Formula For Creativity

22/2/2015
FormulaforHumanGeniusandCreativity
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Contents:Articles
Therootsofcreativityandgenius
DrPiotrWozniak
Summer2001
Thisarticleisanattemptatformulatingaprescriptionforgeniusandcreativity.In
equalpart,itwaswrittentoinspirethebrightonesasitissupposedtohelpthose
whoconsiderthemselveslessintellectuallyfortunate.Inshort,itwillreiteratethe
claimthattrainingcandomiraclestoyourmind.Itwillattempttodemonstratethat
amajorityofpopulationcanreachtoday'sstandardsofgenius.Itwilllist
nearlyfortypreconditionsandfallaciesrelatedtogeniusandcreativity.Itwillalso
attemptatpresentingasimplifiedmetaphorofgeniusforthesakeofdemystifying
theconcept.Hopefully,itwillalsoencourageparentstosparenoeffortin
providingrichandlovingenvironmentfortheirkidstogrowin
Contents
HighIQinhighdemand
Naturevsnurturedilemmaresolved
Whatisintelligence?
Thecomputingbrain
Whatisspecialaboutageniusbrain?
Workingoutgenius
Smartanddumblearning
Predictingthefuture
Whatiscreativity?
Ingredientsofcreativity
Personalityfactor
Creativeenvironment
Negativeandpositiveemotions
Lifelonglearning:Rebirthofthe
Renaissanceman
MajorGeniusFallacies
Summary:GeniusChecklist
GeniusFAQ
Ukrainian
Sidelinestories
Biologicalbasisofgenius
Downsyndrome
Dyslexia
Expertsystems
Ideafisher
JohannesGutenberg
CharlesDarwin
ThomasEdisonandNicolaTesla
SteveWozniak
TimBernersLee
Polgarsisters
WilliamJamesSidis
Geniusinchess
Predictivelapses
InsertsrelatedtoSuperMemo
SuperMemoandcontradiction
SuperMemoandcomplexity
Incrementalreading
Associationalthinking
Knowledgeselection
RepresentingSuperMemo
HighIQinhighdemand
Intelligence,creativityandgeniusaregenerallyregardedashighlyvaluableassetsofthehumanmind.As
astrongpositivecorrelationexistsbetweenIQandthemedianearnedincome,mostpeoplewouldgladly
boosttheirIQ,improvecreativityoracceptbeingcalledagenius.Exceptionstothisrulearefewand
mostrevolvearoundaclaimthatintelligencemaybeanobstacleonthewaytowardsuniversal
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/genius.htm
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happiness.Hereareafewexemplaryargumentsagainsthumanintelligencelistedbythedetractorsof
genius:
highintelligencerevealsexistentialtruthsandassuchishighlydepressive
highintelligencepreventsatavisticenjoymentofrelationships
highintelligenceisasourceofenvyandotherbadfeelingsinothers
highintelligenceleadstoinhumanbehaviorsandmostsophisticatedformsofevil
Inthisarticle,Iwilltacitlyignoretheaboveclaimsandassumethatyouwouldgladlybecomemore
intelligent,creativeorinnovative.Ibelieveitcanbeshownthatanincreaseinknowledgeandcreative
powercanstatisticallyleadstomore"goodness"(see:Goodnessofknowledge).Iwilltacitlyassume
throughoutthistextthatachievingcreativegeniusisadesirablegoal.
Naturevsnurturedilemmaresolved
Manybooksonpsychologyputasubstantialemphasisonthenaturevsnurturedebate.Psychologistask
whichfactorsaredecisiveindevelopinghumanbehavioralcharacteristics:geneticbackgroundor
educationandupbringing?Asfarasintelligenceisconcerned,bothgeneticsandupbringingdetermine
thefinaloutcome.Usingreductioadabsurdumwequicklynoticethatwehavenotyetrecordedacaseof
asuccessinsciencebyanindividualaffectedwithDownsyndrome,i.e.wecaneasilyshowthatgenetics
canstifleintellectualdevelopment.Atthesametime,wenoticethatindividualsdeprivedofeducation
andhumancontactmaybedeprivedoftheabilitytoread,speakorconductabstractreasoning,i.e.we
canshowthatlackofeducationmaybeequallydevastatingtothehumanmind(see:Feralchildren).
ThepowerofgeneticsonthefunctioningofthebrainisillustratedbyafflictionssuchasDownsyndrome
(mentalretardation),dyslexia(readingproblems),amusia(problemswithrecognizingsoundsandmusic),
unipolarandbipolardisorders(depressionandmanicdepressivedisorder),andmanymore.Thesefactors
ononehandillustratethatwemayatbirthbehandicappedinthequestforgenius.Atthesametime,
behavioraltherapiesusedinalllistedcases,showthetremendouspoweroftrainingindeveloping
compensationfordisability.
Ifyoulookatthehumanbrainfrom100,000yearsago,youwillnotseemuchdifferencewhencompared
withtoday'sbrains.Yettrainingandeducation,aswellastheabilitytocommunicateandwork
collectively,hasliftedthehumanpotentialtounimaginablelevels.Seegrayinsetsformoreinsightson
thepotentialandlimitationsofthehumanbrain.
Throughoutthisarticle,grayinsertswillprovideadditionalillustrativematerial.Allinsertsareoptional!Theseare
storiesthatcaneitherexplainmajorpointsbyexampleorsimplyserveasasourceofadditionalinspiration.Theorderof
insertsisarbitrary.Eachinsertmakesaseparateandindependentreading.Somemayrequiremoreknowledgeinagiven
field(e.g.biology,computingsciences,etc.).Youdonotneedtoreadgrayinsertstounderstandthetext.Youcanreadall
insertsnow,later,ornotatall
Downsyndrome
Oftheinborndisordersthataffectintellectualcapacity,Downsyndromeisthemostprevalentandbest
studied.Downsyndromeisatermusedtoencompassanumberofgeneticdisordersofwhichtrisomy
21isthemostrepresentative(95%ofcases).Trisomy21istheexistenceofthethirdcopyofthe
chromosome21incellsthroughoutthebodyoftheaffectedperson.OtherDownsyndromedisorders
arebasedontheduplicationofthesamesubsetofgenes(e.g.varioustranslocationsofchromosome
21).Dependingontheactualetiology,thementalretardationmayrangefrommildtosevere.Trisomy
21resultsinoverexpressionofgeneslocatedonchromosome21.Oneoftheseissuperoxidedismutase
gene.Some(butnotall)studieshaveshownthattheactivityofthesuperoxidedismutaseenzyme
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(SOD)iselevatedinDownsyndrome.SODconvertsoxygenradicalstohydrogenperoxideandwater.
Oxygenradicalsproducedincellscanbedamagingtocellularstructureshencetheimportantroleof
SOD.However,thehypothesissaysthatonceSODactivityincreasesdisproportionatelytoenzymes
responsibleforremovalofhydrogenperoxide(e.g.glutathioneperoxidase),thecellswillsufferfroma
peroxidedamage.SomescientistsbelievethatthetreatmentofDownsyndromeneuronswithfree
radicalscavengerscansubstantiallypreventneuronaldegeneration.Oxidativedamagetoneurons
resultsinrapidbrainagingsimilartothatofAlzheimer'sdisease.Anotherchromosome21genethat
mightpredisposeDownsyndromeindividualstodevelopAlzheimer'spathologyisthegenethat
encodestheprecursoroftheamyloidprotein.Neurofibrillarytanglesandamyloidplaquesare
commonlyfoundinbothDownsyndromeandAlzheimer'sindividuals.LayerIIoftheentorhinalcortex
andthesubiculum,bothcriticalformemoryconsolidation,areoneofthefirstaffectedbythedamage.
Agradualdecreaseinthenumberofnervecellsthroughoutthecortexfollows.Afewyearsago,the
JohnsHopkinsscientistscreatedageneticallyengineeredmousecalledTs65Dn(segmentaltrisomy16
mouse)asanexcellentmodelforstudyingtheDownsyndrome.Ts65Dnmousehasgeneson
chromosomes16thatareverysimilartothehumanchromosome21genes.Withthisanimalmodel,the
exactcausesofDownsyndromeneurologicalsymptomswillsoonbeelucidated(fortheamazing
geneticscienceinactionsee:CytogeneticsResourcesTs65Dnincludingpicturesof"Downsyndrome
mouse").Naturally,Ts65DnresearchisalsolikelytohighlybenefitAlzheimer'sresearch.
Whatevertheactualmolecularreason,overexpressionofchromosome21genesputschildrenwith
Downsyndromeatimmediatedisadvantageascomparedwithnormalkids.TheirIQrarelygoesbeyond
60.ThebrainofchildrenwithDownsyndromeisusuallysmallandunderweight.Thecerebellumand
brainstemareunusuallysmall.Soisthesuperiortemporalgyrus.Theirintellectualpotentialisfurther
limitedbyanumberofailmentssuchasrecurringinfectionsdiseases,heartproblems,pooreyesight,
etc.Geneticsisatrueroadblockhere.PeoplewithDownsyndromehave(untilnow)neverbecome
greatscientists,novelists,politicians,etc.
Atthesametime,medicaltreatment,conducivefamilyenvironment,vocationaltraining,etc.can
increasinglyproduceexcellentimprovementintheoveralldevelopmentofDownsyndromekids.On
onehand,Downsyndromeshowsthatwecannotjumpovergeneticlimitationsontheother,itshows
thatintensetrainingcanproducemiracleswhateverthestartingpoint.Inconclusion,theoptimumpath
toexcellencegoesviathementaltrainingindependentofgeneticlimitations
Whatisintelligence?
Youwillfindmanydefinitionsofhumanintelligenceofwhichthreemakethemostofthedailyuseof
theword:
1. problemsolvingabilitythepowerofthehumanmindtoprocessinformationandsolve
problems.Whenyouseeabrightscientistwithwideknowledgeandnumerousdiscoveriestohis
credit,youmaysay:Thispersonisreallyintelligent!Lookathisrecord!Touseacomputer
metaphor,thescientistisendowedwiththebesthardwareandsoftwaremoneycanbuy.Heorshe
isoptimallyequippedforproblemsolving
2. processingpowertherawnimblenessandagilityofthehumanmind.Whenyouseeasmart
studentquicklylearnnewthings,thinklogically,solvepuzzlesandshowuncannywit,youmay
say:Thisguyisreallyintelligent!Seehowfasthisbrainreacts!Thestudenthasafastprocessor
installedandhisRAMhasalightningaccesstime.Hemaythoughstillneedacoupleofyearsto
"build"goodsoftwarethroughyearsofstudy.IQtestsattempttomeasurethissortofintelligence
inabstractionofknowledge.Thedifficultyofimprovingprocessingpowerbytrainingcomesfor
similarreasonsasthefactthatprogrammingcannotspeeduptheprocessor
3. intelligencepotentialthepotentialtodevelopintelligenceinsenseslistedabove.Whenyouseea
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youngchildthatshowsanumberoftalentsandseemstobeonastraightpathtobecomeanimble
studentoraprolificscientist,youmaysay:Thiskidisreallyintelligent!Theskyisthelimitfor
him.Thekidisequippedwithhighqualityextensiblehardwareinfrastructure.Heisonthebest
pathtoreachhighestintelligencebothintermsofprocessingpower(Definition2)andproblem
solvingability(Definition1)
Inthisarticle,Iwillfocusonwaystowardsdevelopingtheintelligenceinthesenseofproblemsolving
ability(i.e.Definition1).Afterall,thewholepurposeofeducationistoimproveourproblemsolving
ability,i.e.theabilitytooptimallyanswerquestionssuchasWhattoeatfordinner?Whatjobtotake?
Howtobuildabettermousetrap?Whatshouldmypositiononabortionbe?WhichpartyshouldIvote
for?etc.
HighIQiswelcomebutitmakesupforonlyafractionofintelligence(Definition1).Asmuchasafast
processorstandsonlyforafractionforwhatweexpectofagoodcomputer.
Laterinthearticle,Iwillargueinsupportforthescientificallyobviousstatement:welldesigned
trainingcanproduceamazingresultsinenhancingintelligence(Definition1).However,this
statementissurprisinglylittleunderstoodingeneralpopulation.Itfallsintothecategoryofscientific
factsthatmayfindmoreskepticsthanbelievers.Naturally,voxpopulidoesnotdetractfromthemeritsof
evolution,geneticengineering,humancloning,BigBangtheory,sociocybernetics,neuropsychological
interpretationofthethoughtandconsciousness,etc.However,tomaketheobviousmoredigestible,I
willusethecomputermetaphortoillustratethebuildingblocksofintelligenceandgenius
Thecomputingbrain
Theneuralnetworkofthebraincanbeseenasmentalhardware.ItincludesinbornROMmemoryaswell
ashighlyplasticRAM.TheinbornwiringandstructureofthebrainmayroughlybecomparedtoaROM
memory.Ifyoustopeatingforaday,programstoredinyourROMwillmakeyouexperiencehunger.
ThingswelearninlifecanbeconsideredsoftwarethatisstoredinyourRAM.
IfyoudoubtamentalROMexiststrythefollowingexperiment:lookatthecomputerscreen,keepyour
eyesopen,stayconsciousandyettrynottoperceivethepictureofthescreen.Seemsimpossible?Now
trytosuperimposethefaceofalovedpersonbyusingthepowerofyourimagination.Thisiseasyfor
mostpeople.HereisyourRAMinactionsuperimposingoveraROMenforcedperception.Youcaneven
imaginetouchingpartsoftheimaginaryface.Yetthescreenunderneathdoesnotseemreadytogoaway.
Theimpulsesfromtheretinahitthevisualcortex,andyoucandolittleaboutit.
Knowledgeisencodedinthemodifiablestrengthofconnectionsbetweenneuronsinasimilarwayasbits
arestoredbyelectricalchargesincellsofRAMmemory.Oursoftwarecanroughlybecomparedtoan
expertsystem.Anexpertsystemisasoftwareapplicationthatcanbeusedinproblemsolvingsuchas
producingamedicaldiagnosis.Anexpertsystemisbuiltoftwocomponents:factualknowledgeandan
inferenceengine.Theyroughlycorrespondtodataandsoftwareinacomputerortoknowledgeand
reasoninthehumanbrain.
Expertsystems
Expertsystemsarecomputerprogramsthattakeoverthejobofanexpertinahighlyspecializedfield
suchasmedicaldiagnosis,productionmanagement,criminalprofiling,etc..Anexpertsystemisfed
withdataandit'sjobistoanswerquestionssuchas:"Whatisthelistofthemostlikelydiseasesthe
patientissufferingfrom?","Whichsuppliesneedtobeorderednext?",or"Whichoffendersinthe
databasematchtheprofileofthedescribedcrime?".Expertsystemsprovideanexcellentmetaphorfor
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studyinghumanproblemsolvingandprovidecluesforenhancingcreativity.
Anexpertsystemisusuallybuiltofaknowledgebase(collectionoffactsrepresentingfactual
knowledge)andaninferenceengine(collectionofrulesrepresentinginferentialknowledge).An
expertsystemmaystorefactssuchas"E.colibacteriaisnotresistanttonorfloxacin"and"E.colican
causeurinarytractinfections".Itcanalsostoreupdateablefactssuchas:"Painduringduringurination
isassociatedinX%ofcaseswithurinarytractinfection"(whereXisanumberregularlyupdatedasthe
expertsystemimprovesitsknowledge),or"E.coliisacauseofY%ofurinarytractinfections".The
expertsystemcanalsostorerulessuchas"If(Aisanantibiotic)and(Bisabacteria)and(patientis
infectedwithB)then(suggestadministrationofA)".Somerulescanbefuzzy,i.e.applicablewitha
degreeofprobabilityorproducingagivenoutcomewithagivenprobability,forexample,"If(patient
infectedwithE.coli)then(probabilityofsuccesswithnorfloxacinisP%)"or"If(probabilityofE.coli
infectionisgreaterthanP%)then(usenorfloxacin)".Byanalyzingthefactsstoredinthedatabaseand
factsfedintotheexpertsystem,theexpertsystemcanuseitsinferencerulestoanswerquestionsonthe
optimumantibiotictherapy.Itcanalsogeneratetheprobabilityprofileofthesuccessfulapplicationof
individualantibiotics.Althoughthedifferencebetweenstaticfactsandifthenrulesinanexpertsystem
isveryclearcut,thereisnosharpfactruledistinctioninthehumanbrainwhichusesneural
representationsforstoringknowledge.However,thedifferencebetweenfactsandrulesisveryvaluable
inexplainingthedifferencebetweensmartanddumblearning.
Expertsystemsarealwaysbasedonstoringlargeamountsofinformation.Theyarebuiltbypeekingat
humanexpertsinactionandconcludingabouttheirreasoning.Aknowledgeengineeroranexpert
himselfneedstoformulatetherulesthatareusedinarrivingatasolutiontoaproblem.Consequently,
thereisaverydirectparallelbetweenanexpertsystemandahumanexpertinaction.
Muchofexpertthinkingismuchsimplerthanwhathappensinachild'sbraininthecourseofordinary
play!Thereasonforthisisthatweareinbornwithpowerfulcomputingmachineryforvisual
processing,forassociation,foranalyzingmotion,forspatialorientation,forphonologicalanalysis,for
languageparsing,etc.Achildrecognizingasimplebabalanguagemaybehardertoimitateina
computerthananexpertbotanistrecognizingoneofathousandspeciesofplant.AsMarvinMinskyput
it:Itcanbehardertobeanovicethantobeanexpert!Aprogramwrittenin1961byJamesSlagle
couldsolvecalculusproblemsthatarenormallygiventocollegestudents.Thisprogramwasableto
scoreanAonanMITexam.Thisprogramneededonlyaboutahundredalgebraicrulestosolveallthe
requiredcalculusproblems!Calculuspermeatesengineeringandformspartofthefoundationofthe
industrialworld.Itisalsoaclassroomnightmaretomanystudents.Yetinessenceitisverysimpleand
compact.Simplicityofcalculuspowerfullyillustrateswhatourbrainswerenotborntodo.Italso
showswhatnewpowersourbrainscanacquirewithrelativelylittleeffortifthenewknowledgeis
selectedintherightway.Algebracanserveasamodelofabstractnessofrules.Afterall,itisbasedon
symbolsthatcanmeananything:aplaneorabirdorjustanything.Asstatedthroughoutthisarticle,
abstractnessofrulesstoredinthehumanbrainlaysatthefoundationofcreativethinking.
