How Genius Mind’s Work
I’ve always been interested in stories that feature Genius characters. That’s why I really like films like A Beautiful Mind, Good Will Hunting, Genius: Albert Einstein, and Genius: Pablo Picasso. There is always a thrill of joy and curiosity whenever these genius characters use their genius minds to solve problems.
During elementary and junior high school, I saw a Genius as someone whose Kumon level was already at level O. In high school, I saw a Genius as someone who got into OSN (National competition for high school students in Indonesia). It is undeniable that I see genius figures associated with those who show promising results in School matters.
When I went to college, my view of my genius changed completely. I see geniuses being very diverse figures. There are those who, in my opinion, are geniuses in academic matters, geniuses in public speaking, geniuses in building communities/organizations, or geniuses in general knowledge. This view has changed as I enter a very diverse environment and meet those who can produce extraordinary works through their respective paths. These geniuses, in my opinion, have a way of thinking that tends to be different from others
Albert Einstein
One of the best Scientists ever born on this earth. His writings in Brownian Motion, Special Theory in Relativity, Quantum Mechanical Statistics, and Photoelectric Effects gave birth to the most famous postulate in history, E = mc2 (Jung, 2013). Apart from his works that changed the fundamentals of physics and became an inspiration for physicists today, scientists were very interested in Einstein’s thought process.
Jacques Hadamard asked Einstein directly about his thought process, which was later written in an essay entitled An Essay on the Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Fields (1945). Einstein said that his thought processes rely on visual and muscular activities. Writing is on the secondary stage, which means that when the visual and muscular factors have been met, then Einstein continues to the writing stage. Einstein is known as one of the thinkers who have extraordinary imagination power.
Here is the story of Einstein’s thought experiment while working at the Swiss Patent Office and discovered relativity.
Einstein was caught in a paradox. He imagined that if he moved next to light (300,000,000 m/s), he could see the light as an oscillating magnetic and electric wave, appearing to be at rest. But if you refer to Maxwell’s law which says that the field must move at the speed of light and cannot be stationary.
This continued to bother Einstein for 10 years until he finally met his colleague, Michele Besso, who became his partner while in Zurich. Einstein shared his thought experiment, and Besso was able to provide constructive input for Einstein’s experiment. Until finally, Einstein and Besso found the right solution for their thought experiment.
In the particular theory of relativity, Einstein said that an event can occur under different conditions depending on the perspective.
Einstein illustrated his thought experiment by asking Besso to imagine that he was in the middle of a train station. After that, Einstein asked Besso to imagine there were 2 lightning strikes at the front end and the back end of the train at the same time. Einstein also asked Besso if he saw the two lightning bolts simultaneously, and Besso also noticed that the two bolts of lightning occurred simultaneously. Then Einstein asked Besso to imagine himself in the middle of a moving train. Under the same conditions, Einstein asked whether Besso saw the two lightning bolts at the same time? Besso noticed the lightning in the same direction with the train was slightly faster than the lightning in the opposite direction.
Einstein realized that simultaneity was relative. This thought experiment became the basis for Einstein to find the special theory of relativity, a theory that connects time, energy, and matters. Einstein immediately wrote down his thoughts in an article entitled “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies .”
Leonardo Da Vinci
In their book entitled The Book of Genius, Tony Buzan and Raymond Keene try to rank the 10 most significant genius figures ever, and Leonardo Da Vinci is ranked 1. Leonardo Da Vinci is ranked above Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Newtons.
Leonardo is a self-taught person who has the most potent observation skills ever. Antico Setificio Fiorentino, the oldest Silk Factory in Italy, has a weaving machine assembled by Leonardo in 1786. The weaving machine is one of the practical inventions that Leonardo created beside his works of art.
Leonardo was also a special Generalist. Leonardo’s ability to combine his understanding of Physics, Botany, and Geology resulted in the sfumato painting technique. Sfumato is a painting technique that refers to layering adjacent colors to create the illusion of depth, volume, and shape.
In his book entitled How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michael Gelb wrote 7 Leonardo principles that made him a great figure of the Renaissance:
- Curiosità
- Dimostrazione
- Sensazione
- Sfumato
- Arte/Scienza
- Corporalità
- Connessione
Leonardo was one of the most prolific thinkers, artists, engineers, physicians, botanists, scientists, astronomers, and geologists who ever lived. According to Gelb, the basis of all these highly productive results come from Curiosity’s attitude. Curiosity means the desire to know, learn, and develop what already exists. After that, if we are interested in pushing the boundaries of the knowledge we understand and want to test it further, we have entered the Dimostrazione phase. Sharpening the body’s senses will help us see and feel, thereby increasing our ability to observe — Sensazione.
Improving the ability of this observation will lead us to uncertainty and ambiguity. “Confusion Endurance” is a critical attitude that highly creative people have, and Leonardo probably had that attitude more than anyone who has ever lived on this earth. Sfumato teaches us to be comfortable with ignorance. Leonardo also uses all the functions of art and science in our thought processes — Arte/Scienza. Corporalità is the principle of balancing body and mind. Lastly, Connessione is a principle to understand goals and values to be applied to everyday life.
Who is Genius ?
Of course, it is not wrong if we classify Einstein and Da Vinci as geniuses. If we refer to his works, we certainly know very well the impact that their works have had on the development of the world. But who is the real Genius?
Can all brilliant people be called geniuses? Can someone who has high creativity be called a genius? The short answer is that Genius requires both intelligence and creativity (Jensen, 1998).
Richard Feynman, a winner of the Nobel prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics, is known to only have an IQ score of 122. This value is certainly very far from the IQ score ever measured, namely Marilyn Vos Savant, author, and columnist, who is recorded as having an IQ of 228. Genius cannot be measured by IQ intelligence if we see someone is a genius based on their work. According to Michael Michalko, a figure known as an expert in creativity, he has written in several of his books about what distinguishes Jenius from others.
The Genius of Asking Questions
Michael argues that a genius has a different approach to asking questions from other people. When faced with a problem, people will generally refer to similar experiences that have been experienced before. A genius will try to broaden his understanding and views on the issue through new questions.
High Level of Productivity
None of Jenius’s works were born with just one try. A genius is known as someone who tends to be productive to produce new works. Meanwhile, every time Jenius creates a new work, the work brings Jenius to an iterated work from the previous work.
Thinks Metaphorically
Einstein’s visualization of a moving train led him to the Special theory in relativity. Newton’s analogy of an apple falling from a tree leads to Newton’s laws. Geniuses tend to see a complex phenomenon by visualizing the phenomenon into more superficial analogies.
Is Genius built from a certain quality that not everyone can have? Or Genius is born from a group of small habits that ultimately create a genius quality? Or is Genius as simple as based on their intelligence? According to Michael, the quality of Genius is born from the combination of these things, and Jenius
