Original printed byline: Hawkeye Z. Hoerr
Historical April–May 2012 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
“Steve Jobs was a genius,” he said, with no hesitancy.
My friend and I were at dinner, talking about Jobs’ life and death, and his feeling was that Jobs was a genius was based on how Jobs had transformed how we look at personal computers (and he hadn’t even gotten to Pixar or I-Tunes!). Based on the stock price of Apple, Jobs died having built the most valuable company in the world, he also noted. No, that’s not too shabby at all.
But is it genius? Genius is a word that we sometimes throw around pretty casually.
I wish I had a dollar for each time that former Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa was called a genius. Huh?
I mean, he initially played Albert Pujols rather reluctantly, and Pujols turned out to be one of the best hitters of all-time. Manager LaRussa called for steals, changed pitchers, and determined the batting order for 5,097 baseball games.
He won just 2,738 of them, for a .536 winning percentage. Are you kidding me?
He didn’t even win 60% of his games, and we call this genius? Flipping a coin would give you 50% winners. Perhaps former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden could be called a genius.
He won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including seven in a row. Coach Wooden’s teams won a record 88 consecutive games, and he was named national coach of the year six times. That’s more Steve Jobs-like.
But what about areas where numbers aren’t the issue? How do we determine genius when we can’t count stock price or games won? Dictionary.com defines genius as “1. an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.: the genius of Mozart. 2. a person having such capacity. 3. a person having an extraordinarily high intelligence rating on a psychological test, as an IQ above 140. 4. natural ability or capacity; strong inclination: a special genius for leadership. 5. distinctive character or spirit, as of a nation, period, or language.” OK, so the waters are now fuzzied a bit. (Fuzzy waters are always good!) How might we determine political genius? Is it measured by elections won? Does that make St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay a genius?
After all, he has won three consecutive terms, and is heading toward a fourth. Virginia’s Robert Bryd served in the U.S. Congress, first as a representative and then as a senator, for 57 years and 176 days. Is that genius or just longevity? What about someone who changed the political mindset? President Ronald Regan comes to mind as one who tilted the dialogue in a significant way. Whether or not you agree with him (and I don’t), there’s no denying that he left a deep imprint on our national dialogue and policy. Is that genius? How can we talk about genius without mentioning Warren Buffett?
A seemingly regular sort of guy, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway was the wealthiest person in the world in 2008, worth billions, plural, of dollars. Does that indicate genius? Or what about the fact that he has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune to charity?
I like that a lot, but is it a sign of genius? Bill Gates falls into this paragraph too. Gates is worth $56 billion dollars. That’s a lot of money, a whole lot! Put another way, if Gates spent $10,000 per day – that’s a fun thought; think of how many Hostess Cupcakes you could get for $10,000! – it would take him 153 years to spend it all. Better, in my mind, he’s set up a charitable foundation, and funded it with $28 billion of his dollars. Genius or not? What about art? Michelangelo seems to have been a genius, not for the least because he could do so many extraordinarily artful things at a level that defies common sense.
To be able to paint the Sistine Chapel or to create David or the Pieta would be testament to genius, but to do both?
He seems fairly clear-cut.
I think, so he goes in the genius box. It’s still pretty empty, though. (I wonder what Michelangelo and John Wooden would be discussing.) Was Picasso a genius, or does his art fall more in the realm of the Emperor’s New Clothes? What about Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Judy Chicago, or photographer Dorothea Lange? Can movies depict genius?
If so, is Tom Hanks a genius? What about Steve Spielberg? Was Shirley Temple a genius?
If a movie could portray signs of genius, I’d nominate Ferris Buhler’s Day Off (but I’m not sure why). Hmmm, maybe that means that a movie can’t be exhibit genius. What literature reflects genius? Was Ralph Nader a genius because his book, Unsafe At Any Speed, transformed the auto industry and saved thousands of lives?
The Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, is often credited with giving momentum to the environmental movement. That’s no small potatoes. Did Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin forever change the face of our country and the world? Would that mean that she was a genius? I’d nominate Jared Diamond, whose book Guns, Germs, and Steel, offers a new look at evolution, civilizations, and race, and forever changed how I think about the world. What about Stephen King? How many millions and millions of hours have people been gladly caught up in his text instead of dealing with life’s challenges and disappointments? Is that an example of linguistic genius?
Then there’s Arthur Miller, whose plays brought these same challenges and disappointments to stages and hearts around the world. Is that genius or entertainment? And oh yeah, let’s not forget that Shakespeare guy.
His works would clearly constitute genius (if, in fact, he really was the author). Peeking into the science lab, does Jonas Salk, the inventor of the cure for polio, qualify as genius? How could he not? Does Stephen Hawking make the cut? Thomas Edison fits here somewhere, I’m sure, as does Ben Franklin. What about Spencer Silver, the 3M scientist who invented post-it notes? Closer to home, I think of Mrs. Mayfield, my first-grade teacher.
On most criteria, I’m sure, she wasn’t a genius.
She didn’t invent, win games, write books, or crate art.
But she was a genius when it came to understanding me, and for that I am eternally grateful.
It may not be significant to you, but she changed the trajectory of my life, and that’s pretty significant to me! You know, maybe that’s what genius truly is. Perhaps it’s not winning a Nobel Prize or making a gazillion bucks or creating breathtaking art, despite the value of these achievements. Maybe genius is in all of us, if we take the time to listen to others and help them grow. Absolutely, artists and writers have an impact on others, as do coaches, scientists, and politicians.
But that is so true for each of us too.
We should all look out for one another. Just possibly, genius is determined by the positive impact that we have on others.
With thought and care and effort, we can all be a genius.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April–May 2012.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source Virginia’s Robert Bryd, Ronald Regan, Ferris Buhler and crate art retained as printed. Historical opinion and scientific biographical claims not independently validated.
Original source: SD_Times2012_04.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