Whatanexpertneedstoknowcanindeedbesimple.However,itisoftennotsimpletodiscoveror
explicitlyformulateitinthefirstplace.Manystudentsmayhaveproblemswithcalculusbecauseofthe
simplefactthatsomerulesofcalculusarehighlyheuristicandcannotbefoundinmathbooks.Good
(orratherhardworking)studentsacquirethoserulesimplicitlybysolvingalargenumberofcalculus
tasks.Poorstudentscouldeasilycatchupiftheirbooksorteachersexplicitlyformulatedthosehazy
rules,e.g.ifyouseethosetwosymbolsontheleft,gofortheruleXratherthanwastingtimeonthe
remainingfiveotherpossibilitiesthatcancostyouanhoureach.Humanexpertsseemmoreintuitive
thancomputers.Butthisonlycomesfromthefactthattheyapplyrulesthattheythemselveshavehard
timeformulating.Thereisnoqualitativedifferencebetweenhumanorcomputerexpertinthatrespect.
Intuitionisnotamagicpower.Intuitionisaninabilitytoexplicitlyexpressknowledgethatisalready
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wiredintheneuralnetworkofthebrain.
Aswiththehazinessoftherules,similaruncertaintymayconcerntheactualapplicationofinference
rules:theproblemsolvingstrategy.Acreativeindividualwilloftennotbeabletoclearlysayhowand
whyheorshearrivedatthesolution.Whenlaterwritingascientificpaperonthesolutiontothe
problem,thecreatorwilloftenneedtolookforaclearpathtowardsthesolutioneventhoughhehas
definitelyarrivedatthegoalbefore.Expertsystemsmayusevariousstrategiessuchasdatadriven
derivationcalledforwardchaining(goingfromthefactstoaconclusion,e.g.derivingsymptomsfroma
diseasedatabase),goaldrivenderivationcalledbackwardchaining(goingbackfromthegoaltotesta
hypothesis,e.g.testingforadiseasegiventhesymptoms),search(applyingsimplerulesrepetitively
overalargenumberofcombinationsthatcouldyieldasolution),andvariouscombinationsofthese
strategies.Asfortheproblemsolvingstrategy,thehumanbrainisevenhardertosimulate.Usuallythe
searchspaceformajorproblemsishugeandnosimplestrategycanbeused(otherwisetheproblem
wouldnotbeaprobleminthefirstplace).Thentheluckygeniusstroke,thebrilliantassociation,
insight,breakthrough,etc.isnothingelsethanapplyingtherightruletotherightdataattherighttime.
The"righttime"herereferstothedifferentstatesofthebrainatdifferentmomentsoftime.Thebrain
worksassociativelyandtwoormoreneuronalassembliesmustbeactiveatthesametimeforthe
associationtobeformed.Archimedescouldhavethoughtofvolumewhenenteringhisbathtubbefore
heyelled:Eureka!Newton'sbrainmusthavebeensensitizedtogravitywhenhewasstruckbyafalling
fruit.JamesWattmusthavehadhisenginepowerneuronspotentiatedwhenlookingatarattlingkettle.
Millionsofpeopleseekettlesdailybuttheyratherdonotthinkaboutasteamengineasaresult.The
geniusbreakthroughcomesfromanassociationofideasinthebrain.Intermsofanexpertsystem,the
rightrulemustbeappliedtotherightsetoffacts.Thebesttermtodescribehumanproblemsolvingis
heuristicsearch.Weapplyavailablerulesusingthebestsearchruleswhichmaybesubjecttoanother
layerofmetarulesthatareimplicitlyinterwovenintheintricaciesoftheneuralcircuitryofthebrain.
Inconclusion,knowledgeisthekeytoproblemsolving.Inparticular,highlyabstractinferential
knowledgeiscentraltoacreativesearchforsolutions.Thedisassociationofthelinkbetween
knowledgeandgeniuscanbeharmful.Theconfusionusuallycomesfromthefactthatmemorizing
worthlessdataisnotdifferentiatedfrommemorizingusefulrules.Manypeoplemistakenlyfailto
recognizetheassociativepowerofhumanmemoryandconcludethatrelyingonexternalsourcesof
informationmaysufficeintheirparticularfieldofactivity.Asaresult,memorizingisperceivedasa
dumbact.Somearticlesatsupermemo.comillustratethisproblem:
Intoday'sworld,informationissoabundantandcanbeaccessedsoreadilythatitishardly
necessarytolumberone'smemorywithit(fromSuperMemoisUseless)
Itshouldbeenoughtocreateinourmemorysomesortofanindextotheglobalwealthof
information(fromNoforceintheworld...)
Themostimportantthingswelearnfromexpertsystemsisthatextensiveknowledgehelpssolve
problems.Wealsolearnthatthewaywerepresentknowledgemaydeterminethesuccessfuloutcomeof
problemsolving.Conclusions:weneedtokeeponlearningandweneedtopayspecialattentionto
howwerepresentthingsinourmemorytoensureweunderstandtheimplicationsofthethingswe
learn.
ForaquickcourseonbasicconceptsofExpertSystemsandArtificialIntelligencesee:ABCofAI
Factualknowledgeismadeoffacts.Afactmayhaveaformof"JimmyCarterwaselectedtheUS
presidentin1976"or"AbrahamLincolnwasassassinatedin1865".Inferenceengineisbasedon
inferentialknowledge.Inferentialknowledgeismadeofasetofrules.Unlikestaticfacts,rulescanbe
appliedtofactstoproducemorefacts,assertions,statements,theorems,formulas,etc.Forexample,a
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rulemaysay"Sincethe22ndAmendment,aUSpresidentcannotserveformorethantenyears"(i.e.two
termsplustwoyearsofpossiblesuccession).Fromafact"JimmyCarterwasthepresident"andfroma
rule"Presidentcannotserveformorethan10years"wecanderivenewknowledge:"PresidentCarter
servednomorethan10years".Inmathematics,afactmaysaythatx=3andarulemaysaythat
x+x=2*x.Byapplyingtheruletothefactwecanconcludethat3+3=2*3.Rulescanthenbeusedto
derivenewfactsandnewrules.Ifweknowthatx+x>x(forx>0)thenwealsoderiveanewrule:2*x>x.
Inthecourseofproblemsolving,ourbrainwilloftendevelopnewrulesandstoretheminmemory.
Thesenewruleswillformahighlyvaluablecomponentofyourknowledgeandwilldecideonyour
creativepowers.ReneDescartessaid:"EachproblemthatIsolvedbecamearulewhichserved
afterwardstosolveotherproblems"
Apartfromdeclarativefactsandruleswhichwecanlearninatextbook,ournervoussystemalso
includesotherformsofknowledge.Forouranalysiswewillmostlyneedtodiscern:inbornknowledge
andproceduralknowledge.InbornknowledgecanbecomparedtorulesstoredinourROM.For
example,whenfeelingaburningpaininfingers,retractthearm.Proceduralknowledgeisknowledge
thatisacquiredbytrialanderrorviapunishmentrewardstimuli.Forexample,whenwerideabicycle,
eachtimewelosebalance,aninformationissenttothemotorsystemnottorepeattherecentmovesthat
shouldbeconsideredanerror.Atthesametime,theelationofsmoothride,reinforcesthecircuits
responsibleforsequentialstimulationofmusclesinvolvedincycling.
Apartfrominferenceengine,ourbrainisequippedwithasortof"interferenceengine".Ourbrainwas
programmedforsurvival.Itissupposedtomakeyousearchforsourcesofwaterwhenyouarethirstyor
reactwithinteresttoanattractiverepresentativeoftheoppositesex.Wearedrivenbyinstinctsand
emotions.Emotionshelpedhumanssurvivethousandsofyearsofevolution.However,emotionsalso
interferewiththeintellectualeffort.IsaacNewtonmightbethebrightestscientificmindofthe17th
century,yetthelast25yearsofhislifeweremarredbyabitterbattlewithLeibnitzovertheirclaimto
havinginventedthecalculus.AlanTuring,thefatherofthefamousTuringTest,committedsuicideby
cyanidepoisoningundertheburdenofintolerancebroughtforthbyhishomosexuality.Hismindmight
havebeenaffectedbyahormonaltherapythatwassupposedto"cure"himofhomosexuality.Eventhe
greatestmindmaybeincapacitatedbyastronginterferencefromhormonesorlowerlevelbraincircuits.
Emotionscanliterallykillgenius.
Hereisthesummaryofthecomputermetaphorofthehumanmind.Terminologydefinedherewillbe
usedthroughouttherestofthisarticle:
Hardwarethebrain
Infrastructurebraincomponents:cortex,thalamus,cerebellum,
basalganglia,etc.
ROMinbornknowledge(e.g.acrophobia)
Softwareknowledge
Declarativeknowledgetextbooksknowledge
Factse.g.Maryisapilot
Rulese.g.Allsnakesarereptiles,formulaforsolving
quadraticequations,etc.
Proceduralknowledgeskills(e.g.playingpiano,touchtyping,
swimming,etc.)
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Interferenceemotions,instincts,reflexes(e.g.hunger,thirst,orgasm,etc.)
positiveemotions(e.g.passion,laugh,elation,zeal,energy,etc.)
negativeemotions,instincts,reflexes(e.g.anger,envy,hate,
malice,etc.)
Intheabovelight,wecansimplifygeniustothefollowing:
Geniusisbasedongoodhardware,excellentknowledge,strongmotivation,andminimumnegative
interference.
Inotherwords:
1. itishelpfultobeblessedwithahealthybrain(hardware)
2. thisbrainmustbesubjecttoalifelongtraininginacquiringusefulknowledge
(software)esp.problemsolvingknowledge
3. knowledgeablebrainmustbedrivenbystrongmotivationalfactors(drive),including
positiveemotions(passion,enthusiasm,love,etc.)
4. welldrivenknowledgeablebrainmustavoidnegativeinterferencefrominborn
weaknessesanddestructiveemotions(e.g.fewthingscloudjudgmentasbadlyas
anger,andfewthingsareasdistractingaslove)
Whatisspecialaboutageniusbrain?
Usingthe"simplifiedbrainmodel"above,Iwilltrytolookforfactorsthatdetermineageniusbrainand
howthesefactorscouldbeinfluenced.
Ageniusbraininactionwilltackleaproblem,quicklyfindanappropriatesetofrules,andderivea
solution.Actually,thespeedofprocessingtherulesisnotascriticalastheskillinchoosingthe
appropriaterulesathand.Forageniusbreakthrough,thespeedisusuallyquiteunimportant.Ittook
DarwinfiveyearstocollectdataduringhisBeagletriptocomeupwithavisionoftheevolutionary
process.Yetittookhimanother20yearscollectingallnecessarymaterial,andopinionsbeforemustering
couragetopublishOntheoriginofspecies.Thebookhaschangedourviewofthehumanspeciesfor
ever.Itishardtopinpointasinglebreakthroughorastrokeofgenius.Darwin'sreasoningwasn't
blindinglyfastneither.YetDarwin'simpactonthewaysofthemankindwasmonumental
Biologicalbasisofgenius
Humansdodifferintheirbrainpower.Somegetabiologicalheadstart,othersgethandicappedfrom
earlychildhood.Incannotbestressedenoughthoughthattheoptimumpathtowardsmaximum
achievementisalwaysthroughtraining.Thestartingpointisnotrelevantforchoosinghardwork
learningtrajectory.Itisalsoimportanttoknow,thatinmajorityofcases,mentallimitationscanbe
overcome.Somemajordisabilities,suchasDownsyndromeorbraininjurycanposeaformidable
challenge.However,practiceshowsthatahugeproportionofthepopulationseeaproblemwhereit
doesnotexist.Manypeoplewritetomeabouttheirmemoryproblemsjusttodiscover(e.g.with
SuperMemoanalyticaltools)thatqualitativelytheirmemorydoesnotdifferfromtheirpeers.What
usuallypreventspeoplefromreachingintellectualheightsispersonalityandtheenvironment(school,
family,etc.).Manydonotliveuptotheirpotentialsimplybecauseofinsufficientmotivationorbelief
intheirownpowers.Othersfailduetoparentalinattention.Thosefactorsarestatisticallybyfarmore
importantthaninbornlimitations.
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ScientistshavestudiedEinstein'sbraintolookforthecluesastohisgenius.Oncursoryexamination,
theycouldhardlyfindany.Laterittranspiredthatsomeareasofhisbrainwereindeedbetterdeveloped
andnourishedbyarichfabricofglialcells,i.e.braincellsthatare,amongothers,responsibleforthe
rightenvironmentforneuronstoworkin.Yetitisdifficulttopredicateastowhetherallthese
differenceswereinbornorwereratheraresultofhistraininginabstractthinking.
Anatomicalstudiesshowthatvariousareasofthehumanbrainmaysubstantiallydifferinsizebetween
individuals.Yetitisnoteasytofindcorrelationsbetweenthesedifferenceandmentalpowers.In
peoplewithanormalrangeofIQ,thevolumeofcerebralcortexmayvarytwicebetweenoneperson
andthenext.Somaytheextentofdifferencesinmetabolicratesinthesameorgan.Similardifferences
havebeenfoundbetweensuchcriticalbrainstructuresasthehippocampus,entorhinalcortex,andthe
amygdala.Connectionsbetweenthehemispherescandramaticallydifferinvolume(e.g.sevenfold
differencefortheanteriorcommissure).Theleftinferiorparietallobule(locatedjustabovethelevelof
theearsintheparietalcortex)islargerinmen,andwasalsofoundtobelargerinEinstein'sbrainas
wellasinthebrainsofmathematiciansandphysicists.Ontheotherhand,thetwolanguageareaofthe
cortex:BrocaandWernickeareasarelargerinwomen,whichmayexplainwhywomenmightbe
superiorinlanguageprocessingandverbaltasks.Biggermenhavebiggerbrainsbutarenotsmarter.
AraciallysensitivesubjectoflowerSATtestscoresamongblacksandHispanicsintheUShasbeena
matterofdebateforanumberofyears.Thedifferencescouldnotbeexplainedbythematerialstatusof
familiesortheneighborhoodfactor.StanfordpsychologyprofessorClaudeSteelehasconducted
revealingexperimentsinwhichblackstudentscoulddoequallywellonthetestaslongastheywerenot
toldtheyarebeingscored.
Althoughwecanpointtodifferencesbasedonsexorethnicity,theultimatedifferenceinthecreative
potentialisbyfarmoredependentontheupbringing,educationandstudent'spersonality.Asexplained
inGeniusinChess,despitechessbeinga"malegame",femalechessplayer,JuditPolgar,developed
skillsthataresuperiortothoseof99.99997%ofthemalepopulation.
WhenwetriedtoseeifstudentIQmakesiteasiertodowellinlearningandinexams,wefoundthat
somepersonalityfactorsmattermore.AsmallgroupofstudentslearnedwithSuperMemo,andthe
mainsuccessfactorwastheperfectionismtrait,nottheactualIQ(Wozniak1994,Gorzelanczyketal.
1998).Mostoptimistically,SuperMemoandmemoryresearchshowthatourmemoryworksinthe
samewayattheverybasicmolecularandsynapticlevel.Ourforgettingisdescribedbythesame
forgettingcurvewhosesteepnessismostlydeterminedbyknowledgerepresentation.Astheanalysisof
successstorieswithSuperMemoshows,mainlearningdifferencesbetweenindividualscanbefoundin
(1)personality(perseverance,delayedgratification,optimism,etc.)and(2)knowledgerepresentation
skills.Aweeklongcourseinmnemonictechniquesimmediatelyillustratesthatknowledge
representationskillscanbelearnveryfastindeed.Thoseskillsalsodevelopinproportiontotheamount
oflearningasdemonstratedbydifferencesbetweenprimary,secondary,undergraduateandgraduate
levels.AllusersofSuperMemo,unlessprimedbeforehand,startwithbuildingclumsycollectionsof
learningmaterialthatisquitedifficulttoretaininmemory.Withinmonths,mostusersdevelop
reasonablestrategiesonhowknowledgeshouldberepresentedtominimizetheeffortoflearning(see:
20rulesofformulatingknowledgeinlearning).
Toproducebreakthroughideas,mostvaluablerulesarethosethatarehighlyabstract(i.e.detachedfrom
aparticularsubjectmatter).Theyshouldbeapplicabletoawiderangeofproblems.Thisiswhyvarious
branchesofmathematicsshouldbetaughttostudentsofallprofessions.Logic,probabilitycalculus,or
statisticsarehighlyabstractandhighlyapplicable.Thesameformulaoflogicmaybethebasisofdozens
ofotherhighlyabstractrules.Surprisingly,manyprofessionalsfindithardtodifferentiatebetween
conjunctionssuchasAND,OR,AND/OR,orXOR.Letalonethedifferencebetweendeductionand
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inductionwhichformsthebasisofscientificinvestigation,aswellasthebasisoflogical(read"correct")
thinkingaboutsuchsimplechoicesinlifeasselectingtheappropriatebrandofcerealsforbreakfast
Ruleabstractness:Ifyoulearntherule"Wheatcontains340kcalper100grams"itsisonlyapplicable
towheat.Ifyounarrowthetermwheattoasingleconcept(i.e.notgrainofallspeciesofplancalled
"wheat"),thisrulecanbeinterpretedasafact.However,therule"Mostcerealscontain330360kcalper
100grams"isprobabilisticallyapplicabletobothwheatandmaize.Thelatterruleismoreabstractand
statisticallymorevaluableinproblemsolving(i.e.youcanusecerealruleinmorecircumstancesthan
thewheatrule)
Theapplicabilityofrulesdoesnotonlydependontheirexpressmeaning.Theactualrepresentationofthe
ruleinthehumanbrainisparamount!Thesameruleinthemindofageniuscanfindadozenmore
applicationsthancanbeborneoutofaneffortofaplaincrammer.Theskilloflearningtherulestheright
wayisacriticalcomponentofgenius.Geneticcomponentmayplayaminorrolehere.Manyindividuals
finditdifficulttorepresentknowledgeintheirmindsinawaythatcanleadtoageniusbreakthrough.
Understandingtherightformsoftrainingforabstractrepresentationofrulesinthehumanmindmay
bringuntoldbenefitstomankindinyearstocome.
