High intelligence is probably a prerequisite for genius, especially the kind of genius that is expressed in abstract fields like mathematics, physics and the other sciences, because measures of intelligence are highly correlated with performance in these fields. 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 unprecedented instinct for musical harmony.
Only a small fraction of highly intelligent people would be considered geniuses, because genius requires, in addition to high intelligence, a high degree of originality and inventiveness that we usually describe as creativity. This creativity, often emerges from an all-consuming passion that enslaves the individual, forcing him or her to submit to its demands, whatever the price. To determine how altering the shape of the eye changes perception, Newton inserted a blunt needle in the soft tissue behind his eyeball. Marie Curie exposed herself to radiation to investigate its properties and died prematurely. Van Gogh cut off his ear and Einstein was somewhat detached from his children. A significant quality that all geniuses share is an unrelenting intensity of purpose that often undermines their personal relationships. The creations of genius contribute to the quality of all our lives, but it’s the geniuses, themselves, who pay the price.
The following excerpts are from a previous post that is accessible in full at: How do High Intelligence, Genius, Cleverness and Smartness differ? – Intelligence and IQ
Modern techniques in tomography and other technologies have enabled us to discover that people’s brains have different neural efficiencies that are manifest in mental processing speeds, short-term memory and vocabulary acquisition. Those who have high intelligence have a neural efficiency that enables them to learn, problem solve, and think abstractly to a degree much greater than the average person. They have high IQs and usually display a wide range of interests in which they acquire significant knowledge. Those of extremely high intelligence differ, not only in degree but in kind, in their cognitive processing. That is, they have the ability to make connections between concepts that even most highly intelligent people would miss.
Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer best captured the difference between high intelligence and 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, 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 were circling the earth. Einstein asserted that time is not absolute and reconceptualized Newton’s gravity as a “curvature” of space. Tesla recognized the superiority of alternating current over direct current and harnessed electrical power. All of these were targets that none of the other highly intelligent people could see.
Most geniuses would not think of themselves as a genius, but rather as a highly intelligent person at the top of his or her field. The reason for this is that reaching the pinnacle of success is a journey fraught with mis-starts, mistakes and revisions that remind us of our own fallibility, bringing with it a level of humility. On occasion, accolades, awards and universal acclaim will convince a highly intelligent person that they are genius material–a condition often referred to as “Nobel’s disease.” However, true geniuses are usually informed enough to know how much they don’t know. Isaac Newton, one of the greatest geniuses of all time, humbly confessed, “If I have seen further than others, it’s because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants.”
