tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post1455392271199944463..comments2024-03-28T21:32:26.550+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: The potential-genius is intrinsically psychologically unbalancedBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-3727463830691691222012-08-14T05:06:16.251+01:002012-08-14T05:06:16.251+01:00I'd say Ed Witten is probably considered a &qu...I'd say Ed Witten is probably considered a "Recognized Genius." I also think his influence has been bad for the physics community, but that's another story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-58952017554425341322012-08-01T00:15:08.817+01:002012-08-01T00:15:08.817+01:00The first few minutes of this might interest you, ...The first few minutes of this might interest you, Bruce.<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Si4fhHfGTs&feature=player_embeddeddeariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-78326117494829217332012-07-31T09:05:53.779+01:002012-07-31T09:05:53.779+01:00@dearieme - "Larkin agreed about Parker "...@dearieme - "Larkin agreed about Parker "<br /><br />Yes, he would, because I stole it from him...Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-67308344570368008622012-07-31T05:57:34.353+01:002012-07-31T05:57:34.353+01:00@CB - Yes, I am leaving out all these other matter...@CB - Yes, I am leaving out all these other matters to explore this aspect of intelligence becoming more specialized and unbalanced at higher levels - but also that people who are all rounders in terms of ability and personality do not seem to do much more than extrapolate whatever happen to be the trends of their time. They pick up whatever is in the air and run with it. They are the culture vultures.Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-52105289635179306422012-07-30T23:31:53.487+01:002012-07-30T23:31:53.487+01:00Bruce,
Why do you conflate unbalanced with creati...Bruce,<br /><br />Why do you conflate unbalanced with creative?<br /><br />Very highly able people may tend to be unbalanced in their abilities for reasons you discussed in a previous post. But there seems no reason the people that fit well within modernity should be necessarily the balanced types. Quite the contrary, given modernity's tendency to break tasks down into pieces and have people specialise in particular fragments.<br /><br />For example, I suggest that the highly quantitative people in finance (who are not always so able or well educated in non quantitative areas) fit rather well into the banking system - something that has today become part of the system of modernity. So these well-adjusted types are far from balanced. Similarly many verbally astute types (but who lack other kinds of skills) end up slotting in very well too. I think that actually it may well be the all-rounders who struggle to find satisfying work in modernity. Look at Feynman, for example.<br /><br />Is not creativity more about latent inhibition, dominance, ego strength, and introversion?<br /><br />I appreciate the attraction of reduction to make the problem more manageable. But is this true?Cantillonbloghttp://cantillonblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-81128393170584761482012-07-30T21:15:33.891+01:002012-07-30T21:15:33.891+01:00Larkin agreed about Parker - Parker, Pound and Pic...Larkin agreed about Parker - Parker, Pound and Picasso were the three he pointed his finger at.<br /><br />Anyway, I must announce a huge advance on identifying top-drawer, civilisation-making levels of genius. I've just found out about a so-called Religion of Humanity in the nineteenth century, which - conveniently for you to investigate further - had a Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They were inspired by Comte, and held Shakespeare, Homer and Dante to be on a par with Moses and St Paul. In their revised calendar they had a month called Shakespeare, which fell in the autumn, between the months of Gutenberg and Descartes. <br /><br /> I do feel you should pursue this breakthrough insight.deariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-73180052443824939252012-07-30T20:32:07.037+01:002012-07-30T20:32:07.037+01:00So potential geniuses are not included in the circ...So potential geniuses are not included in the circle of rule in favor of maintaining status quo. Instead, humans are easily manipulated are favored - given favor in media, pandered to by politicians, given special benefit programs. Quantity over quality. I think NASA cancelling the Space Shuttle Program serves as an apt metaphor for all of modern society's direction.Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-55132263017229862212012-07-30T19:43:33.337+01:002012-07-30T19:43:33.337+01:00Being wrong about some things is normal for genius...Being wrong about some things is normal for geniuses, in the trivial sense that it is inevitable - and also that it has often been a genius which has derailed and destroyed a field of human endeavor. <br /><br />So yes I would say Freud was a genius, and Jung, and Karl Marx - although they did much more harm than good (especially Marx, of course - and Jung did less harm than Freud). <br /><br />It could be said that the early 20th century geniuses such as Picasso, James Joyce, TS Eliot, Schoenberg and Stravinsky all had the effect of destroying their subjects. <br /><br />Maybe Charlie Parker too?Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-66387245920505593292012-07-30T18:11:20.183+01:002012-07-30T18:11:20.183+01:00I assume that you treat even someone like Freud as...I assume that you treat even someone like Freud as a creative genius. I mean, being wrong about everything doesn't cost Freud that status, does it?deariemenoreply@blogger.com