrote High Noon. Carl that is. Amanda became a famous historian, one of her books even became a Hollywood blockbuster which aint bad for a historian, but I suppose with that cinematic pedigree...
Marco
Really no Genesis or ELO or Yes in your collection?
As to Amanda Foreman, I don't think the movie got very good reviews, though it was supposed to pretty too look at, but I expect the book was very good. Maybe she should have directed the film as well--or was that the Scorsese daughter's thing?
Haven't had a chance to read the adventures of Bentham's head yet, but will. I hope poor Bentham got at least a bit of an outing from all this...
Seana:
I really liked The Dutchess, which was rented by my dear V and which I suspected would be a chick flick but which turned out to be just real good indeed.
Of course I've liked that Knightly woman since "Bend It" and the opening theme is lovely. I thought it pretty well showed the limits of female experience in her era.
Hopefully she didn't trade the property for a piece of the earnings, but got a nice hunk of cash up front.
By the way, I have put out feelers with all my Santa Cruz chums as to potential rents (will let you know as any turn up), and did notice several for rent signs as I drove out San Andreas Road way today, near where it comes to Manresa Beach. Have no idea if any of these are affordable, but what a great neighborhood...
Seana
I havent seen the movie, but I did like the book. I think it was her PhD thesis which she turned into a bestseller - nice work if you can get it.
Pat
I liked Bend It Like Beckham too. My only problem with Kiera is her skinniness - understandable in a teenager but its weird when a young woman in her mid twenties gets that skinny.
PKL
I will try that. It is very annoying though. I have bought things on amazon before but ever since I changed credit cards it does not recognize my account. So only five reviews for you Adrian, but as Seana points, five good, thoughtful reviews including, of course, PKL's!
Forgot to say: Find that frickin dingo!!!!!
BTW
I live in upp pen Michigan. Can I move to Santa Cruz?
Ian, indeed you can. In fact, as I just gave notice here on the studio this evening, and was asked whether I knew anyone who was interested, I could certainly put in your name. Owing to the shared nature of some of the arrangements, I think that they are looking for a woman, though legally they are not allowed to say that, so it might be wise to wear some sort of disguise.
There are zero job openngs here right now, though, so I do hope you are independently wealthy.
You know, I thought I had posted a comment here about various things, including Keira Knightly's skinniness, my openness to seeing The Duchess, and random profound thoughts on Jeremy Bentham's head. Oh, yes, and that the young J. Bentham was quite a hottie in own right, judging by the portrait, though perhaps not so much as a head.
It all seems to have vanished into the spheres, which hardly matters, but I did want to make sure and thank you, Patrick, for putting out the word on the rental market. I seem to have found a place, small but quiet. We shall see. But anyway, thank you. I do appreciate it.
No Yes, only King Crimson.
I once knew a guy who was in a 70s Prog-style band called Agony suffers in a cage (sic) which seems more a Death Metal band name, but maybe was intended to describe the listening experience. They shortened to Cage very soon.
...I think that they are looking for a woman....
I just had an image of Seana as Suzanne Somers in Three's Company with Ian and a brunette.
V-word: swine.
Don't know if it's an insult or a warning against the flu.
There have been several failed attempts to make Atlas Shrugged into a movie, but here is the latest foray if anyone is interested. I do know at one point that Angelina Jolie was signed on/interested in playing the lead.
I was one of the teens taken in by Rand, I'll admit. Still think The Fountainhead is a great book and some of the philosophy is appealing, but on the whole, I'm much more "objective" about her work nowadays.
Well, that's kind of you to say Marco--I think--but at this point in life the only part I'd be likely to be cast for is Mrs. Roper. However, if one of the girls upstairs dyed their hair brown, the Three's Company ploy just might work for Ian. What do you say, Ian? Are you up for some zany sit-com fun, John Ritter style?
Bear in mind, though, that I'm leaving this situation. And none too soon, I might add.
Brian, if Angelina Jolie does the movie, I am sure we will be hearing a few reevaluations of Rand's gifts around these parts.
Ah yes Gladwell....I still remember reading his book "Blink "and wondering why I wasn't smart enough (genius) to get the magic of it...is it my ADD, lack of focus, or maybe I need to spend 10,000 hours reading it?
Sincerely,
Dutch Vannice
Seana: Jolie was hot, when she was still with Billy Bob.
Nothing like adoption to take the heat out of hot. Brad told me so himself over a drink at Commander's Palace. Their sex life has gone straight to hell, and he's pretty bummed about it.
Although I shouldn't speak for others here, I suspect that for one or two of them, Brad's opinion counts for very little on this subject.
Though he's doing some great work in New Orleans, by all accounts.
Seana:
It's really the death of their sex life that's given Brad all this energy. What looks like humanitarian drive is really just excess energy. I have this firsthand from my good friend Brad. You can take it to the bank.
Practice, yes, but what does he say about the compulsion to keep at it? I could be as great a painter as Giotto or as great a human being as Bono if I worked as hard at it as they did, but perhaps I am constitutionally incapable of working that hard. I suspect Brooks does not probe that particular mystery.
In re reputation, the greatest genius in all of music, Bach, did not become a genius until about eighty years after he died.
If Rush liked Ayn Rand, well, that's good enough for me. The lyrics to Rush's song "Tom Sawyer"? Products of genius.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Marco
You've got to include the Floyd though.
Brian
I wonder if that will really happen. I've been hearing about the Blood Meridian movie for years and it hasnt happened yet.
Anon
That might be the only solution.
Patrick
Poor guy. No kids to six kids has got to be a jump.
Peter
You're in Croatia? I'm going to have to go over to your website nad check that out.
The 10,000 hours makes some sense to me. Elmore Leonard said he wrote a million words before he found his style.
But...
"The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice."
This makes me think of something Wayne Gretzky's (now there's a genius) father said. He was asked how he managed to get Wayne to practise so much when he was a kid and he said, "Get him to practise? I couldn't get him to stop."
So let's not underestimate the connection between that, "ability to focus for long periods of time," and the opportunity to do so.
John
An excellent point. You feel compelled and you cant help it. I always wonder rich golfers etc dont just retire when they're loaded, but it must be something like that - they just want to keep going because they love it.
My own feelings about writing are rather different. I think I hate it, but I feel compelled to do it, but wish I didnt. Does that make any sense?
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