The dullard’s envy of brilliant men is always assuaged by the suspicion that they will come to a bad end. Max Beerbohm, 1872-1956, Zuleika Dobson, 1911
In the republic of mediocrity genius is dangerous. Robert G Ingersoll
Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Common sense is instinct; enough of it is genius. George Bernard Shaw
The failure of women to produce genius of the first rank in most of the supreme forms of human effort has been used to block the way of all women of talent and ambition for intellectual achievement in a manner that would be amusingly absurd were it not so monstrously unjust and socially harmful. Anna Garlin Spencer, Woman’s Share in Social Culture, 1912
Every age has a universal genius, which inclines those that live in it to some particular studies. John Dryden
Was Albert Einstein’s genius somehow other worldly? Ancient Aliens s5e5: The Einstein Factor, History 2012
Many of the world’s greatest thinkers have credited their genius to other-worldly sources. Ancient Aliens a7e5: The Genius Factor
A vision that changed our understanding of the world. A mysterious voice behind the world’s first code of laws. An inspiration that strikes two inventors at the same time. Throughout history many of the world’s greatest thinkers have credited their genius to other-worldly sources. Ancient Aliens s9e4: The Genius Factor
I have nothing to declare except [but] my genius. Oscar Wilde, New York Custom House, attributed
I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talents into my works. Oscar Wilde
Genius is born, not paid. Oscar Wilde
Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities. Oscar Wilde
Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. Bruce Feirstein
Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind. F Scott Fitzgerald
A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery. James Joyce
No-one can resist the idea of a crippled genius. Stephen Hawking
I’m not a genius; I’m just a tremendous bundle of experience. R Buckminster Fuller
Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it. Horace
My own experience is that a certain kind of genius among students is best brought out in bed. Allen Ginsberg
Those who have wrought great changes in the world never succeeded by gaining over chiefs; but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue and produces only secondary results, the second is the resort of genius and transforms the universe. Martin van Buren
There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. Oscar Levant
Persons of genius, it is true, are, and are always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
People with great gifts are easy to find, but symmetrical and balanced ones never. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day. Samuel Goldwyn
Isaac Newton is considered by many to be the greatest genius of all time. He was revered as a scientific demigod in his own lifetime. Newton revealed the nature of light, allowing us to explore the universe. He enabled us to calculate motion and predict change. He distilled the force that unites the whole universe into a precise mathematical formula. Isaac Newton: The Last Magician, BBC 2013
In The Dynamics of Creation, Anthony Storr, the British psychiatrist, contends that an individual who ‘fears love almost as much as he fears hatred’ may turn to creative activity not only out of impulse to experience aesthetic pleasure, or the delight of exercising an active mind, but also to defend himself against anxiety stimulated by conflicting demands for detachment and human contact. In the same vein, Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher and writer, called genius ‘the brilliant invention of someone who is looking for a way out’. Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind
Men of scientific genius, however eccentric, rarely become truly insane – the strongest evidence for the potentially protective nature of creativity. ibid.
Melvin Hausner recalled: ‘He was always buried in thought. He’d sit in the common room by himself. He could easily walk by you and not see you. He was always muttering to himself. Always whistling. Nash was always thinking ... If he was lying on a table, it was because he was thinking. Just thinking. You see could see he was thinking. ibid.
‘He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. A profound dislike for merely absorbing knowledge and a strong compulsion to learn by doing is one of the most reliable signs of genius. He was obsessed with learning from scratch. Milnor recalled, ‘It was as if he wanted to rediscover; for himself, three hundred years of mathematics.’’ ibid.
He was always on the lookout for problems. ‘He was very much aware of unsolved problems,’ said Milnor. ‘He really cross-examined people on what were the important problems.’ ibid.
John von Neumann was the very brightest star in Princeton’s mathematical firmament and the apostle of the new mathematical era ... A giant among pure mathematicians by the time he was thirty years old, he had become in turn physicist, economist, weapons expert, and computer visionary. Of his 150 published papers, 60 were in pure mathematics, 20 in physics, and 60 in applied mathematics, including statistics and game theory. ibid.
[John] von Neumann could divide two eight-digit numbers in his head. ibid.
Nash wrote his first paper, one of the great classics of modern economics, during his second term in Princeton. The Bargaining Problem is a remarkably down-to-earth work for a mathematician, especially a young mathematician ... behaviour that economics had long considered part of human psychology, and therefore beyond the reach of economic reasoning, was, in fact, amenable to systematic analysis. ibid.
The entire edifice of game theory rests on two theorems: Von Neumann’s min-max theorem of 1928 and Nash’s equilibrium theorem of 1950 ... Nash introduced the distinction between cooperative and noncooperative games ... By broadening the concept to include games that involved a mix of cooperation and competition, Nash succeeded in opening the door in applications of game theory to economics, political science, sociology, and, ultimately, evolutionary biology. ibid.
He [Nash] proved that for a certain very broad class of games of any number of players, at least one equilibrium exists – so long as one allows mixed strategies. ibid.
Mikhail Gromov, the geometer whose book Partial Differential Relations builds on Nash’s work ... ‘Many of us have the power to develop existing ideas. We follow paths prepared by others. But most of us could never produce anything comparable to what Nash produced. It’s like lightning striking. Psychologically the barrier he broke is absolutely fantastic. He has completely changed the perspective on partial differential equations. There has been some tendency in recent decades to move from harmony to chaos. Nash says chaos is just around the corner’. ibid.
Conversation enriches the understanding but solitude is the school of genius. Edward Gibbon
What’s the matter with being a loner and innovative? Isn’t that fine? But the [lone genius] has the same wishes as other people. If he were back in high school doing science projects, fine. But if he’s too isolated and he’s disappointed in something big, it’s frightening, and fright can precipitate depression. Paul Howard, McLean Hospital