dadmonson Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 People use this term so loosely and I know Peikoff answered this question in one of his podcasts but I can't find it right now. The term genius is used to describe people with high IQs but it has also been used to describe great businessmen, musicians, artists, etc. What's the difference between being a genius vs being really good at what you do? How do you determine if one's a genius besides giving them an IQ test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aequalsa Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I think more in terms of "works of genius," which I think of as an original idea. So a genius would be one who creates a work of genius. IQ may or may not be necessary but it certainly isn't sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Peikoff said that genius is an extraordinary ability to handle abstractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadmonson Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Peikoff said that genius is an extraordinary ability to handle abstractions. Peikoff said that genius is an extraordinary ability to handle abstractions. I can't find the podcast where he goes a little more in depth in what a genius is. In the podcast he calls some people schmoes and compares himself to Moses. Do you have a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninth Doctor Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 What's the difference between being a genius vs being really good at what you do? How do you determine if one's a genius besides giving them an IQ test? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius Based on the etymological roots of the term, genius ought to refer to someone who generates something new, perhaps an insight that revolutionizes a field of knowledge/endeavor, or creates the entire field itself. But it’s not a matter of IQ. For example Richard Feynman is said to have had an IQ of 125, which is high but nothing special (mine’s higher). At the time he was given a special exemption in order to attend Princeton, since his scores in English were too low while in Math he was off the charts. Another (very different) example is the opera singer Maria Callas, who has probably been the most influential figure in her field, but who, by most accounts, was dumb as a brick in virtually every other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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