What does genius mean to you? The most obvious example is someone such as Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton (the inventor of calculus and a cookie) but there are others besides people who were just really good at math. Although there isn’t precise definition, I think sometimes we set the bar a little too low when calling someone a “genius“. I think someone can have talent but that doesn’t make them a genius. I don’t mean to piss anyone off but while Michael Jackson had gobs of talent, I don’t consider him a genius. Beethoven was a genius. Not because he was a classical composer but because he wrote one of the most beautiful pieces of music the world has ever known while he was stone deaf. He could only “hear” the vibrations of his piano but was still able to write his 9th symphony. Who do you nominate for that title?

Well I beg to differ in that I DO say Michael Jackson was a genius because it wasn't just talent, he was responsible for so much of the stuff involved in what he did, he had the ideas for all the groundbreaking work he wanted done in his music videos, the behind the scenes stuff that he did, you don't get that from talent, you have to be smart to get it all put together.

Though I'll admit I use that term a bit freely and loosely, all kinds of people who they're not groundbreaking scientists but just smart and intelligent, I call them geniuses.

I know I am probably "off", but I have always equated a genius to someone who had once been considered a prodigy in his area of genius.

RedBedroom wrote:

I know I am probably "off", but I have always equated a genius to someone who had once been considered a prodigy in his area of genius.

I think that some prodigies are geniuses but not all geniuses are prodigies.

And you are probably right.

Supernova wrote:

Well I beg to differ in that I DO say Michael Jackson was a genius because it wasn't just talent, he was responsible for so much of the stuff involved in what he did, he had the ideas for all the groundbreaking work he wanted done in his music videos, the behind the scenes stuff that he did, you don't get that from talent, you have to be smart to get it all put together.

Though I'll admit I use that term a bit freely and loosely, all kinds of people who they're not groundbreaking scientists but just smart and intelligent, I call them geniuses.

I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on M.J.

Alan, you are right about MJ....he was talented to the tips of his fingers, but a genius? Not really...

Well like he said, how do you define genius?



Now take Lisa Lopes from TLC, was she a genius? She wasn't just the rapper of the group, and she designed their outfits and came up with a very interesting way to make a statement about safe sex


But once again, it's not just what you SEE her do that would make her a genius, she was also responsible for a lot of the behind the scenes work to everything they did. And then, you have the whole other side of the spectrum which was her life and career outside of TLC, she always seemed to be a very intelligent person, always knew what was going on and she semeed to be intuitive with a lot of things; though it's hard to describe but then again a large part of geniuses and what is genius is not what is easily explained or what can be understood from first sight, so I think it works together.

Lisa may have actually been a genius....it was probably why she was such a headcase. No one else understood her.

alan smithee wrote:

What does genius mean to you? The most obvious example is someone such as Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton (the inventor of calculus and a cookie) but there are others besides people who were just really good at math. Although there isn’t precise definition, I think sometimes we set the bar a little too low when calling someone a “genius“. I think someone can have talent but that doesn’t make them a genius. I don’t mean to piss anyone off but while Michael Jackson had gobs of talent, I don’t consider him a genius. Beethoven was a genius. Not because he was a classical composer but because he wrote one of the most beautiful pieces of music the world has ever known while he was stone deaf. He could only “hear” the vibrations of his piano but was still able to write his 9th symphony. Who do you nominate for that title?

While I would argue that Michael could be classified as 'superior,' I don't know if I would label a genius. At least not a musical one, visual perhaps. He revolutionized the music video as an art form, so for that he gets genius points. But when it came to his albums, he relied substantially on his producing collaborators.

Genius, IMO, is subjective.

Bob Marley was a genius!

Genius, to me, is someone who is a complete original and has a different way of viewing the world, quite possibly the way it's never been viewed before. I agree with Uncle Al when he says the bar is set way too low to define who's a genius.

I've always considered Vincent Van Gogh and Edgar Allan Poe as geniuses. Van Gogh, in particular, was so completely misunderstood, but he was brilliant. He painted "Starry Night" from memory while he was in a mental institution and only sold one painting in his lifetime. He was a true original.

MandyPerfumeGirl wrote:

Genius, to me, is someone who is a complete original and has a different way of viewing the world, quite possibly the way it's never been viewed before. I agree with Uncle Al when he says the bar is set way too low to define who's a genius.

I've always considered Vincent Van Gogh and Edgar Allan Poe as geniuses. Van Gogh, in particular, was so completely misunderstood, but he was brilliant. He painted "Starry Night" from memory while he was in a mental institution and only sold one painting in his lifetime. He was a true original.

This.