Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
Strong belief, strongly & long held: geniuses from the Renaissance to the early XXth century came predominantly from the aristocratic class because they had access to both tutoring and the means to focus on hard problems. I just found this article which articulates the argument convincingly https://tinyurl.com/ys9wryjh
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Tom Beck
@tombeck.eth
No. The concept of a genius is a linguistic change that’s historically-contingent to that time period. It’s not that geniuses popped up in history and left, it’s that this particular concept of geniuses popped up in history and is receding. It’s more a language and conceptual shift than a sociological one.
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Tom Beck
@tombeck.eth
See this overview by Elizabeth Gilbert. Pre-Renaissance, “genius” was an external force, similar to a daemon or a muse. https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius?language=en
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Tom Beck
@tombeck.eth
Also, consider Arthur Schopenhauer’s definition of genius: “Talent hits a target no one can hit. Genius hits a target no one can see.” It isn’t that there are no “geniuses” today, it’s that the nature of genius is invisible to its contemporaries. We cannot see it without the light of history.
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