Letususeourcomputermetaphortoillustratetheproblem:
Ifwetakethisrule:"ifHardDiskSpace<5MBthenraise(HardwareAlert('Runningoutofharddisk
space')"
IfyoutypethisruletoMSWordandsaveitinadocfile,therulewillbeasuselessasanyrulecrammed
intoyourmemorywithoutunderstanding.YetthesameruleencodedinahardwaremonitorDLLcanbe
ablessingtothesecurityofdatastoredinyourcomputer.Thewaywerepresentrulesinourbrain
determinestheirapplicability.
Forthesamereason,Istartedthisarticlewithacomputermetaphor.ThiswayItriedtorepresentthe
foundationknowledgeofthistextinaformthatiseasilyunderstoodbyeveryone.TherulesIam
expressingcanhopefullybeeasiertodigestandstoreinyourmindwithamoretangiblelongterm
benefit.Withtheappropriaterepresentation,noscientifictheoryiscomplex.Allgreattheorieswereborn
inthehumanmind.Einstein,Turing,GdelorHeisenbergdidnothavetobeinherentlybrighterthan
you.However,theywereabletoarrangethepiecesofthepuzzleintheirmindinsuchawaythatthey
couldeasilyseethelight.Thereisnothinginherentlycomplexinthetheoryofrelativity,thetheoremof
incompletenessortheuncertaintyprinciple.Sometheoriesmaybemorevoluminousthanothers.Some
maybevoluminousenough,intheirdigestiblesimplerepresentation,todiscouragemanyfromdigging
in.Animportantconclusion:Noproductofhumanthoughtisinherentlycomplexor
incomprehensible.Thedifferencebetweeneasysubjectsanddifficultoncecanalwaysbeexplained
bytherepresentationandvolume.
Abstractnesscallsforparticularlywellchosenrepresentation.Thefactthatdinosaursbecameextinct65
millionyearsagomayrequirenospecialapproach.Abstractmathematics,ontheotherhand,maybe
introducedtoastudentinanumberofwaysthatdifferintheireffectivenessbymanyordersof
magnitude.Therearemanymorestudentswhofearalgebrathanthosewhotremblebeforealiterature
class.Symbolsofalgebradonothavespecializedbraincircuitstoprocessandsimplifythem.Student
problemswithalgebracanusuallybetrackeddowntoinsufficienttraininginmathatprimaryand
secondarylevels.Consequently,amotivationfactorbuildsupanotherinhibitorylayer.Thegratification
fromreadinganexcellentnovelisinstant.Thebenefitsofmathrequiregoodcommandoftherawbasics,
startingwiththemultiplicationtableandthesums.Wehavenotbeenabletofindmanyshortcutsfrom
thebasiclevelmathtowardssolvingdifferentialequations.However,yetafewyearsago,youcouldhear
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frommany:Computers?That'snotforme.Ihaveneverbeengoodattechnicalsubjects.Today,thesame
peoplesurfthenetforhours.Seniorsareflockingtothenetindroves.Wehavesucceededinsimplifying
thewaypeopleseeandusethecomputers.Wehavechangedthewaycomputingisrepresentedinpublic
mind.
BlueinsertsinthisarticlearededicatedsolelytousersofSuperMemo.Ifyouarenotauser,youcanskipthese
PopularityofSuperMemovs.knowledgerepresentation
SuperMemoisstillfarfrombeingwidelyaccepted.Itstillawaitsamomenttobepackagedinaway
thatisdigestibleforanaveragecitizen.Itsproblemisitsrepresentationinthepublicmind.Itis
surprisinglydifficulttoexplainthebenefitsofSuperMemo.Trytoconvinceyourclassmatesor
colleaguesatworktouseSuperMemotoexperiencethisdifficultyfirsthand.Itisevenmoredifficult
toexplaintheprogramitselfandhowtouseit.Anditisbyfarthehardesttoillustratethedestruction
committedonlearnedknowledgebygivingupspacedrepetition.Withoutfindingaformulafor
simplicityandpopularappeal,SuperMemowillforlongremainatoolforonlythosewiththehighest
intellectualaspirations
Inacquiringknowledge,neversay"thisarticleorbookistoohardforme".Whenlistingbooksheread
inhisyouth,CharlesBabbage,theinventorofthefirstmechanicalcomputer,wrote"Amongstthesewere
HumphryDitton's'Fluxions',ofwhichIcouldmakenothing".WeknowthatBabbagewasthelastperson
youwouldsuspectofhavingproblemswithmathematicaltexts.Ifyouseethetextofwhich"youcould
makenothing",gotothefirstsentenceandanalyzeit.Mostoftenthannot,itisjusttheauthorwhouses
thelanguageorstructurethatiseitherinappropriateornotmatchingyourpresentknowledgeinthefield.
Ifyouencounterproblems,andthereisnoexplanation,nointroduction,orifspecialistterminologyruns
outofthefieldwithoutasuitableglossary,youmaysafelyexcuseyourcomprehensionproblems.Donot
attempttodigintoadvancedchemistryarticlewithoutthebasicchemistrybackground.Everyfourth
wordmayfalloutofyourvocabularyrange.Itmaytakemonthsoryearstobuildanecessary
background!Leastofall,blameyourownperception.Justkeeponworkingharderandonedayyouwill
seethelight.
Ifyoufinddifficultmaterial,donotwastetimefordepressionordespair.Abstractnessisinherently
hardertodigestthanplainfacts.Methodicallyanalyzethereasonsforwhichyoucannotcomprehend
givenmaterial.Eitherthematerialisbadlypresentedoryouneednewknowledgethatwillresolveyour
problem.Bepatientandremember:Everythingisdifficultbeforeitbecomeseasy!Ifyouareauserof
SuperMemo2004,seeDealingwithcomplexityinSuperMemo2004laterinthisarticle
Workingoutgenius
Highachievementsinallfieldsrequirehoursoftraining.Thisreferstomusic,chess,sciences,sportsand
whatnot.IwholeheartedlysubscribetothefamousstatementbyEdison:"Geniusis1%inspirationand
99%perspiration".Trainingcanhaveamiraculousimpactonthehumanbrain.Itdoesnotmattermuch
howwellyouwereendowedbythegenetics.Yougotnobetterchoicethantocommityourselftoa
lifelongcourseoflearning.Ifyouareinaminoritythatshowsidentifiablegeneticlimitations,youmay
needtohoneyourroutinetoyourparticularneedshowever,ifyouhavealreadyarrivedtothispointin
thisarticle,healthpermitting,youarehighlylikelytobeequippedwithallthebasicintellectual
componentsforbuildinggenius.
Geniusinchess
Itisapitythatnotallthosegeniuschessbrainshadbeensufficientlyemployedinthebettermentofthis
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planet.However,theyallprovidehighlyvaluablematerialforstudyingthehumanbrainpower.There
areacoupleofreasonsforchessbeingsovaluabletostudy.Chessrulesareclearcut.Thecompetitive
achievementismeasurable.IndividualgamesareavailableforstudymovebymoveontheInternet.
Lastbutnotleast,chessisoftenassociatedwithauraofgenius,andworldchampionsgeneratelotsof
excitementthatresultsinnumerousbooksandstudiesonscientificandpopularscientificplatforms.In
thoseconditions,wecanstudyfactorsthathelpsomepeoplereachprocessingpowerthatishardto
matchwiththepresentcomputingtechnology.
Chessisagreatmetaphorforcreativity.Chessboardpositionsroughlycorrespondtofactsand
applicablemovescorrespondtoinferentialrules(see:factsandrules).Themoreabstracttherules,the
morepositionstheycanresolve.Themoreabstracttherulesyouacquire,thelesssheercomputation
yourbrainneedstodointhegameofchess.Consequently,thebetteryourchessscore.Themoverules
willoftenbebasedonpatternrecognitionruleswhocanfiltercomplexpositionintosimply
identifiablepatterns.Thebetteryourarsenalofpatternrecognitionrules,themoreapplicableyour
moverulesbecome.Therulesarethekeytochessgenius.
BritishchessplayerandauthorJonathanLevittproposedaformulalinkingchessscoreswithIQ(The
LevittEquation:Elo~(10xIQ)+1000 ).Althoughtheformuladoesnotrepresentexactscience,itisa
goodillustrationofthedifferencebetweenthetwoconceptsofintelligenceandgenius:oneofthetrue
mentalprocessingpowerandtheotherofthepotentialtodevelopit.Levitt'sformuladeterminesthe
approximatemaximumchessscoreforagivenIQassumingyearsofextensivetraining.Thepurposeof
IQistodistilinnatementalskillsfromexpertise.Althoughthisisneverentirelypossible,peoplewith
littleexpertiseinanyselectedfieldmaystillshowhighIQwhichisindicativeofhighintellectual
potential.Inchess,addingnewrecognitionandmoverulestomemorywillplateauwithtime,andthe
qualityofreshufflingtheminconditionsofmaximumconcentrationwilldeterminethechampion.
However,thereisnosubstituteforhardworkonthewaytosuccessinchess.Noamountoflateral
thinkingortranscendentalmediationwillhelp.Thechessplayer'sbrainneedstobeequippedwiththe
arsenalofthousandspositionpatterns.Thechessscoresreflectthetrueprocessingpowerofaplayers
braininthenarrowspecialtyofchess.Inreallife,highIQiswelcomehowever,whatwilldeterminea
person'ssuccessinagivenfieldistheactualabilitytosolveproblemsinthatgivenfield.Thisabilityis
alwaysrelatedtoknowledge,skillsandexpertise.Oneofthegreatestgeniusesofthepastcentury,
HerbertSimon(Nobelprizeineconomics,1978)hasdevotedhiswholelifetostudyingexpertiseand
proposedanother(veryrough)formula:ittakes10yearsforanindividualtoreachthetopranklevelin
anyfieldofexpertise(beitchess,medicaldiagnosisorbotany).Thisnumberreflectsthefactthatwe
tendtomeasurehumanaccomplishmentsrelativetotheaccomplishmentsotherindividualsinthesame
class.Withclassicallearningmethods,acquiredknowledgetendstoplateauafteraperiodoftimein
whichtheforgettingratebecomescomparablewiththeacquisitionrate.Today,thisplateaucanbe
overcomewithspacedrepetition(see:SuperMemo)thatlinearizestheacquisitionofknowledgein
lifetime.Simon's10yearperiodreflectstheapproximateacquisitionplateauinnonlinearlearning.If
anindividualworkshardenough,hewillsailclosetohismaximumknowledgeacquisitionpotentialin
moreorlesstenyears.Hisknowledgeandskills,ascomparedwithhispeers,willthenbemost
noticeable.Duetothelawofdiminishingreturns,theincreaseinexpertisewillnotbeaseasytonotice
lateron.Levitt'sformulalinkstheintellectualpotentialexpressedbyIQwiththemaximumlevelof
expertiseinthefieldexpressedbychessscore.HerbertSimon's"formula"fitswellwithchess.The
brighteststarsofchess,BobbyFischerandJuditPolgarbothgottheirgrandmastertitlesinjustunder
tenyears.Someestimatesputthenumberofpositionpatternsrecognizedbyagrandmasterat50,000.
Thisismoreorlessasmuchknowledgeasyouaccumulatewithseveralhoursperdayextensive
learningintheperiodoftenyearsinanyfield(orinamuchshorterperiodinSuperMemo).
Animportantcomponentofsuccessinchessisthewaychessknowledgeisrepresentedinthebrain.
Optimumrepresentationcannotbedescribedverbally,butitisacquiredwithtimeviatheinherent
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propertiesofneuralnetworksemployedinprocessingofthechessboardconfigurations.HerbertSimon
noticedthatgrandmastersshowhugeadvantageoveramateurplayersintheirabilitytomemorizeor
recognizemeaningfulpositionsinchess.Atthesametime,theiradvantageallbutevaporateswhenit
comestomemorizingmeaninglesspositions(i.e.thosethatarenotlikelytoresultfromarealgame).
Grandmastersseethechessboardintheirspecialway.Theyusetheirownrepresentation.Theirown
language.Theirownpatternrecognition.Thisspecialrepresentationisthekeytogettingawayfromthe
complexityofchessandreducinggamesto(relatively)simplegameofapplyingthousandsof
memorizedrulesofthewinningstrategy.Aswithmemorizingtheresultof199x199,goodrulesmake
itpossibletoreplacelengthycomputationwithaquickretrievalofasolutionorapplyingasuccession
ofjustafewwellfittingrules.Thisisalsowhyitissodifficulttowritecomputerprogramsthatcould
matchgrandmasterskills.Thosenonverbalskillsaredifficulttoconverttounfailingalgorithms.
Inessence,chesstrainingisbasedonmemorizingpositionsandmoves(see:smartvs.dumblearningif
thewordmemorizingraisesanoppositionhere).Achessplayer'sbrainsubconsciouslydevelopsa
specificchesslanguageinwhichitexpressestheeventsonthechessboard.Thislanguageisaformof
knowledgerepresentationwhich,asitisalwaysthecaseinlearning,playsacentralroleinsuccess.
Oncethisinternallanguagedevelopsandbecomestheplayer'ssecondnature,allgamesanalyzedand
played,leaveatraceofmemorizedchessknowledgeinplayer'smemory.Overyears,player'smemory
actslikeanefficientpatternrecognitioncomputer.Onelookatthechessboardresultsinaquick
retrievalofrelevantpatternsfrommemoryandaquickanalysisofnotsomanyapplicablemoverules
andtheiroutcomes.UnlikeDeepBluebeatingKasparovbyjuggling200millionspositionspersecond
initsdigitalmemory,achessplayer,withahigherrorrate,quicklyguessesbestmovesinaprocessthat
ishardtoreplicateinacomputer.
Ofnumerousinterlinkingfactors,thepersonalityofachessplayermaybeoneofthemostimportant
factorsforhisorherultimatesuccess.ThebaselineIQmaydeterminetherealisticceilingof
achievement.However,itishardworkandtrainingthatmakesagreatchessplayer.Forthis,youneeda
trulyneuroticpersonalitywithanextremeobsessionforthegame.Scrupulousanalysisofthegameand
highlycompetitivespiritarecrucialingredients.Itisthepersonalitythatturnsabuddingplayerintoa
computerlikeachievingmachinewherechesspermeatesallaspectsofanindividual'slife.Training,
tournaments,gameanalysisandthehighestaccomplishmentarecentralpointsofachesschampion's
mindthroughouthisday.Withtraining,furtherqualitiesdevelop:theartofconcentration,andchess
expertise.Ondemandconcentrationplaysagreaterroleinchessthaninotherareasofcreativeactivity.
Achessplayermustreachtopconcentrationattherightmomentandsustainahighlevelofgame
processingpoweruntilthenextmoveischosen.Ontheotherhand,successinsciences,engineering,
business,etc.willrelyonthequalityofthecreativeoutputindependentofthespeedatwhichitis
reached.Morelikeincorrespondencechess.Ifyoucanproduceabetterresultin3hoursofthinking
thananothergeniusin3minutesofthinking,youcanstillarrivetoabetterbusinessplan,better
scientifictheory,betteralgorithm,betterdesign,bettermarketingidea,etc.Yourcreationovermany
yearswillaccumulatethoseincrementalpoints.Increativity,qualitycountsmorethanspeed
Inchess,itiseasytonoticethatstatisticallyitbettertobeJewish,middleclass,andmalefortop
achievement.TheJewishfactorismoretodowithhomeenvironmentandfamilyvaluesratherthan
withgenetics.Themalefactormayhavemoretodowiththegeneshowever,JuditPolgarcouldstill
beat99.99997%malesofthisplanet(i.e.justaboutallofthemexceptfew).Additionally,women's
incentivestoenterthechessworldaremiserable(judgingbylessglamourandoffensiveprizeoffers),
anddisincentivestoleaveitarebyfargreater(seetheissueofmarriageandchildreninPolgarsisters
insert).Probably,thesexandrace,asbaselineIQ,caninfluencethehardtomeasureceilingof
achievementhowever,inpracticaltermstheyappearinconsequential.Itisthequalityandtheamount
oftrainingthatwilldeterminetheoutcome
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Ultimatelytheshortformulaforgeniusinchessis:(1)therightcompetitivepersonalitythatmakes
oneworkhardandabletoreachthepeaksofconcentrationatcriticaltimes,and(2)theresultinghard
workthatleadstomasteringthousandsofhighlyabstractchessboardrules
Similarpreconditionsaretrueforcreativityingeneral:itallbeginswiththeragetomasterandyears
oftrainingtowardsaproblemsolvingexpertiseinagivenfield
Awellplannedtrainingregimenhasbeenshowntoleadtoaremarkableprogressinpeoplesuffering
fromvariousinbornlimitationstothefunctioningofthebrain.Thebrain'samazingabilitytocompensate
forthelimitedfunctionalityofitscomponentscanbewellillustratedbyanexcellentprognosisforkids
withhemispherectomy(i.e.surgeryinwhichhalfofthebrainisremoved).Ifhemispherectomyis
conductedearlyenough,thekidislikelytoreturntonormallife.Duetothebrain'ssymmetry,adamage
tothesameareaonbothsidesofthebrainmaybehardertocompensatebutstillnotimpossible.Dyslexia
isageneticallybasedconditioninwhichreadingmayposeparticularchallengeinotherwisebright
people.Dyslecticsshowreducedactivityintheirlanguagecenterontheleftsideoftheirbrain.In
dyslexia,trainingcanbeveryfrustratingbuttherighthemispherecancompensateforthelimitationsof
theleftside.Toexperiencethehardshipofdyslectictraining,pickupthepeninyournondominanthand
andwritenowtheletterthathaswaitedyearstobewritten.Don'tjustslugitaway,trytomatchthespeed
ofyourdominanthand.Seethepain?Incidentally,Edisonwasadyslectictoo.AndsowasEinstein
Dyslexia
Peoplewhoexperiencereadingdifficultywithoutbeingotherwiseintellectuallydisabledaresaidto
sufferfromdyslexia.Studyingdyslexiaisveryvaluableforunderstandingintelligenceandcreativity.It
illustratesthepowerofinbornwiringofthebrainindevelopingmentalskills.Atthesametimeitcan
showhowinbornlimitationscanbeovercomebyusingthecompensatorypowerofthebrain.Dyslexia
iscausedbyaninabilitytohandlelinguisticinformationinvisualform.
