Meditations on Genius

By Dorothy Nixon

"No doubt, this society is obsessed with genius. Don't we all want our kids to be the smartest? Isn't that why we buy them jump ahead computer applications and put them in special programs?"

The first item I heard on the radio. An author was plugging his new book called "The Seven Thinking Habits of Leonardo Da Vinci." In his talk he claimed that Leonardo's genius stemmed, at least in part, from his way of seeing the world.

"The greatest original thinker of all time" had a child's curiosity, mixed with a tendency not to believe what he was told, and five other key traits -according to the author. "Interesting," I thought. "Maybe I should nurture these qualities in my kids."

Another item I read in the newspaper. It was about a little piano-playing girl, a musical prodigy of four from Montreal. It was a typical story about a talented child with the innate ability to play music. Well, innate up to a point: her parents are musical people who have encouraged her to play since birth.

That same day I also saw a TV news item about Einstein's brain. A Canadian researcher has analyzed the wrinkles on the genius's preserved grey matter and discover a few anomalies which might account for his ability to think in creative ways. "We held Einstein's brain and we were in awe," the researcher was quoted as having said.

No doubt, this society is obsessed with genius. Don't we all want our kids to be the smartest? Isn't that why we buy them jump ahead computer programs and put them in special programs?

Still, something bothered me about these stories, taken as a whole. Maybe it is because these stories appear to claim that genius is something odd, special and quantifiable. I just don't think so.

I don't think geniuses are all around us, unrecognized or, sadly, before their time.

Indeed, geniuses are not created out of nothing. I think societies nurture genius. (In the Renaissance, most everyone was exposed to high culture. Beauty (not just hot looks!) was highly valued in that society. Geniuses -and most importantly- many talented people arose in that environment. Today, we respect high culture but wallow in low culture most of the time. What Leonardo is going to emerge from a culture obsessed with gambling, lewdness and slapstick? Leonardo di Caprio?)

I also think societies decide what form of genius are applauded and what forms are ignored. I think for geniuses to be noticed, they have to live in the right time and right place. If society isn't ready for a new idea, the genius is likely to be labeled a lunatic and locked away.

(Years ago, when I was in high school, I recall participating in a 'debate' about women's intelligence. (Imagine!) My competitor claimed women were intellectually inferior because 'there have been no women geniuses.' ) Genius, today, is still often considered the domain of men, despite that mini piano prodigy.

This is all to say that there must be a better way to see genius so that we might raise our kids better. We have to stop thinking of geniuses as people who are very special, good at math, or at academics or at music.

My son, who is very very good at math, made me proud the other day. He was speaking about a fellow student, a girl who is achieving abysmal math scores. "You know," my son said, "everyone makes fun of this girl, but I think she is one of the smartest people at school. You should hear her talk, she is so insightful and mature."

My dear Aunt Flo, who just passed away at ninety, was a grade school drop out, who worked as a salesperson and as a sandwich maker in a cafeteria a lot of her life.

Yet she had a way of enjoying life that was pure genius, and contagious too. She always looked on the bright side, as they say. Everyone loved her. And she was savvy in other ways. She had common sense. She lived frugally, but still managed to dress beautifully and travel regularly and buy the nicest gifts for her nieces and nephews. I wish I had her talent for balanced living.

As I encourage my kids to do well at school (to keep their options open, I tell myself) I keep my aunt Flo in mind.

I remind myself that "successful" people, or people looked upon as successful in today's society, are often less than happy specimens.

We seem to collectively think, as a society, that high achievers are happy, but high achievers are often driven by some anxiety. In fact, a recent study came out saying that "very creative" people are often the product of unhappy families.

I know this for a fact. The most brilliant girl, from the most brilliant family I have ever known, committed suicide in her late teens. On a lesser scale, many brilliant people I have known can't keep a relationship intact for a minute or balance their bank accounts. So, what is it we want for our kids when we push them to succeed? Happiness or visible "success." They don't always come together, you know.