>we may be able, by cultivating interest, to cultivate genius. That assumes that interest is something that can be cultivated, which i'm skeptical of. If some

>we may be able, by cultivating interest, to cultivate genius. That assumes that interest is something that can be cultivated, which i'm skeptical of. If somebody else had tried to become as interested in natural history as Darwin was, could they have achieved his genius? I think interest is something that can be discovered, but not cultivated. You find something that you are interested in, you don't choose something to become interested in. Not everybody has the same innate level of curiosity, and not everybody will discover the thing that really interests them during their lifetime. But hacking away at something trying to cultivate interest so you can achieve genius doesn't sound productive to me - if you aren't naturally interested in something, don't waste your time on it. Or if you do sink your time into it, spend that time being productive, instead of trying to become interested.