A genius on the one hand does need to be a bit dutiful or meek. Picasso, for example, spent a lot of energy learning realism before he mediated into abstraction. And Darwin thought deeply about Lamarckian evolution legacy before he hypothesized Survival of the Fittest. In other words, an original mind does need some agreement to authority or to what other people named "the rules" before she herself had a role in naming them.
That said, in 1998, psychologists Gregory Feist and Michael Gorman published a still foundational article on the personalities of successful scientists, concluding that "eminent-creative scientists" contain the following personality characteristics: dominance, arrogance, hostility, self-confidence, ambitiousness, focus on achievement, autonomy, introversion, independence, openness to experience, and flexibility in behaviour and thought.
But to be that sort of genius who changes history, you probably do need a delicate, odd mix of the two of independence and dependence. You need to be the sort of person who's invested in learning all that's happened so far and then equally anxious to change it.
There is, after all, a difference between more and less useful rebellion. Useful rebellion tends to come from someone who's committed to a community. Picasso was committed to art history; Darwin was committed to science.
A useful original mind has spent a lot of time digesting the scene he or she is in and feels invested in it. He or she is deeply curious about the world, and part of her own identity is tied up in her community. He or she might, of course, rip down old ideas out of some inborn rebelliousness.
An independent thinker often has a personality style that likes to kick against the pricks. But more importantly he or she has also wrestle with that personal rebellion to the goals of a larger community.
Purely selfish rebellion tends to be shallow and less productive. Think of someone who is just entering a job and doesn't yet have a commitment to it. He or she wants fame for fame's sake. He or she doesn't feel comfortable about they place in the world, and so can't love things in the world. Think of the original but non-social terrorist. Think of anyone who's is prone to destructive, rather than useful, unconventional behaviour.
Overpowered by self-interest, he or she is a reactionary rebel he or she rebels without digesting previous ideas, without committing to some society. That sort of rebellion tends to be quickly won and quickly overcome by the bigger forces of social concern.
Right now, I'm actually thinking of genius through the analogy of what happens in the Education systems in the UK. I f we look at it. Some students hate authority of any sort--and some of those students speak up a lot in class, making frequent comments, expressing their independence and ability to make judgments. They can do it without deeply considering the opinions already circulating in the class. Those are relatively selfish rebels. They like the effect of rebellion but haven't stitched that rebellion into the larger needs of the community.
Others speak up more cautiously many of them are still original, but the originality is tempered by a sense of the community. They've digested ideas from textbooks and from other students, and they speak in relation to what's come before.
The first type is an original thinker whose energy is still self-serving; whose ideas have a relatively shallow foothold. The second is an original thinker who is similarly driven by independence but has learned the history and direction of his or her community. His or Her comments answer to deep needs of the world around him or her and often deal with multiple problems at once.
So, that's one big characteristic of successful inventive thinkers. They learn the past in order to create a relevant new future. They have a mix of conformity and rebelliousness. Each of us can foster this personal style in ourselves by cultivating humbleness at the same time as we grow rebelliousness. Each is a blessing when the two come in tandem.
- How do you create a genius with the right mix of rebel to further cause of Equality and diversity within the organisation?
- What do you think?
- Where are you?
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