The term “genius” is used in two different contexts. Some people believe that genius is a range of IQ’s at the top of an IQ scale. This is the assumption underpinning statements such as, “She has a genius IQ.” Others apply the term “genius” to describe someone whose achievements in a particular field stand head-and-shoulders above the achievements of all others. This interpretation of genius is evident in statements such as “Mozart was a musical genius.”
To avoid confusion, it’s probably best to link the term “genius” to achievement of the highest order and refer to IQ’s at the top of the IQ scale as “giftedness” rather than “genius.” This means that visionaries in a particular field can earn the title “genius,” although they may not be at the gifted level of IQ.
Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer best captured the essence of this interpretation of genius in his famous quote: Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see. Newton, Einstein, John von Neumann and Tesla are considered geniuses because they combined high intelligence with creativity and insight to hit targets that no one else saw. Newton developed the mathematics of rocket science while most humans thought that the sun and the planets orbited the earth. Einstein asserted that time is not absolute and reconceptualized Newton’s gravity as a “curvature” of space. John von Neumann created game theory and was the father of the programmable computer. Tesla recognized the superiority of alternating current over direct current, and enabled the harnessing electrical power. All of these were targets that none of the other highly intelligent people could see.
Certainly, a high IQ is a necessary attribute for genius in mathematics, physics, computer science and most of the STEM subjects. However, we also refer to people in other domains as having “genius”. In the arts, high intelligence may be less important than a special creativity, skill or knowledge. Shakespeare’s insights and intelligence were part of his genius, but his knowledge of human nature and his remarkable ability to express these insights with exceptional cogency qualified him as a literary genius. Similarly Mozart’s genius derived in large part from an innate instinct for musical harmony.
In his book Entrepreneurial Genius: The Power of Passion, psychologist Gene Landrum provides brief biographies of some of the greatest entrepreneurial geniuses from Henry Ford to Jeff Bezos. Comparing and contrasting their personalities, he identifies their single most commonly shared personality trait–a passionate obsession with achieving their vision. It is this obsession that enables them to apply their minds relentlessly to their goals, transforming their vision into a reality that pushes back the boundaries of what was believed possible.
So the ultimate “true test for a genius” is the measure of the magnitude of their achievements relative to others in their field. In his book Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts & Sciences author Charles Murray asserts:
When you assemble the human résumé, only a few thousand people stand apart from the rest. Among them, the people who are indispensable to the story of human accomplishment number in the hundreds. Among those hundreds, a handful stand conspicuously above everyone else.
These few thousand, throughout the history of our species, stand out as those who have earned the designation “genius”, along with those whose contributions have disappeared in the sands of time.
