Are Geniuses of a Timeless Nature?
Maybe that’s why they are misunderstood
Have you ever wondered why the work of some artists from other epochs is still valid even in our modern world? There are two possible answers here, in my opinion.
Number one is the simplest answer: their work is so good that there are no other creations after that matching it.
Number two, their work has a vision, it’s unique and it's ahead of its time. For this reason, decades or even centuries may pass and it remains valid.
The Best Example in the Music Industry
I will give Michael Jackson as an example. He is known to be the best pop music performer ever. If you have read some of my other articles, you may think I am obsessed with this guy, but he was damn good.
The truth is that his work was so good that even today young children after they discover his songs are fascinated. Even adults who rediscover his music realize that he put so much attention and work into his creation that he is unmatched today and artists today have a hard time coming even close to what he was as an artist and performer.
Michael Jackson is a particular case because he was in the music industry since he was 5 years old. Growing on stage he could be somehow able to learn and develop many dancing and singing skills over many years that at one point they all came naturally and seemed effortless. Even today when you see him dancing, it's simply mesmerizing to watch. When asked about his work and how can you reach this level, he said that you should
“Believe in yourself, study the greats and become greater.”
He learned himself from the greatest, such as Fred Astaire and James Brown, who are geniuses as well. He tried to take things to a new level, and he succeeded.
Why is the music of some musicians like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury still listened to even today and some radio stations or tv stations are still playing their creations? Not only because their music is very good and has become notorious at the time of its release to the public, but also because the idea behind was great and it was also put into practice with a lot of work.
A very good idea, if it is badly implemented, may not have success.
On the other hand, a great idea with great implementation and a lot of work behind this implementation can truly lead to the creation of a gem.
Geniuses in Other Domains Of Activity
This is just my thoughts but I truly believe that geniuses transcend time, that’s why their work remains valid after many generations. What I mean with this is that the work that geniuses can create in their lifetimes is sometimes popular in their lifetimes and sometimes just post mortem, but in both cases, it remains valid even after decades or even centuries.
Just to mention a few of the greatest: William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Plato, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, etc.
Often geniuses are not only misunderstood but they are believed to be crazy because of their ideas. Pablo Picasso said that:
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
He painted like an adult when he was a child, and as a child when he was an adult, but he succeeded, didn’t he?
Sometimes people who are contemporary to them are not prepared for what they have to show to the world. When Galileo Galilei said in the seventeenth century that the Earth moves around the Sun, people thought he is nuts, because everybody knew at that time that the Sun moves around the Earth.
He said this, referring to the Earth:
“And yet it moves”
From what I have seen, geniuses have great vision, one that goes beyond the norms and transcends time. That’s why, their ideas may be too innovative for their time, and they must be properly explained to people. An ingenious idea has to be implemented properly so that anyone could understand it.
Albert Einstein said it best:
“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
Are geniuses of a timeless nature? We cannot clearly answer this question. All we know is that their creations are timeless, that they transcend time to be enjoyed by many generations after. Sometimes their creations are misunderstood during their lifetime but understood post mortem because they can be way ahead of their time.
You could sing or play “Thriller” by Michael Jackson at a Halloween celebration party and most people would try to do the dance moves with you. You could show someone a Picasso painting and that person would find it fascinating. This is what I call timeless…
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