
Genius can’t be taught - ccantana
https://stewfortier.com/blog/2018/9/2/genius-cant-be-taught
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MathematicalArt
What is genius? Genius is characterized by highly divergent thought,
especially as compared with conventional wisdom. From this base notion of
divergence, you actually get either genius or insanity.

Genius is characterized by divergent thought that feeds back with the external
environment (society, historic events, etc.)

Insanity is characterized by this same divergent thought with the feedback
being self-referential only. Thus it isn’t grounded in any way that society
recognizes.

With that, neither genius nor insanity requires anything other than a highly
divergent thought process marked by a level of attachment or detachment to
society.

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ggm
I know, they're bloody insufferable and impossible to teach. Best, is let them
get demotivated and turn to drugs and crime: then we get _evil_ geniuses who
can't learn.

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karmakaze
Teaching however can supress genius.

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pontifier
Many things can suppress genius. It's not actually a very reliable trait.

It occurs in most of us, though for far shorter than it should. If flashes of
genius are rewarded they can grow, but mostly, harsh reality stifles the
optimistic hope at it's root.

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joshmn
Genius here: was there anyone suggesting that it could be?

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mlevental
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Polgár](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Polgár)

~~~
infradig
Well I don't generally consider chess mastery to be a sign of genius. Or
maths, or music either. Fundamentally they are not creative, generative
activities. There's a reason they are called a prodigy and not a genius. Of
course there are the rare genius composer (eg Mozart) or mathematician (eg
Euler).

~~~
tuesdayrain
I consider mastery of anything to be a sign of genius. Someone out there is in
the top .001% of skill for underwater basketweaving, and I think they're a
genius in that category.