515%ofthepopulationcanbediagnosedassufferingfromvariousdegreesofdyslexia.Itsmain
manifestationisadifficultyindevelopingreadingskillsinelementaryschoolchildren.Those
difficultiesresultfromreducedabilitytolinkupvisualsymbolswithsounds.Inthepast,dyslexiawas
mistakenlythoughttohaveamotivationalbackground.Researchersstudyingthebrainsofdyslectics
have,however,foundthatinreadingtasksdyslexicsshowreducedactivityintheleftinferiorparietal
cortex.Otherwise,dyslecticsareknowntooftenshowhigherthanaverageintelligence.Anumberof
brightbrainsaresaidtohavesufferedfromvaryingdegreeofdyslexia.ThoseincludeEinstein,Edison,
AlexanderGrahamBell,Faradayandmanyothers.Dyslecticsmayshowanaturaldislikeofreading
and,inconsequence,compensatebydevelopinguniqueverbalcommunicationskills,interpersonaland
leadershipskills.HencesomanyprominentCEOslistminortoseveredyslexiaamongtheirchildhood
disabilities.ThoseincludeRichardBranson(VirginEnterprises),HenryFord,TedTurner(AOLTime
Warner),JohnChambers(Cisco),aswellasprominentstatesmen:WinstonChurchill,George
Washington,ThomasJefferson,JohnF.Kennedyandothers.Perhapsforsimilarreasons,many
dyslexicstendtotakeonarts(e.g.TomCruiseorWhoopiGoldberg)
Thelistaboveindicatesthatthosewhoshowreadingdifficultiesinchildhoodcanalsocopewellwith
theirdeficiencylaterinlifeandbecomeavidreadersandskilledwriters.Researchshowsthatintense
trainingindyslecticshelpsthemusetherightpartoftheirbraintotakeoverthelimitedfunctionalityin
theleftpart.Evenafewweeksofintensephonologicaltraining(e.g.breakingdownandrearranging
soundstoproducedifferentwords)canhelpnoticeablyimprovereadingskills.Unlikenormaladults,
phonologicaltrainingshowsincreaseintheactivityintherighttemporoparietalcortex.Thispartofthe
brainworksinspatialtasksandmaybethemaincompensatorystructureinphonologicaltraining.This
isthesisterregionofthelefttemporoparietalcortexresponsibleforvisualmotionprocessingwhichis
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underactiveinmanydyslexics.Theearlierthephonologicalregimenistakenon,thebettertheoverall
result.Advancedbrainscanscouldidentifychildrenatriskofdyslexiabeforetheycanevenread.
In1979,anatomicaldifferencesinthebrainofayoungdyslexichavebeendocumented.Albert
GalaburdaofHarvardMedicalSchoolnoticedthatlanguagecentersindyslecticbrainsshowed
microscopicflawsknownasectopiasandmycrogyria.Bothaffectthenormalsixlayerstructureofthe
cortex.Anectopiaisacollectionofneuronsthathavepushedupfromlowercorticallayersintothe
outermostone.Amicrogyrusisanareaofcortexthatincludesonlyfourlayersinsteadofsix.These
flawsaffectconnectivityandfunctionalityofthecortexincriticalareasrelatedtosoundandvisual
processing.Theseandsimilarstructuralabnormalitiesmaybethebasisoftheinevitableandhardto
overcomedifficultyinreading.
Severalgeneticregionsonchromosomes1and6havebeenfoundthatmightbelinkedtodyslexia.In
alllikelihood,dyslexiaisaconglomerationofdisordersthatallaffectsimilarandassociatedareasof
thecortex.Withtime,scienceislikelytoidentifyandclassifyallindividualsuborderswithbenefitsto
ourunderstandingofhowlowlevelgeneticflawscanaffectthewiringofthebrainandenhanceor
reduceaparticularcomponentofhumanmentalcapacity.
Whethertoday'smodelsofdyslexiaarecorrectornot,themainlessonofdyslexiaisthatminorgenetic
changesaffectingthelayeringofthecortexinaminorareaofthebrainmayimposeinbornlimitation
ontheoverallintellectualfunction.Atthesametime,dyslexiashowsthatthebrainexhibitsastrong
abilitytocompensateforitsinbornoracquiredlimitations,andintensetrainingcanoftenresultin
miraculousturnabouts
Smartlifelongtrainingisanessentialcomponentoftheformulaforgenius!Eventhoughgenetic
backgroundorhealthmayhandicapaminority,theoptimumstrategyformaximizingtheintellectual
powerisstillthesame:asmuchqualitylearningaspossible.Learningisyourgeniusbrainworkout.
Commityourselftoheavylearningforlifetoday!Besurethatthisissmartlearning(asemphasizedin
thenextsection).Geniusofspatialsymmetry,BuckminsterFullersaid:I'mnotagenius.I'mjusta
tremendousbundleofexperience.Seealso:Practicecanmakeaperfectgenius
MostaveragestudentstodaycouldamazeAristotlewiththeirabilitytodrawconclusionsinmanyareas
ofscience.Theywouldlaughatthegreatphilosopher'stheories.Theirbrainsarebetterprimedfor
scientificthinkingthanthebrainofthegreatestphilosopherofthe4thcenturyB.C.Intoday'sworld,
yourIQorthefoldingofyourcerebralcortexarevaluableassetsbuttheyareultimatelylessimportant
thanyourabilitytosolveproblems.Thisabilityisbasedonknowledge.Andknowledgeisinherently
acquirable.Onethingyoumustnotforgetthough:Makeyourlearningsmart:
Smartanddumblearning
Tobuildgenius,yourlearningprogrammustbebasedonhighapplicabilityofnewlyacquiredskillsand
knowledge.Ifyoumemorizethewholephonebook(i.e.abigsetoffacts),youwon'tbemuchclosertoa
geniusmindandyourproblemsolvingabilitywillincreaseonlyslightly(mostlythroughthebeneficial
effectofmemorytrainingonthehealthofyourbrain).Ontheotherhand,asimpleformulaforexpected
payoffmayaffectalldecisionsyoumakeinproblemsolvingandinlifeingeneral.Itcan,forexample,
saveyouyearsofwastedinvestmentinlotterytickets.Millionsofpeopleareenticedwithhugelottery
jackpots,yettheywouldneveragreetogiveuptheirwholeincomeforlifeinordertogetitbackat
retirementinoneoffpayment,whichisafrequentprobabilisticpayoffequivalentoftakingpartin
lotteries.Usingtheterminologydefinedabove,youwillfindmostbenefitinmasteringand
understandinghighlyabstractrulesoflogicalthinkinganddecisionmaking.
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Toaccomplishsmartlearning,youwillneedtoconstantlypayutmostattentiontowhatmaterialyou
decidetostudy.Youmustavoidshorttermgratificationatthecostoflongtermlearning.Itmaybegreat
funtolearnallRomanemperorsanddetailsoftheirinterestinglivesandrule.However,unlessyoustudy
withabigpictureinmind(e.g.inanattempttounderstandwhycivilizationsthriveorfall),yourgenius
maybenefitlessthanbysloggingthroughlessfunnybuthighlyapplicableformulasofoperationresearch
(thosecanforexamplehelpyouoptimizeyourdiet,investment,dailyschedule,etc.).Inotherwords,you
cannotbeguidedjustbythefunoflearningbutbyyourgoalsandneeds.Intime,youwilllearnto
seethelinkbetweenlongtermlearningandlongtermbenefits.Youwillsimplyconditionsyourselfto
lovebeneficiallearning.Hardstudymaterialcanstillprovideinstantgratification.
Whileyoufocusonyourgoals,youcannotforgetabouttheoverallcontextofhumanlife.Youcannot
digsolelyintostudyingcarenginesonlybecausethishappenstobeyourprofession.Thiswouldputyou
atriskofdevelopingatunnelvision.Yourgeniuscouldbeseverelyhandicapped.Youmightspendyears
improvingliquidfuelengineefficiencywhileotherswouldleapyearsbygettinginvolvedinhydrogen
engines.Theirdecisionswouldnotcomefromgeniusitselfbutfromanextensiveknowledgeofthefield,
relevantsciencesandthehumanendeavoringeneral.Oneofthemainreasonsforwhichcompaniesgo
bankruptisthattheirleadershipfailstospotthechange.Ascorporatedarwinismeliminatesshortsighted
teams,futuresocietywillwitnessmoreandmoreintellectualdarwinism.Tounderstandthetrendsand
thefuture,youneedtostudyhumannature,economics,sociology,history,neurophysiology,
mathematicsandcomputingsciences,andmore.Themoreyoulickthestrongeryourpredictivepowers
andyourproblemsolvingcapacityandcreativestrength.
Abright25yearoldMicrosoftprogrammerhassuggestedtomerecentlythatIusewrongexamplesin
myarticlesonlearning.Hespecificallyreferredtothequestion"WhichyearwastheInternetborn?",
whichheclassifiedasapieceoftrivia.HeimpliedIshouldusemore"useful"examplestoencourage
readers.HeremyowntunnelvisionshowedupasIfoundhispositionverysurprising.Imisjudgedthe
conceptoftriviaintheeyesofpeoplethatdomeetthecriteriaofgenius.Thetermtriviaexcellently
reflectsthesortofknowledgewedonotwanttolearninthequestforgenius.Thesearenotsouseful
factsorrulesoflowapplicability.However,theconceptoftriviaishighlyrelative.Toachildina
kindergarten,thebirthoftheInternetisrathermeaningless.Atthisstageofdevelopment,thechildmay
finditdifficulttograsptheconceptoftheInternetitself.Mostofparentswillwaituntiltheprimary
schoolbeforeshowingachildawebbrowser(esp.thatreadingskillsmaybeneededtoappreciatethe
concept).ThevalueofputtingthedateonthebirthoftheInternetprobablydevelopsonlyinthecontext
ofanefforttounderstandthehistoryoftechnologicaldevelopment.Inthiscontext,1969maybeas
importantastheyearsofGutenberg.Onlywhenmultipleeventsofthe1960sandthe1970sdovetail
together,thecommissioningofARPANETbecomesmeaningful.Whenwefigureoutthatwelandedthe
manonthemoonbeforemakingthefirstconnectionviathenet,1969loomslarger.Ifwedigdeeper,we
mayfinditinspiringtoknowthatwhenCharleyKlinetriedtologinonOctober29,1969,thenetwork
crashedashetypedtheletterG.Thislittledetailmaystillcontributetoyourgenius!Sayyouworkon
commissioningamajorinstallationyouworkedonforseveralyears.Youknowthattheinstallation
implementsrevolutionaryconceptsyetitkeepsoncrashing.Youareabouttolosehearth.Thismaynot
necessarilybeanemotionalevent,afterallyoualsoneedtoapplyprobabilitytodecidingwhentogive
upblindalleypursuitsevenafteryearsofinvestment.ThejuxtapositionofthesmallletterGandthe
groundbreakingconceptoftheinterconnectedworldwillhelpyouseethebigpicture.Ifyourconceptis
greatenough,youwillgoonthroughanother100crashesinhopeofdiagnosingthereason.Ifyouwin,
yourmeasureofgeniuswillbeenhanced.
Listentootherpeople'sadviceandvaluations.Theyoungeryouarethemoreyoushouldlisten.Inthe
endthough,itmustbeyouwhodeterminesthecriteriaforsiftinggoldenknowledgefromtrivia.
Onlyyoucanmeasurethevalueofknowledgeinthelightofyourowngoals.
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Rememberthatnotallknowledgecaneasilybeformulatedinadeclarativemanner.Rememberthento
usethepowerofyourownneuralnetworks:solveproblems,practiceyourskills,compute,abstract,
associate,etc.Youandothersmaynotbeabletoseeorverbalizesomerulesbutyourbrainwillextract
theminthecourseofpractice.Oncetheruleshavebeendeveloped,trytoformulatethemandwritethem
down.Thiscanbeofbenefittoyouandothers
SiftingtriviainSuperMemo
InearlyversionsofSuperMemo,yourdecisionsrelatedtosiftingtriviafromvaluableknowledge
wouldbebinaryinnature:memorizeorforget.In1991,theconceptoftheforgettingindexmadeit
possibletomemorizeitemswithagivenprobabilityofrecall.InSuperMemo2004,withincremental
reading,thereisacontinuoustransitionfromtriviatoyourplatinumgeniusbuildingknowledge.
Apartfromtheforgettingindex,youcanuseordinalsandreschedulingtoolstomanageunheardof
quantitiesofknowledge
Predictingthefuture
Theabilityto"see"thefutureisoneofthebesttestsforgenius.Thenatureofspacetimedoesnotseemto
makeitpossibletoprobethefuturelikewecanprobethepastviahistoricalrecords.However,thelaws
ofphysicsprovideastrongplatformforpeekingintowhatmayhappen.Aballfallingfreelytoearthmay
beaneasyguessbasedontheNewtonianlawsofgravity.However,thetruedifficultyinpredicatingthe
winnerofGoreBushclashinOctober2000cameoutonlyaftertheelectiondayonNovember7.
Guessingthewinnerofthe2004electiontodaywouldbeyetharder.Guessingonthestateofmankind
beyond2100isagamereservedforonlythebestequippedfuturistminds.Predictivepowersaresogood
inprobinggeniusbecausetheytestallofthese:(1)nimblenessofthemind,(2)extensiveknowledgeon
themechanicsoftheuniverseandthesociety,and(3)theabstractnessofreasoningrules.Writedown
yourpredictionsofthefuturetoday.Infiveyearsyouwillbeamazedwithyourownpredictivelapses.
WhenwillwebeabletocureAIDSorcancer?Whenwillwetalkfreelytocomputers?Whatjobwillyou
landaftergraduation?Wouldyoupredictthewebexplosionin1990(i.e.beforethepublishingofthe
webprotocols)?Orin1994(i.e.alreadyafterFiloandYangstartedcollectingtheirYahoolinks)?What
knowledgedoyouthinkyoulacktodaytomakeyourpredictionsmoreaccurate?
Predictivepowersarethecornerstoneofsuccessinbusiness.Thosewhocanseethetechnologiesand
trendsthatwillshapeamarketin35yearsareposedtodowell.Herecomesthevalueofbasicsciences
suchasmathandphysicsinextractingtrendsfromthechaosofthemodernworld.Thevalueofmathand
physicscomesfromthefactthatitequipsyouwithhighlyabstractruleswithawiderangeof
applications.Thisiswhyitpayshighlytolearnartificialintelligence,neuralnetworks,sociology,
neurophysiology,systemstheory,statistics,evolutionarypsychology,history,etc.Thosesciences
formulaterulesthatmakeitpossibletobetterunderstandthereality,andmostofall,drawconclusions
aboutthereality.Thoserulesarethetoolsofcomputationforprocessingthepictureofrealityinyour
mind.
Hereisanexample:whenAlanTuringdevelopedtheconceptofhisTuringmachine,heequippedhis
geniusbrainwiththetoolforunderstandingcomputation.TheTuringmachineisasortofatoycomputer
thatscansatapeofsymbolsandstampsthetapedependingonthecurrentlyreadsymbolsanditsown
state.Turing'searlyintuitionwasthathistoycomputer,givenenoughtime,couldcomputeeverything
thatiscomputable.Iffuturewasdeterministicallycomputablefromthequantumstatesofsubatomic
particles,theTuringmachinecouldcomputeit.Iffuturewasnondeterministic,thedensityfunctionof
individualoutcomescouldbecomputedtoo.TheTuringmachinebecamethesimplestpossiblemetaphor
forthehumanbrain.TuringcouldseetheparallelbetweentheshiftingstatesoftheTuringmachineand
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thestatesofthehumanmind,includingemotionalstatesandthemostcomplexcomputationsofthe
humanthought.Turingcouldthenstateboldlythatonedaymachineswillbeasintelligentashumans.
ThefamedTuringtestisbasedonputtingacomputerinoneroom,ahumaninanother,andtestingif
outsideobserverscoulddistinguishbetweenthetwobymeansofaconversation(e.g.viaacomputer
terminal).Oncecomputersbecomeindistinguishablefromhumans,theywillhavebeensaidtohave
passedtheTuringtest.MostofpeoplelivingatTuring'stime(the1930s)woulddisagree,buttheir
predictivepowerswerelimitedbylackoftoolsforunderstandingthemindandcomputation.Turing
machineandbasictruthsaboutitsproperties,equippedTuring'sbrainwithtoolsthatmadeiteasyforhim
toseethesimpleparallelbetweenthemindandthemachine.Formostresearchersintheareaofartificial
intelligence,itisobviousthattheTuringtestwillbepassedsoonerorlater.Perhapsin2010,perhapsin
2040,butitwillhappen.Inthe1950s,HerbertSimon,usingthesameabstractrulesrelatedto
computation,spokeloudlyabouthisbeliefthatthecomputerwillbeattheworldchesschampionwithin
tenyears.Hewasoffbythirtyyears.Thisillustratesthedifficultyinpredictingthefuture,aswellasthe
powerofsomebasicabstractrules.Inthiscase,Simonconcludedthatgiventheappropriateobjective
functionforevaluatingchesspositions,itisonlythematterofthenumberofmovesthecomputercan
processbeforeitcanproducebettermovesthanahumanbeing.Heunderestimatedthepowerofhuman
braininsimplifying(read:representing)thechessboardsituation.YettheultimateoutcomeofSimon's
predictionwasinevitableandobviouslytrue.Thisexampleillustrateshowasimpleabstracttool(Turing
Machine)canbeusedtopredictthefuture(fateoftheTuringtest)byprovidingasimplemodelof
complexreality(humanbrainanditsbehavioralcharacteristics).
RayKurzweilisprobablybestknowforhisimprobablesoundingpredictionsofthefuture.Machine
intelligenceisnotonlyobvioustohim.ItshouldalsocomesoonerthanmostAIresearcherspredict.
Kurzweil'spredictivepowerscomefromimmenseknowledgeoftechnology,sciences,andthesociety.
Kurzweil'scaseshowshowextensivelearningequipsthebrainwithgeniuspowersofwhichpredictive
powersaresonoticeable.Kurzweilpredictions(includingworldwideweb)havealreadymaterializedin
anumberofcases.ReadKurzweil'slips.Thatcouldbetheshortestwaytowardsreadingthefuturesave
yourownyearsofheavylearning.
