2022-06-27 Genius is a skill

Genius is learnable — an ability to think and act outside your normal understanding realm. It requires being able to see things from different angles and imagine possible solutions that others might overlook.

Newton spent many years teaching himself mathematics before developing the concept of gravity (when an apple fell on his head) around 1666.

Picasso was not born to paint. He honed his skill. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist,” says Pablo Picasso.

Mozart committed almost all his life to learning and composing music. “People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to compositions as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied through many times,” he said.

Geniuses are mostly self-learners. To excel at intelligent thinking and creating original work, hone your craft, learn from smart thinkers, and learn how geniuses think.

You can start with books. “I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents,” Elon Musk said. It’s not too late to tap your inner genius — but it comes at a price.

Logical thinkers see the relationships between different ideas or pieces of information and their implications for how things work together.

Analytical thinkers can break down problems into their parts so they can be understood and solved more efficiently.

Geniuses excel at thinking in both ways instead of just seeing patterns in isolated facts. They can see patterns that others overlook or fail to recognize because their mindset focuses solely on isolated facts instead of thinking about them in a broader context.