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The idea of lone geniuses single-handedly bringing upon revolutions in science and tech doesn't help, and it's perpetuated by our culture. Nobody thinks of the
by fluxquanta 10y ago
The idea of lone geniuses single-handedly bringing upon revolutions in science and tech doesn't help, and it's perpetuated by our culture. Nobody thinks of the leagues of engineers or doctoral students or fellow "no-name" professionals who also do a lot of the work. It's really sort of fascinating how we idolatrize singular people who themselves will admit they were standing on the shoulders of giants.
- johndoez 10y agoI agree but only to a limited extent. There is such a thing as genius, it is very rare, and it is talent x infinity, which means no matter how many brilliant people you have in a room, they cannot match the insights and actions of a genius. If the following had never lived, human history would not have progressed as it has: Galileo, Newton, Darwin (and Alfred Russell Wallace, I hasten to add), Einstein, Michael Polayni.