What is it that a Beethoven,a Shakespeare,a Leonardo da Vinci,an Emily Dickinson,has that
ordinary mortals do not? What is the mysterious quality which lifts a certain individual
skyscraper-high above the rest of us? As long as ordinary people have looked at extraordinary
ones,the question,"What is genius?" has fascinated and perplexed mankind.One reason the
question is so perplexing is that we tend to lump together all sorts of people who have
remarkable abilities,as if sheer virtuosity were the sign of genius.It is not,as witness the kind of
ability displayed by so-called "idiot savants," persons without formal education who can perform
dizzying mental stunts.Zerah Colburn,the son of a 19th century Vermont farmer,possessed nearly
unbelievable powers of mental calculation.On one occasion when he was being examined by a
body of scholars he was asked to raise the number 8 to its 16th power.When he calculated the
answer in his head (281,474,976,710,656),the audience wept.Zerah Colburn was then just 8
years old.Similarly,Truman Henry Safford at age 10 in 1846 was asked to multiply
365,365,365,365,365,365 by itself and gave the correct answer in a minute.Clearly idiot savants
offer startling testimony to the potential "trick" abilities of the human brain.Yet they are not
creative...the yardstick of a genius.They are astounding calculators,but not the originators of
astounding concepts. A second class of virtuosos whom we wrongly tend to call geniuses are
child prodigies.Some prodigies may develop into geniuses.John Stuart Mill("A state which
dwarfs its men will find that with small men no great thing can be accomplished."),who read
Greek classics at 6,went on to become a world-renowned political economist and
philosopher.Mozart("The gap between talent and genius is unbridgeable."),who played the piano
at 4 and composed music at 5,became one of the great musical creators of all time.But if a few
child prodigies flower this way,more simply fizzle out.Who now hears of Andrew Nastell,a
musician at 2,or of June Masters,who conducted an orchestra at 5? And who has not heard of the
precocious graduates of universities who end up washing dishes? What is perhaps even more to
the point is that prodigious ability in childhood does not seem to be essential to adult
genius.Childhood "genius" tends to be technical rather than creative.Child prodigies are good at
chess,but not at writing plays.They may perform superbly,but they do not have the life
experiences necessary for the creation of superb ideas.And later on these technical abilities may
not matter so much.Einstein always had trouble with higher mathematics,and eventually got
more gifted mathematicians to work out his problems for him.Darwin complained all his life of
his poor memory.If neither sheer talent nor precocity is the mark of genius,then what is?
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