In1977,thebrightmindofKenOlson,PresidentoftheDigitalEquipmentCorporation,committeda
notoriousblunderexpressedattheConventionoftheWorldFutureSociety.Olsonsaid:Thereisno
reasonforanyindividualtohaveacomputerintheirhome.PossiblyreadingthistextonyourhomePC,
youmaywonderhowKenOlsoncouldpossiblybeconsideredbrightifhecouldnotseeanobvious
valueofthePC?HisblunderdoesnotdetractabitfromOlson'sbrainpowers.Afterall,hedidnotreach
thetopofDECbychanceorconnections.Hebuiltitfromthegroundup.Hiscreativepowerswerein
thisparticularcasecurtailedbyhisownexperiencewithcomputing(fascinationwiththepowerofVAX
andVMSinjuxtapositiontoaweaklymicrocomputer).Yes,knowledgecanbedetrimentaltoo.
Einstein'srelativitytheorygainedhimthemostidentifiablestatusoftheultimategeniusofscience
mostlyduetothefactthathewasabletoextricatehimselffromtheNewtonianmoldthatissonaturalto
ourdaytodaythinking.Notbeingabletobreakthemoldisnotasignoflackinggenius!Itissimply
asignofbeingburdenedwiththeprejudiceofone'scurrentknowledge.Innowayshouldthismeanthat
learningonitsowncanbedetrimental.Itneverisaslongaswedonotapplythecreativemoldtothe
learningprocessitself.Oneofthemostimportantrulesyourgeniusbrainneedstostoreinthevery
beginningisthat:noruleistrueforever.Rulescanbeadded,modified,deletedorreplaced.Youneedto
strengthenyourrulesrelatedtofuzzylogic.Insimplewords,youhavetolearntothinkintermsofthe
probabilityoftruth
SuperMemovs.contradiction
SuperMemomakesiteasytoseethatknowledgewearefeddailyviavariousmediaisrichin
contradictions.Ifwelearnwithalowerdegreeofretention(classicallearning),newcontradictory
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knowledgeeasilyobliteratesoldknowledge.Weoftendonotevenseethecontradiction.Ifyoulearn
forahighretention(say9599%inSuperMemo),contradictionsbecomepainfullyvisible.Thishelps
youtobecomecriticalinevaluatingthesourcesofinformation.IfthisarticletellsyouthatEinsteinwas
dyslectic,takeintoaccounttherulesofmemetics:thiscomfortingpieceofnewspropagateseasily.It
propagatesbyfarmoreeasilythanthecoremeaningbehindEinstein'stheoryofrelativity.Fromarticle
toarticle.Fromwebsitetowebsite.Frompersontoperson
KenOlsonblunderedbyclaimingnodemandforpersonalcomputers,buthisbrainwasabletoquickly
absorbthenewreality(esp.inthecontextofDEC'srapiddecline).Olson'senlightenmentmighthave
beentoolateforDEC,butnottoOlson'sabilitytocreativelycontributetothecomputerindustry.Long
beforeOlson'sblunder,thefoundersofApplehadalreadyknownthetruth:microcomputerswilltakethe
planetbystorm.ThepowerofthestormwasstillasurprisetoSteveWozniak.Sowasthefactthatthe
clunkyPCwaslatertodisplacehischerishedAppleline.ThePCstormsurprisedeventhemanwho
madethemostofit:BillGates.Themanwhosepredictivepowersmadehimasvaluableasthe
economiesofwholecountries.BillGates'swealthattractsasmuchenvyasitattractsadmiration.Thisis
whyhisownblunderswerestudiedtothelastdetail.BillGatesblundereddismallyonmorethanone
occasion.Andagainitdoesnotdetractfromhistruesoftwarebusinessgenius.Gateswasclearlylate
withnoticingthepoweroftheInternet,yethis.NETinitiativeshowsthatheandhisteamwereableto
correctthestrategyonthego.Actually,the.NETcreditgoestoMicrosoftemployeeswhowereableto
contacttheirbossdirectlywiththeirownideasonstrengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andthreats.In
theend,treatingthecompanyelectroniccommunicationsasanervoussystemreturnscreditbackto
Gatesandhismanagerialskills.In1981,Gatesisreportedtohavesaid:"640Koughttobeenough
(memory)foranybody"thuscontributingtotheinfamous640Klock.ItisalsoGateswhopredictedthat
OS/2wouldbethemostimportantpieceofsoftwarethathaseverbeendeveloped.Sowhat?BillGates,
asalltruegeniuses,keepsonlearning.Toerrishuman.Aslongaswedonotsticktotheoldmold.There
isnofoollikeanoldfool
Notoriouspredictivelapses
Predictivelapsesdonotdetractfromhumangenius.Theybefelltopresidents,NobelPrizewinners,
CEOs,analystsandthemostamazinggeniusmindssuchasthatofJohnVonNeumann.Becausethey
oftencomfortthosewhoarelessbriskintellectually,manyareamythonly:
Itwouldappearthatwehavereachedthelimitsofwhatitispossibletoachievewithcomputer
technology,althoughoneshouldbecarefulwithsuchstatements,astheytendtosoundpretty
sillyin5years.JohnVonNeumann,amajorcontributortothedesignofmoderncomputer
architecture,ca.1949
Televisionwon'tholdontoanymarketitcapturesafterthefirstsixmonths.Peoplewillsoontire
ofstaringataboxeverynight.DarrylZanuck,headof20thCenturyFox,1946
Thistelephonehastoomanyshortcomingstobeseriouslyconsideredasameansof
communication.Thedeviceisofnovaluetous.WesternUnioninternalmemo,1876(shortly
beforeyearsofapatentbattlewithBellCompany)
Anamazinginvention,butwhowouldeverwanttouseone?U.S.presidentRutherfordHayes,
afterparticipatinginatrialtelephonecallbetweenWashingtonandPhiladelphiain1876
Nomatterwhathappens,theU.S.Navyisnotgoingtobecaughtnapping.SecretaryoftheNavy,
December4,1941(threedaysbeforePearlHarbor)
Thereisnolikelihoodmancanevertapthepoweroftheatom.RobertMillikan,NobelPrize
winnerinphysics,1920
Ihavetraveledthelengthandbreadthofthiscountryandtalkedwiththebestpeople,andIcan
assureyouthatdataprocessingisafadthatwon'tlastouttheyear.Theeditorinchargeof
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businessbooksforPrenticeHall,1957
Ithinkthereisaworldmarketforabout5computers.ThomasWatsonSr.,PresidentofIBM,
1943(probablyanurbanlegend)
Everythingthatcanbeinventedhasbeen.USPatentOffice1899(anurbanlegend)
Foratasteofexcellentknowledgebasedpredictivepowersinaction,seethehighlyeducationaland
heartwarming"LongBoom"byalongviewguru:PeterSchwartz(withPeterLeydenWired,July
1997).Eventhoughthearticleisonlyfouryearsold,wecanseethattheauthorsunderestimatedthe
destructivepowerofinvestorgreedforthedotcomeconomy.Butfutureholdspositivesurprisesfor
optimiststoo
Whatiscreativity?
Creativityisusuallydefinedastheabilitytogeneratenewideasthatarebothhighlyinnovativeaswellas
highlyuseful.Anewideawillnotbecalledcreativeunlessitisquitehardtocomeby.Forexample,if
youdecidetopaintyourcarorangewithlittleblueantsalloverit,youwon'tfallintoahighlycreative
field.Afterall,everyonecanpainthercarlikethis.Thatyoudonotseeblueantsinthestreetscomes
fromthefactthatanumberofobjectsthatcouldtakeants'placeisneartoinfinite.Anartexpertpassing
ajudgmentonyourcar'sartistrycouldperhapschangetheverdict.Ontheotherhand,ifyoukeepon
churningdozensofideaswhichhavelittleornopracticalvalue,fewwillconsiderthisahighlycreative
effort.Similarly,potentiallyvaluableideasthatliveanddieinyourbrainwithouteverbeingconverted
intoapracticalapplicationwillnotpassthetestofthedefinitionusedherein.Inthisarticle,wewill
adheretothepragmaticcriterioninjudgingcreativity.Letusanalyzethebasisofcreativityandwaysto
improvecreativityviatrainingandapplicationofrelevanttoolsand/ortechniques.Wewillskirtaround
artisticcreativity,whichfallsoutofmyownprofessionalfocus,andisbyfarmorerelativistic:artistic
creativityisintheeye(orear)ofthebeholder.
Herearesomeexamplesofcreativebreakthroughsthatwewilluseinanefforttofindaprescriptionfor:
JohannesGutenbergbuiltupontheideaofmetalblockswithletters,combinedexisting
technologies,andsparkedoneofthegreatestrevolutionsinthehistoryofmankind
SteveWozniakcombinedhisknowledgeofelectronicswithavisionofacomputerdisplaying
imagesonaTVscreen,andworkingwithatypewriterlikekeyboard.Thoseideasopenedapath
towardsapersonalcomputerforthemasses
TimBernersLeeinspiredbytheideaofhypertextandinneedofanefficientcommunicationtool
forlargeteamscameupwithaprotocolframeworkforthefutureworldwideweb.Heconverted
multipleideasandhoursofdesignandprogrammingintoafoundationofthegreatest
communicationbreakthroughsinceGutenberg
TimBernersLee
In1980,TimBernersLeewrotealittleprogramcalledEnquirethathelpedhimlinkpiecesof
informationtogether.TheprogramitselfwasinspiredbyanoldcomputergameAdventure.Unlikelater
Hypercard,Enquirewouldrunonamultiusersystemandmakeitpossibleforpeopletosharedata.
Usinghisexperienceandtheinspirationfromthehypertextconceptcoinedinthe1950sbyTedNelson
andderivedfromVannevarBush'sMemexsystem(early1940s),TimBernersLeeenvisionedasystem
thatcouldimproveinformationexchangeinlargeteams.InMarch1989,whileemployedatCERN,
TimBernersLeewroteaproposalforimprovedinformationmanagement.Hismainconcernwasto
improvekeepingtrackoflargeprojects.Hisproposalwastobuildasystemthatwouldbedistributedon
remotemachines,allowofheterogeneity,decentralized(i.e.growingfreelyatitsnodesindependently
fromothernodes),andprivatelyextensible.Heproposedateamoftwopeopletodeveloptheproject
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withinayear.Hisproposal'sreferencesectionclearlypointstotheseminalinfluencesofTedNelson
andotherauthors.ByNovemberof1990,Timstartedworkingontheprototype.Theworldwideweb,
asitwasthencalled,wentintouseatCERNinMay1991.ByAugust1991,itsexistencewas
announcedtoanumberofInternetnewsgroups.By1994,thewebedgedouttelnettobecomethe
secondmostpopularserviceontheInternet.Inthepercentageofbytetraffic,itwasonlybehindFTP
data.Today,thewebisthesinglemostimportanttoolofglobaltransformation.
TimBernersLeecreativelycombinedhisexperience,andexistingideasintoabreakthroughconcept
thatchangedtheworld(andwehavebarelyseenthebeginning).Buildingblocksoftheworldwideweb
aresimpleenoughtobeunderstoodbyahighschoolstudent.Yettheiruniquecombinationintoa
simple,extensible,andcohesiveconceptdeservedlyrewardedthegeniusofTimBernersLeewiththe
creditforthegreatesthumanbreakthroughsinceGutenberg
IfyoulookatGutenberg's,SteveWozniak'sorTimBernersLee'sbreakthroughideas,youmaythink:
"That'ssimple.Icouldhaveinventedit".Thegreatestpowerofaninventionisofteninitssimplicity.Yet
creativemoldsoftenpreventdozensofinventorsfromhittingtherightidea.Thefactthatgreatcreative
breakthroughsseemsosimpleinretrospectgaveorigintothepopularsaying:Thedarkestplaceisunder
thecandlestick.Creativemoldissimplyveryhardtoovercomeeventothemostinsightfulmind.Ted
NelsonhadspentyearsperfectinghisgeniusXanaduideas.YetTimBernersLee,inthecourseoftwo
shortyears,combinedacoupleofsimpleconceptstoturntheworldupsidedown.Thesimplicity,anda
nearobviousnatureoftheirinventionsmakeithardfortheinventorsthemselvestorecognizethe
invention'spotentialearly.WithoutSteveJobs,Wozniakmayhavenevergonetobelievethathisnew
computerdesigncouldbeusedbeyondhishobbyistclub,letalonebymillions.Greatcreative
breakthroughscombineluck,coincidence,timing,andpersistence.Theyarealsohelpedgreatlybyavery
specifickindofcreativemind:attimesinattentive,hyperactive,distractinglycreative,obsessive,often
paranoid,andevennearlypsychotic(asinthecaseofJohnNashdepictedinOscarwinningBeautiful
Mind).Asforluckandtiming,Gutenberg'sideaswouldnotworkhadtheybeenoriginallytransplantedto
China(seeGutenberg).SteveWozniakwithoutSteveJobsmightnotwork(see:SteveWozniak).WWW
strivingfortheperfectionofXanadumightnotwork.Foryourcreativegeniustochangetheworld,you
needtolookforworkablesolutionsthatfitthepresentworld.AsVannevarBushnoted,thegeniusof
CharlesBabbage,theinventorofthefirstmechanicalcomputer,wasbornacenturytooearly.Notonly
washismechanicalcomputerhardtoimplement.Notonlywoulditbeuneconomicalandunworkable
haditbeenconstructed.Notonlywoulditbehardtoeducatehiscontemporariesaboutitsusefulness.
ThemostpainfulmismatchintimingwasthattheBabbage'sworkhaslargelybeenmisunderstood,
forgottenandhadlittleimpactonthedesignofthefirstelectriccomputersacenturylater.Thetiming
wasnotright.OnlyforBabbage's200thbirthdayhasthemachinealonghisdesignbeenprovenworkable
byresearchersattheScienceMuseuminLondon.Onecommonfeatureofthegreatestfailedinventions
isthattheirfathersgavethemupuponhittingabetteridea.Insuchcases,obsessivecompulsive
creativitymaybeahindrance.BabbagegaveuphisDifferentialEngineassoonasavisionofafarbetter
AnalyticalEnginedawneduponhim.Incontrast,SeymourCray,whendesigninghissupercomputers
wouldmaximallysimplifythearchitectureinordertobesurehisdesignsseethemarket.Cleverly
balancingimplementationspeedagainstperfection,Crayhasoutdistancedeveryoneinthe
supercomputingfield(untilnewcreativebreakthroughssethimback).Creativityandcold
meticulousnessareoftenatodds.Theyrequireadifferenttypeofmind.Abiologistwillnoticethatthey
arebasedonadifferentneurohormonalbrainprofile!TimBernersLeeisanexcellentexampleofa
brilliantlycreativemind,whichisstillabletofocusonataskathand,efficientlyexecutetheplanof
action,andmakethingshappen.
SteveWozniak
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SteveWozniakisuniversallycreditedwithinitiatingtheentryofcomputersintoprivatehomes.
Althoughhiscontributionmaybeseenasacompilationofafewwellknownideasthathaveperfectly
coincidedwiththetechnologicalreadinessforamassproducedcomputer,SteveWozniak'singenuity
andrelentlesscreativitymadehimuniquelysuitabletopickupthecreditforstartingthePCrevolution.
SuccessortoTomSwift
Wozniak'searlyinspirationscamefromhisfatherJerrywhowasaLockheedengineer,andfroma
fictionalwonderboy:TomSwift.Hisfatherinfectedhimwithfascinationforelectronicsandwould
oftencheckoveryoungWoz'screations.TomSwift,ontheotherhand,wasforWozanepitomeof
creativefreedom,scientificknowledge,andtheabilitytofindsolutionstoproblems.TomSwiftwould
alsoattractivelyillustratethebigawardsthatawaittheinventor.Tothisday,WozniakreturnstoTom
Swiftbooksandreadsthemtohisownkidsasaforminspiration.
Woz'svalueswereshapedandstrengthenedoveryearsbyhisfamily,Christianphilosophy(turningthe
othercheek),radioamateurethics(helpingpeopleinemergency),books(Swift'sutilitarianand
humanitarianattitude)andothers.
AsalastingSwiftlegacy,throughouthislife,Wozniaklovedallprojectsthatrequiredheavythinking.
Helearnedthebasicsofmathematicsandelectronicsfromhisfather.Hewouldattimesbesoabsorbed
inhisprojectsthathismotherwouldhavetoshakehimbacktoreality.WhenWozwas11,hebuilthis
ownamateurradiostation,andgotahamradiolicense.Atage13,hewaselectedpresidentofhishigh
schoolelectronicsclub,andwonfirstprizeatasciencefairforatransistorbasedcalculator.Alsoat13,
Wozbuilthisfirstcomputerthatlaidtheengineeringfoundationofhislatersuccess.
Firsthomecomputer
Withallengineeringskillsathand,itwasnothardfortheWizardofWoztoenvisageasimple
computerofhisdreams.Thekeyboardwouldworklikeatypewriter.Themessageswouldbedisplayed
onaTVlikemonitor.Thecomputercouldbeassembledwithrelativelycheapcircuitry.By1975,Woz
woulddropoutoftheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleyandwouldcomeupwithacomputerthat
couldsweepthenation.However,hewaslargelyworkingwithinascopeoftheHomebrewComputer
Club,alocalgroupofelectronicshobbyists.Hisprojecthadnowiderambition.Asitoftenhappensin
history,Wozwasjustasinglehemisphereofageniusbrain.TheothercomponentwasSteveJobs
whomWozniakmetwhenhewas16.Jobs,5yearsWoz'sjunior,whohimselfhaddroppedoutofReed
Collegein1972,wasaperennialstarryeyedvisionarywhocouldseefarbeyondthepossible.Jobsand
Wozniakcametotheconclusionthatacompletelyassembledandinexpensivecomputerwouldbein
demand.Theysoldsomeoftheirprizedpossessions(e.g.Woz'sscientificcalculator),raised$1300,and
assembledthefirstprototypeinJobs'garage.Theirfirstcomputerwasquiteunimpressivebytoday's
standardsbutin1975itwasanengineeringbreakthroughthatwouldchangethecourseofhistory
(picture).InsimplicityofuseitwentyearsaheadofAltairwhichwasintroducedearlierin1975.Altair
hadnodisplayandnotruestorage.Itreceivedcommandsviaaseriesofswitchesandasingleprogram
wouldrequirethousandsoftoggleswithoutanerror.Altairoutputwaspresentedintheformofflashing
lights.Altairwasgreatfortruegeeks,BillGatesandPaulAllenwereoneofthefirstamongthem,butit
wasnotreallyusableforawiderpublic.Itwouldnotevencomeassembled.Woz'scomputer,onthe
otherhand,namedAppleI,wasafullyassembledandfunctionalunitthatcontaineda$25
microprocessoronafirsteversinglecircuitboardwithROMmemory.OnApril1,1976,Jobsand
WozniakformedAppleComputerCompany.WozniakquithisjobatHPandbecamethevicepresident
inchargeofresearchanddevelopmentatApple.AppleIwaspricedat$666.JobsandWozniakmadea
killingbysellingtheirfirst25computerstoalocaldealer.
