A work of art, music, mathematics, or literature can be judged as a “work of genius” only if it has someone to appreciate its value. A symphony of Beethoven might be described as a work of genius by members of a large community, but it might not be considered a work of genius if it were heard only by members of a tribe in the Amazon who were exposed to a different kind of music.
A person is described as a “genius” if their works are judged to be outstanding and this requires that their work be vetted by an audience. Albert Einstein was considered to be a genius because his work was observed and endorsed by a community of scientists. Without this “audience,” his designation as a genius would not exist. The fact that the identification of genius is subjective and therefore requires an audience is its frailty. Raw talent in the absence of an audience to evaluate it cannot be consecrated as “genius.” As Thomas Gray observed in his poem of 1751:
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flow’r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
In simple terms, exceptional talent relies for its recognition on the existence of an audience.
