As genetic research advances, the risk of attributing too many qualities, such as genius, to our genes dangerously downplays individual potential for achievement.
Search Results
You searched for: genius
Chiwetel Ejiofor as geologist Adrian Helmsley in last year’s blockbuster 2012 is one of the many emerging “hero” images of scientists in popular film and television.In graduate school, I published […]
Catherine Asaro, the bestselling science-fiction author, uses concepts from physics and math to inform the fantastical stories of her characters. In a recent interview with Big Think, Asaro describes how […]
Today marks the first installment of Big Think’s newest series, “Moments of Genius,” sponsored by Intel. We sat down with math and science thought leaders—from the inventor of the very […]
When Jill Tarter was growing up, she remembers walking along the beach with her father, gazing up at the night sky. Well before she would become a leader in the […]
A new book examines the lives of the Romantic poets in their well-intentioned but ultimately ambiguous morality. It is a case of life imitating art, writes Laura Miller for Slate.
We live in an intriguing era of self-disclosure. Tonight, in New York City, the World Science Festival features a panel discussion called Strangers in the Mirror: “What’s it like to […]
A curious map from Alfred Russel Wallace, the father of biogeography
Leonardo da Vinci didn’t invent the sfumato technique, which produced the “smoky” effects of masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, but he may have perfected it. For centuries, art experts […]
Called “the hardest exam in the world” by the Telegragh, the entrance test necessary for those keen to spend graduate careers at All Souls, Oxford, included a celebrated element, the […]
Today marks the second installment of Big Think’s newest series, “Moments of Genius,” which is sponsored by Intel and focuses on key discoveries by math and science leaders. In our […]
Meanwhile, let another Rolling Stone reporter take your attention, for a different if no less compelling reason: a meditation on a writer we miss, David Foster Wallace. In the latest […]
Elif Batuman unearths seven unproduced screenplays written by famous intellectuals, including Nabokov’s story of a sexually frustrated London circus dwarf, and Sartre’s failed Freud epic.
When I was a kid, I found myself glued to the television whenever a moon landing took place. Even when others grew jaded by repeated landings, I never lost sight […]
In a new book, Timothy Ryback examines Adolf Hitler’s private library. He asserts that books were important in shaping the Führer’s life, and looks for insights in the books’ margin notes.
The primary goal of life is reproductive success, a common bond that explains why, for scientists, artists, and even criminals, genius and discovery peak among the young and single.
▸
3 min
—
with
Every baby born today in the Western world has a life expectancy of about 100 years, which means it will be alive in 2110. It’s nearly impossible to forecast in […]
Twenty-six years after Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” premiered, the evil genius is back with his sequel “Love Never Dies” being unveiled in London today.
Will wonders never cease: professional self-promoter Emily Gould recently accused feminist blogs of stoking their readers’ outrage to “gin up page views.” Gould’s case in point is a reported piece […]
In 1504 no less a historic name than Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, brought together the two greatest artists of the time to decorate the walls of the Great […]
We love our American President for his gift with words, and we learn from him in how he uses them—in articulating war, in assailing Wall Street, or even in making […]
It is a sad state of affairs when I have to read down the blogroll on my personal blog to see any recent mention of the flood that just devastated […]
Smart people have long had a history of quirky and inexplicable habits: Nietzsche wound up hugging horses, Freud couldn’t kick a drug addiction, Nikola Tesla adored white pigeons and loathed […]
Just as your mom always suspected, brilliance lies within you. And not only you, but nearly every seemingly normal human being. That’s the provocative thesis of David Shenk’s forthcoming book, […]
Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence showing the connection between intelligence and madness, revealing that high-achievers are far more likely to be manic depressives.
His book is called “The Genius in All of Us.” But do any men or women of brilliance hold special fascination for David Shenk?
▸
4 min
—
with
A conversation with the author of “The Genius in All of Us.”
▸
25 min
—
with
Michael Lewis is probably best known these days for two great sports books, Moneyball and The Blindside. But he originally made his name with Liar’s Poker, a book based on […]