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WozniakcouldnowfocusfulltimeonfixingtheshortcomingsofAppleIandaddingnew
functionality.Hisgeniuswasinfullcreativeswing.AppleIearnedhiscompanyclosetoamillion
dollars.Hisnewdesignwastoretainthemostimportantcharacteristics:simplicityandusability.Woz
introducedhighresolutiongraphicsinAppleII.Hiscomputercouldnowdisplaypicturesinsteadofjust
letters:"Ithrewinhighres.Itwasonlytwochips.Ididn'tknowifpeoplewoulduseit''.By1978,he
alsodesignedaninexpensivefloppydiskdrive.HeandRandyWiggintonwroteasimplediskoperating
system.Inadditiontohishardwarewizardry,WozniakwrotemostofsoftwarethatranApple.Hewrote
aBasicinterpreter,aBreakoutgame(whichwasalsoareasontoaddsoundtoApple),thecodeneeded
tocontrolthediskdrive,andmore.Onsoftwareside,AppleIIwasalsomademoreattractivetoa
businessuserbythefamouspioneeringspreadsheet:DanBricklinandBobFrankston'sVisiCalc.This
uniquecombinationofnewideasresultedinascreamingmarketsuccess.In1980,theApplecompany
wentpublicandmadeJobsandWozniakinstantmillionaires.Attheageof27,Jobswastheyoungest
Fortune400manin1982ararecasebeforethedotcombubbleera.Incidentally,in1978,whenthe
companycutthepriceofAppleII,ithelpedtolaunchyetanothermeteoricsoftwarecareerthatof
MitchKapor.KaporscrapedenoughmoneytobuyhisownApple.InspiredbyVisiCalcandameeting
withitsinventors,hewentontodevelopLotus123andsweptthespreadsheetmarketplaceforyears
tofollow.
Planecrash
InFebruaryof1981,Wozniaknearlylosthisgeniusinanaccidentthatcouldhaveeasilyclaimedhis
lifeatage30.WhiletakingofffromScottsValleyairport,anenginefailedinhisBeechcraftBonanza
airplaneanditcrashed.Inadditiontofacialinjuries,Wozexperiencedaretrogradeamnesia.This
meansthathecouldnotrecallthingsfrombeforetheaccident.Hehadalsoproblemwithformingnew
memories.Atworst,yearsoftrainingcouldhavebeenpermanentlyerasedfromhismemory.Those
memorieslaidthefoundationofhisgeniusthinking.Luckily,fiveweeksaftertheaccident,hismemory
powersreturned.Thegeniuswasreadyformorebreakthroughsbuthispassionsshiftedfrom
technologytopeople.
WozbecamelessenthusiasticabouthisworkforApple.Hegotmarriedandreturnedtotheuniversity
underthename"RockyClark"togethisdegreesin1982incomputerscienceaswellasinelectrical
engineering.In1983,hedecidedtoreturntomainstreamAppledevelopment.However,hewantedto
benomorethanjustanengineerandamotivationalfactorforAppleworkforce.Herehedemonstrated
atypicalcharacteristicofacreativemind:cravingforcreativeopportunitiesawayfromthespotlight
(cf.WilliamJamesSidis).WozstunnedtheworldbyleavingAppleforgoodin1985nineyearsafter
settingupthecompany.JobswasalsoforcedtoleaveAppleasaresultofapowerstruggle.Wozniak
andJobsareproudtohaveoriginatedananticorporateethicamongbigplayersofcomputermarket.
JobsfocusedonnotalwayspracticalinnovationwithhisNeXTvision,whileWozwentontofulfillhis
otherpassions:teachingtofifthgradeandcharitableactivitiesinthefieldofeducation.Today,Steve
Wozniak'spassionistohelpyoungtalentcatchonthetrainofopportunity.Heprovideskidswith
computers,Internetaccounts,andlessonsinprogramming.InSeptember2000,SteveWozniakwas
inductedintotheNationalInventorsHallofFamealongsideBell,Edison,Fermi,Marconi,Pasteur,
Teslaandothers
Thefutureofcreativity
Wozniaksaid:"AppleisnotthecompanyIhadhopeditwouldbe.Ialwaysthoughtthatamajorplayer
inthepersonalcomputerbusiness,withitslabelontheproducts,wouldbecomposedoftopengineers
andmultiplelabsfullofscientistsdevelopingnewdevicesoutofphysicsandchemistry".
Geniusesdislikecorporatestructuresbecausecorporationstendtobendcreativitytocommercial
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purposes.Creativemindstendtobeinminority.Atthesametimetheyareconvincedthattheirvisions
aretheonlyvalidones.Thisinevitablyleadstotensionanddisruptionsatwork.Somecorporations
createindependentR&Ddepartmentsandlavishtheirmostpreciousbrainswithgenerousresearch
funds.However,onlyleadinghightechcompaniescanaffordsuchsolutions.Luckily,thenew
economybasedontheInternethasprovidedgroundsforbreedingcountlessyounggeniusessprouting
hereandthere.Manycreativemindsarenowoperatingviatheirsmallwebsitesthatprovideaplanetary
accesstotheproductoftheirintellectualeffort.TwoyoungusersofSuperMemohaverecentlysetupa
websiteintheirlivingroom.Antimoon.com,setupatnearlyzeroinvestmentisnowquicklygaining
popularity.
Inadditiontoopeningwaystowardsindividualcreativity,theInternethelpscorporationshiregeniuses
withoutrestrainingtheircreativity.Acreativemindoperatingfromasmallcountryoverashoddy
Internetconnectioncanbehiredonconditionsthatprovideauniquecoincidenceofneeds.Thegenius
getsacreativejobthatisnotavailableinhisareaorcountryatacompetitivepay.Thecorporationgets
themostpreciouscommoditytheirmoneycanbuy:creativegenius
Ingredientsofcreativity
Allcreativeindividualsexperienceperiodsoftimewhennewideascomeintotheirmindindrovesand
thereishardlyenoughtimetowritethemalldown.Acreativeindividualcanhardlyhopetoimplementa
fractionofhisorherideas.Somepeoplearebornwithhighlycreativeminds.Theyareprivilegedfrom
theonset,buttheyarealsomorelikelytosufferfromsideeffectsofneurohormonalaspectsofcreativity
suchasinattention,anxiety,depression,etc.Forthosewhoarebornwithlesspoeticminds,the
understandingofthecreativeprocesscanbeofgreathelp.Ordinarybrainscanbemadetoworkina
highlycreativemode.Letuslisttheconditionsneededforthebraintochurnoutideasenmasse:
suitablestateofmind:alert,excited,andexcitable
suitableenvironment:minimumirrelevantinterferencefromtheoutsideword(e.g.ringing
phone)andmaximumcreativestimulation(e.g.creativereading,incrementalreading,
brainstorming,etc.)
time:themoretimeyougiveforanideatogrow,thegreaterthelikelihoodofabreakthrough
associationtwohoursseparatedbyaperiodofsleepmaydomorethantwocontinuoushours
motivation:theremustbeaneedtocomeupwithasolutionandstrongmotivationtodocument
andanalyzethetransitionsteps
curiosity:themindmustcuriouslystrayintounexploredpathswhennewassociationsand
unexpectedsolutionscanbefound
knowledge:knowledgeinrelevantareas
Oftheabovefactors,geneticendowmentmaygreatlyhelpinachievingthesuitablestateofmind,which
alsoentailsmotivationandcuriosity.However,theneurohormonaladvantagegivenbythelucky
genotypecanbemadeupforwithrelativelysimpletoolsandtechniquessuchas:massivelearning,cup
ofcoffee,brainstorming,goodhealth,etc.
Computermetaphorofthecreativemind
Acreativemindcanbecomparedtoanexpertsystemthatmustgobeyonditscurrentfieldofexpertise
andgeneratenewfactsandrules.Thegoalisoftenreasonablydefinedbutthepathtowardsthegoalis
unclear.Atothertimes,eventhegoalisnotwelldefined.Itissimplysupposedtocropupsuddenlyasa
creativeenlightenmentinanefforthazilytargetedatinnovation.Letusintroducetheconceptofa
creativecomputersystemasametaphorforthecreativemind.Usingthecomputermetaphorwecan
redefinethepreviouslylistedpreconditionsofcreativityinthefollowingmanner:
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speed:themoreparallelprocessingpathsthecreativesystemcanspawnthericherits
output(equivalent:stateofmind).Theratmazemodelofcreativityshowsthatmassivelyparallel
processingisthekeyfactorunderlyingthe"creativespeed".Italsoprovideshintsonhowthe
parallelprocessingpowercanbeharnessed
minimuminterference:wewanttoavoidpowerfailure,additionalcomputationaltasks(e.g.
computingthefactorialofonebillionatthetimeofrunningthecreativeprocess,etc.)(equivalent:
environment)
time:themoretimeweallowfortheexploration,thegreaterthenumberoftaskswecan
explore(equivalent:time).Runningparallelcreativeprocessescancutdownontimeneededfora
creativebreakthrough
goal:thecreativesystembydefinitionwillfocusonchurningnewideasandrecordingtheresults
withageneralgoaldefinedbyitsprogram(equivalent:motivation).Unbridledrandomcreativity
canoftencomewithvaluableoutcomes(e.g.inpoetry),butmaybelessusefulinhighlyfocused
activities(e.g.engineering)
branching:thecreativesystemwilluseallheuristicsavailableathandtodriveexplorationof
innumerablepathsthatcouldpotentiallyresultinabreakthrough(equivalent:curiosity).Curiosity
willspawnconsciousbranching,butspontaneousbranchingofthecreativemodeisalsowelcome
(asshownintheratmazemodelofcreativity)
knowledge:themorerulesandwellchosenfactsoursystemhasinstore,thegreaterits
explorativepotential.Oursystemisparallelandassociative.Inotherwords,wedonotneedto
worrymuchaboutoperationaloverhead.Wedonotneedtoworryaboutknowledgeoverload.
However,wedowanttomaximizerelevantknowledgeandtheabstractnessoftherules
(equivalent:knowledge)
Inshort,ourcreativesystemcanbeimprovedbyaddingspeed(esp.throughstimulationofparallel
processing),minimizinginterference,improvingtheexploratoryheuristics,addingmoreknowledgeand
allocatingmoretime.
Insimpletermstheabovemeansstimulatingcreativepowers,usingcreativetechniques,avoiding
interruptionandthepursuitoflifelonglearning.
Ratmazemetaphorofthecreativemind
Ourbrainmetaphorpresentedearlierdoesnotsufficetoefficientlyexplainthemindinthecreative
mode.Itisthecreativemindwheretheparallelprocessingofneuralnetworkscomestoplayinamost
prominentway.YourPCcanrunmanyprocessesinparallel(e.g.displaythisarticle,scanTCP/IPports,
runmultipleservicethreads,runbackgroundapplications,etc.).Noneofthese,however,comescloseto
whatishappeninginyourbrainrightnow.Zillionsofneuralassembliesandcentersgetactivatedand
inhibitedinparallelfightingforyourattention,runningvoluntaryandinvoluntarycontrolprocesses,
filteringinformationoramplifyingit,etc.Inaddition,thetextyouarereadingproducesprocessesthat
areinparthiddenfromyourattentionandmay,atanyminute,springupwithnewinspirationora
creativebreakthrough.
Thewaybraincontrolsmajorparallelprocessescanroughlybeillustratedwiththeratmazemodel.
Imaginealabratinamaze.Itrunsarounduntilithitsthereward.Letarunningratillustrateoneof
parallelcomputationprocessesrunninginyourbrain.Lethittingtherewardillustratethemomentwhena
creativeassociationofideasbreaksthroughtoyourattention.Yourbrainisabletounleashmanyrats
runninginparallel.Youarebasicallyunawareoftherodentialinfestationcrawlinginyourmind.Imagine
yourratsareabletobreedontherun.Oneratcanbreedwhenhittingarewardcenterorjustbreed
spontaneously.Ifyoudrinkacupofcoffee,yourratsrunfasterandspawnmoreoffspring.Ifyoudrink
morecoffee,ratsstartjumpingoverthemazewallsandfindnewshortcutsandsolutions.Aftermore
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cupsofcoffee,ratsstartjumpingoneoveranotherandscreamforyourattentionresultinginchaos.The
samehappenswhenyougetoverlyenthusiastic.Youmighttransitionfromenthusiasm,viahypomaniato
amanicstatethatmeetsthecriteriaofpsychosis.Coffee,excessserotonin,excessdopamine,etc.can
breedmoreideasinyourmind,butyougraduallylosetheabilitytofocusonthetaskathanduntilyour
minddisentanglesintoapsychoticchaos.Thereversehappensifyoutakeasleepingpill.Yourratsstart
dyingoutorhidinginremotecornersofthemaze.Inbipolardisorder,amanicswingcantiretherats.
Oncetheyrunoutofsteam,thebrainmaycollapseintoclinicaldepression.Onceratsslowdown,you
runoutofcreativepowers.Ifyousprayaportionofthemazewithacocaineinhalant,thatportionofthe
mazemaysufferaparticularinfestationofmanicrats.Ratsjumpoveroneanotherandspreadoutin
amuckintovariousdirection.Thismayhappeninanoverlystimulatedportionofaschizophrenicbrain.
Ifthecocainesprayedpartofthemazeisresponsibleforrepresentingaparticularplaceorperson,you
mayexperiencehallucinationsordelusions.Youmayhearorevenseepeoplewhodonotexist.Your
mindbecomesparanoid.Ifthesameoverexcitedratsrunamuckinyourtemporalcortexduringsleep,
youmayexperiencenightmares.Whentheratsstartrunningincirclesyoucanexperienceobsessive
compulsivebehaviors.Youcanwashyourhandsmanytimesduringthedayandyourratswillstillmake
youthinkyourhandsaredirty.Youcanstepinfrontoftheclassandthecirclingratswillmakeyou
repeat"Iamboundtofail",andyoudo.Thesamehappensifyourepeat"Iwillnotfallasleeptonight"
andyoudon't.Theratsareresponsibleforthewriter'sblock.Thereisanoptimumnumberofratsatan
optimumlevelofexcitationforanygiventaskincludingwriting.Ifratsaredrowsy,youwon'tinvent
much.Iftheyrunamuck,youwon'tbeabletoconvertthechaosofnewideasintoacoherentstreamof
thoughts.Iftheyrunincircles,youmaygetstuckwithaselfimposedlimitation:"Iwon'twriteanything
creativetoday"youkeeptossingballsofscratchpaperintothebasket.Youwillwanttokeepyourrats
atbaywhenyoucrossastreetorwhenyoudrive.Theycancostyoualife.Creativemindsmaybe
unwelcomeinanairtrafficcontroltower.Ontheotherhand,youwillletratsplaytotheirheart'scontent
whenyoubrainstormanewmarketingsloganorideaforamoviescript.Itisvitaltounderstandthat
attentionandcreativityaretwodifficulttoreconcilequalities.Ageniusmindmustfindtherightbalance.
Itistheprefrontalcortexthathelpschannelrampantcreativityintofocusedattention.TryLSDand
creativechaoswilldisentangleyourreasoning.Thishappensduetotheprefrontalexecutiveinhibition.
Thecreativemodebalancewillalsochangeduringtheday.Yourbrainmaywelcomehyperactive
creativityatworktimeandacompletemodeswitchoverbythetimeyouarereadytorebuildyourneural
fabricinsleep.Creativityisablessingwhenneededandmaybeabaneforinsomniacs,schizophrenics,
bipolarpatients,ADHDkids,OCDpeople,etc.Itcanbegentlystimulatedwithacupofcoffee,orturn
yourmindintochaoswithLSD,cocaineorevenstress.Brainstorming,conducivesocialenvironment,
incrementalreading,creativitytools(e.g.Ideafisher)canstimulatecreativitybynonpharmacologically
unleashingnewratswithoutamajorimpactontheiragility.
Somepeoplearebornwithhighlycreativeminds.Theyinventnewthingsfasterthantheycanbe
utilized.However,thesamepeopleareatmuchhigherriskofmentaldisorder.Theymayalsoshowless
abilitytofocusorpersist.Theymaycravenoveltythatmakesthemjumponnewtasksbeforeoldonce
arecomplete.However,thewaytheirprefrontalcortexharnessescreativitymaydeterminethethinline
betweenatrueinborngeniusandmentaldisease.
Ifincreaseincreativitywaspurelybeneficial,itwouldhavecertainlybeenfarbetterpromotedinthe
courseofevolution.However,evolutionarydevelopmentofcreativepowershadtobematchedbythe
developmentofexecutivepowersthatgovernattention.Otherwisesideeffectsofcreativitywouldactas
anevolutionaryballast:lowstresstolerance,relationshipproblems,increasedsuiciderate,increased
divorcerate,riskandnoveltyseeking,tendencytogetbored,increasedriskofmentaldisorders,etc.
