> There have been countless threads where HNers declare that there's no such thing as a genius and that anyone can do anything with targeted practice. That's n

> There have been countless threads where HNers declare that there's no such thing as a genius and that anyone can do anything with targeted practice. That's not my experience. What I have read is that in most cases people rates as "genius" just the visible face of a project and forgets about all the rest of the people that are as good, or better, just because they are not so visible. Also, there is no genius without a lot of practice and study. And that has a lot to do with motivation. A well-balanced team can outperform a "genius" as the complexity and size of the task grow. And that again requires practice and will to do the job. So it is more about not allowing people to be "prima donna" and value everyone work.