Totakeonlyoneexample,thehighsuicideandlowreproductionrateofpeoplewithbipolardisorderand
theirsignificantprevalenceinthesociety(1%)clearlyindicatethatitsgeneticcomponent(documented
asverystrong)mustcarrysomeevolutionaryadvantage.Thisadvantageisonlyincreasinginthe
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knowledgeeconomybasedoninnovation.See:Creativity,EvolutionandMentalIllness
Conclusion:Creativebalanceisthekey!Thereisanoptimumlevelofcreativityforany
giventask.Youcanlearntostimulateandextinguishcreativity.Yourgeneswilllargely
determinehowdifficultitisforyoutocontrolyourcreativity.Yourskillsinthatrespectmay
determineifyouascendfromaveragemindtowardsgeniuswithoutfallingintoavarietyof
mentalailmenttraps
JohannesGutenberg
BeforeJohannesGutenberginventedtheprintingpressin1438,therewereonly30,000booksin
Europe.MostofthesewererelatedtotheBibleandreligiouswritings.Gutenbergcombinedpiecesof
knowledgeavailableathistimeintoabreakthroughtechnology.Theuniqueelementsinhisinvention:
amoldwithpunchstampedmatrices,atypemetalalloy,apresssimilartothoseusedinwinemaking,
andanoilbasedprintingink.NoneoftheseelementscouldbefoundinearlierKoreanorChineseprint
orinwoodblockprinting.Littleisknownofthementalprocesswhichleadtotheinvention.Mostof
whatweknowofGutenbergcomesfromdocumentsrecordinghisfinancialorlegaltroubles.Atthe
timeofhisinvention,Gutenbergworkedalsoonlessgroundbreakingtechnologiessuchaspolishing
preciousstonesandmirrormanufacturing.Allweknowabouthisprintinventionisthathestartedwith
theideaofproducingblocksofmetalwithlettersonthem.Theideamighthavebeenhisownorpicked
upfromothersorfromdifficulttotrackAsiansources.Bycombiningexistingtechnologies,he
convertedhisideasintoaworkingdeviceandinitiatedoneofthegreatestrevolutioninthehistoryof
mankind.Booksbecametheworld'sfirstmassproduceditems.In50yearssincetheinvention,asmany
bookswereproducedasintheprecedingmillennium.OnlyafterGutenberg,affordablebooksmade
literacyahighlyvaluedskill.Inconsequence,sciencesandtechnologywentintoaperiodof
unprecedentedgrowth.Thesealsosparkedsocialchangeaswellasglobaldemocratizationinthe20th
century.
ItisimportanttoaddthatitwasaChineseblacksmithandalchemistPiShengwhoshouldbecredited
withthefirstdocumentedinventionoftheprintinthe11thcentury.HeproducedChineseideogramsin
clayandbakedtheminafire.Thenhestuckthemonanironplatewithresinsmixedwithwax.He
wouldcovertheideogramswithinkandimpressthemonpaper.PiSheng'sinvention,however,didnot
getfar.Ideogramsaretoomeaningful.Asaresultthereare50,000ofthem.Fartoomanyfor
convenience.OnlytheprimitiveLatinalphabethelpedGutenbergclaimthegreatestinventionofthe
millennium.
Gutenbergillustratesimportantaspectsofcreativity:
1. greatbreakthroughmaybeingwithaverysimpleassociationofideas
2. theinventorhimselfmaytakelongtorealizetheimportanceofhisowninvention.Ifitwas
otherwise,whywouldGutenbergjeopardizehislegacybywastingtimeongemsandmirrors
3. thecreativeprocessissubjecttomultipleconstraintsthatcanstiflethebrightestideaforthemost
triflingreason.GutenbergwouldprobablygetnowherehadhehadtodealwithChinese
ideograms.ForsomeonetoproposeasimplifiedalphabetinChina,itwouldtakeanentirely
differentsizeofacreativityandsocialleap.TakealookatthegreatideaofEsperanto.Viasocial
andeconomicmechanisms,itisEnglishthatbecameinternationallinguafrancaeventhough
Esperantomaybeseventimesaseasytolearnanduse
Enhancingcreativity:summary
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Usingtheabovecreativesystemmodels,letusquicklylisttheareaswhereyourcreativitycanreceivea
boost:
suitablestateofmind:nurtureyourmentalhealth,getenoughsleep,avoidstress,learnaboutthe
neurophysiologyofthementaleffort,andworkonunderstandingyourownmentalstatesto
optimizetheconditionsandthetimingofcreativeeffort.Inahealthy,wellmanagedindividual,the
bestcreativeresultscanbeobtainedearlyinthemorning(e.g.afteracupofcoffee).Ifyouare
rathermentallyslowinthemorningandprefertoworklateinthenight,read:Goodsleepforgood
learningforreasonswhyyoumightbedifferent
suitableenvironment:turnoffthephone,lockyourdoor,turnofftheradio,CDorMP3player
(evenyourfavoritemusiccanbedistracting),andfocus100%onthestudiedsubject.For
inspirationturntobrainstorming,"creativewalking",creativeblackboarddoodles,Ideafisher,or
useincrementalreadingwithaheavyloadofrelatedstudymaterial
time:forabreakthroughsolution,giveupasmuchoflittlethingsinlifeandfocusonyourgoal:
keeponlearningandthinking.OneofthemostcreativetimesinNewton'stimewaswhenhewas
forcedtotheprovinceasthebubonicplagueclosedhisuniversityin1665.TheBeagletripgave
Darwinfiveyearstodigestnewobservationsonvariabilityofspecies.Heisenberg'sbesttime
mightbewhenhewasrecoveringfromaboutofhayfeverontheislandofHelgolandin1925.
SeymourCrayfoundhisworkatCDCsodistractivethathehadR&Dfacilitiesbuiltoutoftownat
ChippewaFalls
motivation:thisoneishardtodevelop.Theviciouscircleofbadmotivationcomesfromthefact
thatoncethereisnomotivation,youhavenomotivationtodevelopit.Luckily,thefactyouare
readingthisarticlemaytestifytothefactthatyourmotivationissufficient(thismaythoughnot
translatetoselfdisciplineandexecutionyet).Psychogenicmotivationofacreativemindcomes
fromanunshakeablehierarchyofvalues,aloftygoalwellrootedinthathierarchy,and
understandingofselfdisciplinetechniques.StickingcarefullytoallpointsoftheGeniusChecklist
iscriticalforboostingyourmotivation
curiosity:lifelonglearningisasinequanonofcreativity.Themoreyoulearnthemorecurious
youbecome.Whatisirrelevanttriviatomost,maybecomeafascinatingaspectoftheuniversefor
you.Anaveragemancursesarockhestumblesagainst.Agreatscientistcanpickuparockand
writeadissertationaboutit.Thisisexactlyhowthegroundbreakingtheoriesofcontinentaldriftor
platetectonicsbegun.Themorecuriosityyoufindinyourmind,thebetteryourcreativeprospects.
Ifyoudoubtyourowncuriosity,tryincrementalreadingonsubjectsthatareinterestingtoyou
today.Ifyoupersistforsometimeandhoneyourincrementalreadingskills,youcuriositymayin
timegrowbeyondmanageablelimits.Youwillhopefullydiscoverthatevenifthereweretwenty
ofyou,youcouldhardlylickthesurfaceofinterestingthingstodoorstudy
knowledge:knowledgeisthesoftwareofyourcreativeengine.Themoreknowledgeyouthrowat
aproblem,themorenewideasandassociationsyouwillbeabletogenerate.Mostofnew
associationsischaffbutwithscrupulousrecordinghabitsyouwilllearnhowtosiftthewheat.No
majorbreakthroughinscienceorengineeringisproducedinaknowledgevacuum.Humanbrain
worksincrementally.Itisbasicallyunableofgreatleaps.EvenEinsteinarrivedathis
breakthroughsinincrementalmannerbypiecingtheblocksofthejigsawpuzzleproducedbythe
nonrelativisticphysicsofhistime.Yourcreativebreakthroughintheareaofchemistrymaycome
whilestudyingarchitecture.Seealso:Ideafisher
Theshortestformulaforenhancedcreativity:quiet,focus,curiosity,understandingthecreative
process,andinterdisciplinaryknowledge.Toboostyourcreativity,keepfit,workonensuring
peacefulandcreativeworkingconditions,learntofocus("keepratsincontrol"),learntoboostparallel
processing("unleashtherats"),addmoretimetocreativetraining,andkeeponlearningnewthingsthat
couldpotentiallybeasourceofinspiration.
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Ideafishercreativitysoftwarebasedonassociationalthinking
Creativitycanbemolded,enhancedanddirected.ThisisthebasisofIdeafishersoftware.Ideafisheris
basedonanimmensedatabaseoffacts,statements,quotationsandlooseideas.Combinedwithasetof
directionquestions,itcanbeusedbywritersormanagerstogeneratenewideaseitherindividuallyor
inabrainstorminggroup.Theunderlyingassumptionisthatonceyouintenselyfocusonasubjectand
lookatitfrommostunusualdirections,youwillbeabletomassivelyproducenewassociationsand
generatenewquality.
IncrementalreadinginSuperMemo2004canbeemployedinasimilarfashion.Inincrementalreading,
youreadshortpiecesofarticlesbelongingtovariousdomains.Thosepiecestendtojuxtaposeat
random.Themainpurposeofincrementalreadingislearninghowever,ifyouintenselyfocusona
singleproblemtosolve,andappropriatelyselectthereadingmaterial,youcanuseincrementalreading
inthecreativeprocess.
ThemaindifferencesbetweenIdeafisherandincrementalreading:
incrementalreadingwasdesignedforthepurposeoflearningIdeafisherfocusesspecificallyon
generatingnewideas
Ideafishercomeswithareadymadedatabaseofassociationcuesinincrementalreadingyou
mustimporttherelevantreadingmaterialbasedonyourfocusofinterest
Ideafishercanhelpyoudirectyourcreativeefforttowardsaspecificgoalincrementalreading
tendstobemoreexplorativeinnature.Youcandirecttheexplorationonlybytheappropriate
selectionofthematerialaswellasbyusingprioritizationtools
Ideafishercapitalizesonimprobableassociationsthatmightbeimpossiblewithyourpresent
knowledge.Inincrementalreading,highretentionmightlessenexplorativecreativity.However,
overloadedincrementalreading(i.e.whenyouimportfarmoreknowledgethanyoucanlearn)
mayresultinasubstantialdecreaseinknowledgeretention.Suchadecreasemaybeunwelcome
inthelearningprocesshowever,itfurtherincreasesassociationalandrecalleffortthatishighly
stimulatinginthecreativeprocess
Personalityfactor
Inthe1970s,LaszloPolgar,ateacherfromHungary,concludedthatallnormalchildrencouldbedriven
toageniuslevelwithsufficientattentionandtraining.Ifthisdoesnothappenonaregularbasis,he
claimed,itonlycomesfromparentalinattentionandlackofpatience.Anaverageparentisbusywithher
orhisownlifeanddoesnotdevotesufficienttimetoraisingthekids.AccordingtoPolgar,itiseasyfora
parenttosay:"Oh,thischildhasnogenius!"anddonothingfurther.Interestingly,Polgarhadno
impressivescientificcredentialsinthefieldofchildcareandeducation(unlikeBorisSidis),sowhenhe
decidedtoexperimentwithhisownkids,manyaccusedhimofusingdictatorialmethodsforthecaseofa
geniusshow.FewwouldtakePolgarseriously,hismethodsevenledtoaclashwiththeHungarian
government.FordetailsofPolgarexperimentseePolgarsisters.
Polgar'soptimisticclaimdoesnotleavemuchplaceforgenetics.Throughouthistory,mostprodigy
trainingoccurredinfamilieswithhighaverageIQ.Henceitisagainhardtoseparatenaturefromnurture.
Ifgeneticscomesintoplayinlimitinggenius,itislesssointheareaofthesheerbrainpower,processing
speed,associativepower,numberofneurons,creativepower,etc.Humangeniusseemstobebyfarmore
limitedbythepersonalityprofilewhichhasastronggeneticbackground.Insimpleterms,ifthechildis
readyandwillingtobetrainedforgenius,itwilllikelysucceed.Themainobstacleisinthefactthata
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childmaynotwanttoacceptaheavyloadoftraining.
Exceptformentaldisorders,importantpersonalityfactorsthatlimitoverallcreativityincludelowstress
tolerance,aggression,impulsivity,depression,andtheresultingpoormotivation.Ontheotherhand,traits
suchascuriosity,perfectionism,runawaycreativity,andcompulsivenessmayenhancedevelopmentif
properlychanneledandrationalized.
Suchlargelyinbornfactorsastheoveralllevelofserotoninordopamineinthebraincandeterminestress
tolerance,probabilityofsuicide,aswellasaggressiveandviolentbehaviors.
Destructivepersonalityfactorsarehighlycorrelatedwitheachother.Forexample,nonvirginadolescent
girlsare6timesmorelikelytoattemptsuicide,6timesmorelikelytousealcohol,and18timesaslikely
torunawayfromhomeascomparedwiththeircounterpartswhowereabletodelaytheirearlysexual
experience.
Earlysignsofgeniuspersonalityarebestdescribedastheragetomaster.By1899theWrightbrothers
hadreadallbooksintheirlocallibrarythatwererelevanttotheirinterestinflying.Theydecidedtowrite
totheSmithsonianInstitutionforsuggestionsastofurtherreadinginaeronautics.Thisunorthodox
approachisquitetypicalofyoungprodigiesandfutureNobelPrizewinners.Withthosepersonality
traits,thejobofaparentisgreatlysimplified.Actually,itisoftennotparentsthatpushprodigies,but
prodigiesthatpushparentswhomayoftenbeworriedbytheirchild'sunusualhobbies(e.g.dissecting
deadanimalstostudyanatomy).
NathanMhyrvold,formerchiefscientistatMicrosoft,claimsthatagreatprogrammerisworth10,000
timesmorethananaverageprogrammer.Thenumbermaywellbeexaggerated,butstudiesindeedshow
thatefficiencycomparisonsbetweenprogrammersyieldmuchlargernumbersthatonemightexpectby
studyingtheirIQ.Ihadagreatpleasuretoworkwithanumberofprogrammers,thoseamazingwhiz
kidsandthosewhoslowlyslogthroughthecode.Thosewhoprogramstructurallywithlotsofforesight
andthosewhoproducetonsofspaghetticodethatisimpossibletomaintain.IfIwastonamethemost
importantfactorthatdifferentiatesprogrammers,Iwouldchoosepersonality.Therearethosewhoslugit
outredeyeduntiltheearlymorninguntiltheyseetheproblemsolved.Theyseemnottoseetheworld
beyondtheirproblemtosolve.Therearealsothosewhoimpatientlypeekattheirwatchat14:55tosee
whentheycanrushbacktotheirfamilies.Thelatteraremorelikelytowadethroughmanualsandaskfor
assistanceoncetheygetstuckwiththeproblem.Theyareratherimpassionedandbyfareasiertodepress
withdifficulty.Theyoungredeyedenthusiastwillrathernoteatandnotsleepthangiveupthequestfor
thesolution.Inearlystagesoftheirdevelopment,theredeyedgeeksmaystartwithawfullybuggycode
butintimetheywillspurtaheadanddevelophealthyprogramminghabits.In46yearstheymaybein
Mhyrvold's10,000league.Thosewhodonotshowpassionforprogrammingwillneverreachthe
necessarylevelsofconcentrationnecessarytoresolvepiecesofprogrammingpuzzlesintheirmind.
Thoseresolvedpuzzlesgraduallybuildstrongandhighlyabstractmodelsofuniversalalgorithmic
solutionstomostoflogicproblemsaprogrammerislikelytoencounteronhisway.Inotherwords,
knowledgeandskillsseemsecondarytothepersonalityfactorhere.Theexcellentprogrammerwillbegin
hiscareerwithentangledcodefullofbugsandpoordesignbutwithpassingmonthshewillrapidly
changehisstyle,organize,improvedaybyday,andsurpriseothers,Afteryears,hemaybeunbeatable,
thepoorlymotivatedonestagnatesattheplateaulevelandpullsitofffromdaytoday.
Motivationandbeliefinone'sabilitiesmaybeakeytosustaineddevelopmentinayoungman.Askan
18yearold:Whatproblemwouldyouliketosolve?Whatisimportant?Often,youwillgetnoconclusive
response!Thensuggesttotheyoungmantobecometheworld'sbestfootballerorgetthenewest
Lamborghiniandyouwillnoticethathislifeisnotasgoallessasitseemsatfirst.However,ifyouask:
HowdoyouwanttogettoyourfootballerLamborghinigoal?Youwillgetnoresponseagain.The
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reason:theyoungmandoesnotbelievethereisasnowballschanceinhellhewilleverreachthosegoals.
Atthesametime,minorgoalsinbetweendonotseemworththeeffort.Thenetresult:theyoungman
playsvideogamesandgetsnowhere.Thisiswhyragetomaster,selfdisciplineandwillpowermaybe
thefactorthatwillmakeorbreakthegeniusinayoungman.
Inabilitytocopewithstresscanalsostiflecreativity.Stresstakesyourmindawayfromthecreative
problemstosolveandmakesyoufocusonyourselfandpettyproblemsthatarenotworthyourattention.
Itaffectsyourhealthandyourselfdiscipline.Itisalsodetrimentaltothegrowthofthenervoustissue
andmemoryconsolidation(see:TheMedicalBasisofStress).
LewisTerman,theprecursorofIQtests,agreesthatthegreatestdifferencesbetweenofgiftedand
normalkidsistheirgreaterdrivetoachieveandthegreatermentalandsocialadjustment.
DrEllenWinnerinherbookGiftedChildren(1996)presentsheranalysisonwhatmakesthepersonality
ofafuturegenius.Shetendstodisagreethatallkidscanbemadeintogeniusesandputsaspecial
emphasisontheneedforachildtoexhibitanaturalragetomaster.Prodigiesshowobsessivefascination
withacertaincontentsuchasnumbers,visualpatters,auditorystimulation,symmetry,etc.This
fascinationbegetscuriosityandanindomitablewilltomasterselecteddomainsofactivity.
Polgarsisters
AHungarianteacherLaszloPolgarhadatheoryaboutchildraising:everychildcanbemadeintoa
geniuswithsufficienttraining.Thoseideassolidifiedwhenhegotmarried.Hedecidedtotesthistheory
onhisownchildren.Asitoftenisthecasewithfaroutideas,Laszlodidnotgetmuchsympathyfrom
others.Whenhestartedputtinghisideasinpracticewithhisthreelittledaughters,Laszlowasaccused
ofusinghiskidsasguineapigs.HisdeterminationultimatelyleadtoaclashwithHungarian
governmentwhoattemptedtostophiminhistracks.Oneday,armedgovernmentofficialsknockedat
Polgar'sdoor.Hisexperimentwasconsideredpotentiallyabusive.Laszloevokedhis"parental
immunity"andproceededwithhiseducationalexperiment.HeandhiswifeKlarataughtandsupervised
thedaughterssolelyontheirown.Atsomepoint,itbecameobviousthatspecializationmaybringmore
tangibleandmeasurableresults.MathematicsandlanguagescouldbethefieldsinwhichPolgar's
daughterscoulddevelopgenius.However,theultimatechoicecamebyaccident.WhentheeldestSusan
(Zsuzsa)wasonlythreeandahalfyearsold,byaccidentshediscoveredchess.SheaskedLaszlowhat
chesswas,andsoonsheandherfatherwhereexploringintellectualchallengesofthegame.Early
indicationswerethatSusancouldlearnchessquitequickly,anditishardtosayifherfather'sprior
trainingorsomeinbornpredispositionhelpedhermakefastprogress.Laszlodecidedtofocusonchess
whichisobjectiveandmakesiteasytomeasuretheaccomplishmentinchampionships,tournaments
andplayer'srankings.Chessmaynotbeasimportanttothefutureofthisplanetasphysicsormedicine
however,itwasanexcellentmaterialforPolgar'sexperiment,whichonitsowncouldyieldhighly
valuableinsightsintochild'supbringing:whatevertheexperiment'sfinaloutcome.Laszloexplained
chesstoSusanlikehewastellingafable,andshesoonacquiredanaturalloveforthegame.Somesix
yearslater,Polgar'sexperimentbroughtfirstamazingfruits.SusanbrokeintotheGuinnessbookof
recordsastheyoungestchessmasteratage10.Atage12shebecameaworldchampionforgirlsunder
16.Byage15shewasthestrongestplayerintheworldinheragecategory!Fromthereon,Susan
progressbearstypicaltrademarksofayoungprodigy:auniquemixofgeniusononehand,and
problemstofitthegrayrealityontheother.IntheheartofSusan'sproblemwasherstruggleagainstthe
maleestablishmentinchess.Forages,maleandfemalechessusedtobedisjointworlds.Susanrefused
toacceptsexistdivisionsandstruggledforequalrightstoparticipatinginmaletournaments.She
becamethethirdwomanevertoearnthemalegrandmastertitle.Despiteherdeterminationtoavoidsex
differences,SusandecidedtotryfortheWoman'sWorldChampionship.Shewoniteasilyin1996.She
waslaterstrippedofthetitlewhensherefusedtoplayhermandatorychallengematchesintheperiod
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whenshebecameayoungmother.HerbattlewithFIDEtoregainhertitleisanotherexampleofa
mismatchbetweenfeistygeniusandtheestablishedrulesandtradition(shewonthelawsuitagainst
FIDEinMarch2001butdidnotgethertitleback).Despiteappearances,Susanisanice,downtoearth
andcompletehumanbeing.BesidesHungarian,shespeaks7otherlanguages(Bulgarian,English,
Esperanto,French,German,RussianandSpanish).Polgarexperimentworked!Thetheoryoftraining
forgeniusscoredoneofthemostpowerfulcasestudiesinhistory.WehavenowayofknowingSusan's
fatehadherfatherhaddifferentapproachtoeducation.Susan'shusbandobserveshowever:HadSusan
foundathermometerathomeinsteadofachessset,perhapswewouldhavecuresforcancerandAIDS
today.
Interestingly,Susan'ssuccessdoesnotcompletethePolgarsistersstory.YoungersisterSofia(Zsofia)
shockedtheworldin1989attheageof14.InachesstournamentinRome,shedefeatedastringof
SovietGrandmastersandreachedthehighestperformanceratingofanychessplayer(maleorfemale)
inanytournamentinhistory(2879forscoring8.5of9).In1999,SofiamarriedtoaGeorgianchess
playerandnowlivesinIsraelwithchessloweronherprioritylist.
Lastbutnotleast,theyoungestofthePolgarsisters,Judit(born1976)isanamazingandstillongoing
storyonherown.Shestartedlearningchessatage5.Atage11,JuditearnedanInternationalMaster
title,i.e.atearlieragethanBobbyFischerorGaryKasparov!Atage13shewastheWorldUnder14
ChampionforboysandFIDE'shighestratedwoman.Atage15shebeatBobbyFischer'srecordby
becomingtheyoungestgrandmastereverat15yearsand4months(in1958,Fischerbecamegm,at15
yearsand6months).In1993,atage17,JuditdefeatedformerworldchampionBorisSpassky5.54.5in
a10gameexhibitionmatch.In1998shebeatFIDEworldchampionKarpov53andalsobecamethe
firstwomantowintheUSOpenChampionship.Sheisalsotheonlywomantoeverreachthetopten
FIDElist(seethecurrentTop100ranking).Today,JuditisthestrongestofthethreePolgarsisters.She
leadswomenrankingsbyasafemargin(seethecurrentTop50womenranking)andmayoneday
becomeaWorldChampion(maleorfemale).SheplayedKasparovinMay2000overtheInternetand
lost.Likehersisters,hermeteoriticrisehasultimatelyplateauedasshegotmarriedinSeptember2000.
Totrackherprogresssee:http://www.controltheweb.com/polgar/news.htm
Itisknownthatchessplayersoftenexperiencevariouspsychologicalproblems.Thelevelof
concentrationandthegamestakesoftenleadtoexposingandamplifyingaggressivebehavior.Except
foranunflinchingdrivetowin,thePolgarsistersshowverylittleofthatintheirlivesoutsidethechess
world.Polgarsisterswillforlongremainavaluablecasestudyforunderstandingtheroleofpersonality
andtrainingindevelopinggeniusqualities
Couldindeedanynormalchildbemadeageniuswithsufficienttraining?Unfortunately,exceptfor
majorintellectualdeficienciesorphysicaldisabilitiesatbirth,thereisalsoapersonalityfactor.Notall
childrenwillbeabletoefficientlydeveloptheragetomaster.Ofcreativityfactorslistedearlier,
curiosity,motivationandthesuitablestateofmindmaybehardtodevelopinsome.Allgreatgeniuses
showedremarkablecuriosity.Curiositydoesnothavetoshowitselfintheareaofsciencesorart.Ifit
extendstootherareasoflife,itbodeswellformentalgrowth.Ifachildobsessivelycollectsteenage
magazinesordevoursnewsaboutpopstars,youcantakeitingoodpart.Thissortofcuriositycaneasily
beconvertedintoamoreproductiveforce.Amoreworryingsignwouldbetoseeayoungperson
mindlesslystareintheceiling.Motivationmaybethehardestpersonalitycomponenttodevelop.Ithasa
strongneurohormonalbasisthatisnotyetentirelyunderstood.Depressionandbipolardisordersclearly
showhowthelevelsofhormonesaffectmotivation.Themanicstatemayoftenleadtoenhanced
creativity.Depressionisapowerfulinhibitorofmentalprocessesandcreativity.Thenthereisanillusive
skillofdelayedgratification.Thosewhoaremostsuccessfularepeoplewhoareabletowaitforthe
reward.Thisistrueinnearlyallprofessions(MikeTysonmightbearareexceptioninaprofessionwere
instinctivebehaviormightactuallygiveonesomeedge).Impulsivepeoplemightdifferinneuralactivity
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oftheprefrontalcortex,andthecomponentoftherewardsystem,thenucleusaccumbens.Toalarge
degree,theimpulsivenessisgeneticallydetermined.Theskillofdelayinggratificationisparticularly
preciousincreativeindividuals.GregorMendel'sresearchingeneticswasentirelybasedonscientific
curiosity,andsubjecttoareligiousregimenofrigorousobservation.Therewasnorewardexpectedand
norewardgranted(inhislifetime).Hisgroundbreakingfindingswaited35yearstoberediscovered
whileMendelhimselffocusedonhisdutiesrelatedtobeingpromotedtothepositionofamonastery
abbot.
Theabilitytodelaygratificationcanbeeasilyrecognizedbytheparent.Itcanalsobemeasured
scientificallyaswellasimprovedbytraining.Childrenthatarepooratdelayinggratificationarealso
poorlyorganizedandshowlittlestresstolerance.Theytendtobeshy,introvert,andmakesocialcontacts
slowly.Somewillshowbullycharacteristics.Ontheotherhand,childrenthatexhibitbetterabilityto
delaygratificationwillalsobemoreverballyfluent,moreskilledinrationalizingtheirbehavior,more
attentiveandabletoconcentrate.Theyarebetteratplanning,morecuriousandopentonewexperiences.
Earlyformsoftrainingshouldbebasedonshowingtherelationshipbetweenthedelayofgratification
andthepotentialincreaseinthesizeofthereward("ifyoudonoteatthiscake,youwillgetmoneythat
willletyoubuymorecakesor...whateveryoudecidetobuy").Inshort,theabilitytomasterone'sown
emotionaldrivesmaybeasimportantasthestandardschoolcurriculum.
Ablindbeliefthateverynormalchildcanbetrainedtobeageniuscanbedangerousifthereisa
disparitybetweenparent'sexpectationsandtheactualresults,esp.iftheparentisnotemotionallyready
toacceptsetbacks.Therearequiteanumberofcasesofprodigykidsthatreachedastonishingskillsin
youngageonlytofizzleoutlaterinlife.Themostnotorious,althoughfrequentlymisrepresented,caseis
thatofWilliamJamesSidis.Hisfather,BorisSidisstartedwithsimilarassumptionsasLaszloPolgar.
HistrainingplanworkedoutgreatintheearlyyearsofyoungWilliam.However,hisrebelliousnature
ledhimtoalifestylethatmanyconsideredwasteful,esp.inthecontextofhisamazingmentalskills.In
essencethough,thereisnothingwrongwithaprodigychildleadingawithdrawnor"normal"life.
WilliamJamesSidis:Thesmartestbraininhistory
SomesourcesclaimWilliamJamesSidis(born1898)wasageniusthathasreachedthehighest
estimatedIQofallpeopleinhistory.YetyouwillnotfindhisnameamongNobelPrizewinnersor
famouswriters.WilliamJamesSidisisimportantforouranalysisofgeniusmostlyduetothefactthat
heisoftenquotedasatextbookexampleofanearlyprodigyburnout.Authorsquotehislifestoryto
warnparentsagainstbeingoverlyzealousinbringinguptheirprodigychildren.WilliamsJamesSidis
becameaposterchildoftheadage:Earlytoripe,earlytorot.HiscaseisjuxtaposedwiththatofPolgar
sisters,NorbertWiener,orJohnStuartMill.Incidentally,thelatterisalsoattributedbysomewiththe
highestIQinhistory.Note,however,thattheconceptofIQhasbeendevelopeddecadesafterMill's
deathin1873
FormulaforgeniusbyBorisSidis
TounderstandWilliamJamesSidiscase,weneedtolookbacktothedaysofhisgrandfatherMoses
Sidis,anUkrainianJewwhowasawelltodomerchantandanintellectual.MosesSidis,alongthe
familytraditionofearlytutelage,tookfatherlycareofhischildBorisSidisbornin1867inKiev.Boris
Sidiswasaprodigyonhisownandshowedanearlyinterestinpoetryandlanguages.Hischildhood
experienceshaveprobablyinfluencedhiswayofthinkingonthewayhewouldbringuphisown
children.Hislifestoryalsoshowstracesofaninclinationforbeingasocialrebel.Duringtheczarist
pogromsoftheJewsinthe1880s,Boriswasarrestedforteachingpeasantstheskillsofreadingand
writing.Hespenttwoyearsinsolitaryconfinementandwassubjecttoseveretorture.Thismayhave
subsequentlyinfluencedhisnatureofanintellectualwithaprofoundscornofignorance.Hopelessand
penniless,BorisSidisemigratedtotheUSandquicklybecomearespectedphysician,innovative
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psychologistandapioneerinthefieldofpsychopathology.Hewasanintellectualofwideinterestsand
extensivereading.Hewroteprofuselyonavarietyofsubjectshowingdeepconcernforthefutureof
society.InPhilistineandGenius(1911)hewrote:"Wespendonbarrackandprisonsmorethanwedo
onschoolsandcolleges.Whatisthelevelofacivilizationinwhichthecostofcrimeandwarfar
exceedsthatoftheeducationofitsfuturecitizens?").Hiswritingsarepepperedwithradicalideasthat
mighthavebeenbutdidnothavetobetherootofhisproblemsinbringingupWilliamJamesSidis.
BorisSidiswrites:"theschoolsystemshouldbeabolishedandwithitshouldgothepresent
psychologizingeducator,theschoolmasterandtheschoolma'am".BorisSidisshoweddeeprooted
contempttomindlessmemorization,irrationaltradition,superstition,myths,creedsanddogmas.An
oppositiontoirrationalityshouldbeharmlessunlessitwastaintedwithnegativeemotion.InPhilistine
andGenius(ChapterII),Sidiswroteangrily:
...uncriticalbeliefinauthority,meaninglessimitationofjinglesandgibberish,
memorizationofmothergoosewisdom,repetitionofincomprehensibleprayersandarticles
ofcreed,unintelligentapingofgoodmanners,sillygames,prejudicesandsuperstitions
andfearsofthesupernormalandsupernatural,arecensuredinadults,whyshouldwe
approvetheircultivationintheyoung?"Athomeandatschoolwedrillintothechild's
minduncriticalbeliefsinstoriesandtales,fictionsandfigments,fablesandmyths,creeds
anddogmaswhichpoisontheverysourcesofthechild'smind.Athomeandatschoolwe
givethechildoverasapreytoallsortsoffatalgermsofmentaldiseasesandmoral
depravity
Borisdedicatedasubstantialefforttomakinghissonanexampleofwhateducationcandotoayoung
humanbrain:"Educationmustaimatthebringingoutofthegeniusinman""Iappealtoyou,fathers
andmothers,andtoyou,liberalmindedreaders,askingyoutoturnyourattentiontotheeducationof
yourchildren,tothetrainingoftheyounggenerationoffuturecitizens".
Unfortunately,Boris'searlysuccesswithbringingupWilliamJamesshowedlittlewarningofsad
thingstocome.Inthespiritofavoiding"uncriticalbeliefinauthority",hissonwentontodefythe
authorityofothers',includingthatofhisownfather's.UltimatelyWilliamJamesSidisestrangedhis
parents.Unorthodoxfather,BorisSidis,diedsuddenlyin1923ofacerebralhemorrhageatanearlyage
of56
Amazingprodigy
YoungWilliamJamesSidiswastutoredrelentlesslyfromthecradle.HecouldreadEnglishattheage
of3.HeamazedeveryonearoundattheageoffourwhenhewoulduseatypewritertowriteinEnglish
andinFrench.Whenhewasfive,hecouldalreadyspeakfivelanguages.HewouldreadPlatoinGreek.
AttheageofninehewasreadytopassentranceexamstoHarvardbutwasnotadmittedasnotbeing
matureenoughforcollegelife.At11,afterthreeyearsoftryingandbeingrefusedonthegroundsofhis
youth,youngSidisenteredHarvard.Hisstardombegunwithalectureabout"FourDimensional
Bodies".Afterthelecture,Prof.DanielComstockofMIThailedhimtobeamaterialforthegreatest
mathematicianofthe20thcentury.NewYorkTimespickedupastoryandgavehimnational
prominence.NorbertWiener,William'sHarvardcontemporary,wrotein1953aboutthelecture:"The
talkwouldhavedonecredittoafirstorsecondyeargraduatestudentofanyage.Sidishadnoaccess
toexistingsourcessothatthetalkrepresentedthetriumphoftheunaidedeffortsofaverybrilliant
child"
Prodigydownfall
AtHarvard,youngSidisappearedtoberatherpoorlyadaptedemotionallyandsocially.Hiscolleagues
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consideredhimtobeaneccentric.Hewasreclusiveanddidnotmakemanyfriends.Heissaidtohad
sufferedfromvariousmentalproblemsatthattimeandhadtobetreatedinhisfather's
PsychotherapeuticInstitute.In4.5years,WilliamJamesSidisneverthelessgraduatedfromHarvard
cumlaudein1914.Ataboutthesametime,otherHarvardprodigiesgraduatedwithoutreceivinga
fractionofattentiongrantedtoSidis.ThelistincludesNorbertWiener,BuckFuller,andRoger
Sessions.Onthegraduationday,SidiswasinthecompanyofstudentssuchasJuliusSpencerMorgan,
GilbertSeldes,VintonFreedley,andLaurenceSchwab.Sidistoldareporter"Iwanttolivetheperfect
life,andtheonlywaytolivetheperfectlifeistoliveitinseclusion".Hewentontostudylawat
HarvardLawSchool,whichhequitshortlybeforegraduation.In1918,Sidisbeganteaching
mathematicsatRiceUniversity,Texas.Ricestudentswouldridiculetheirchildishteacherforeight
months.Sidiswasconstantlyannoyedwiththeattentionofthemedia.Notfeelingwellinacademia,
WilliamJamesSidislefthisacademicpursuitsonceandforallin1918.Inthemeantime,heespoused
leftistideasandbecameabuddingMarxist.In1918,hewasarrestedduringaMayDayantiwarrallyin
hishometownofBoston.Hewasaccusedofincitingariotandsentencedfor1.5yearsinjail.Withhis
father'sbacking,thesentencewasnotserved.However,younggeniusWillamJamesSidisdisappeared
fromthepubliceye.In1923,areporterfoundhiminNewYorkworkingamenialjob.Sidistoldhimhe
wasnotageniuspeoplewanthimtobe.Healsodeclaredhiswishtobecomeanonymousinhislife.
Sidisexpressedasimpledesiretofocusonundemandingjobsthatgivehimmoresatisfaction.Andthat
seemedtobetheendofWilliamJamesSidismiracle.
In1937,theNewYorkerdugouttheyoungprodigystoryagainandrunapieceentitled"AprilFool".In
thearticle,Sidisisreportedassaying:"IhatedHarvard(...)anyonewhosendshissontocollegeisa
foolaboycanlearnmoreinapubliclibrary".Thearticlepaintsapictureofanincredibleyoung
Harvardgeniusthatwentontolivealifeofalowpaidbookkeeper.Sidisconsideredthearticleagross
violationofhisprivacyandsuedultimatelyreceivingasmalloutofcourtsettlement(see:USSupreme
Courtdecision)
OneofthereasonsforlastingridiculeofSidiswasoneofthebookshewrote.Whilemostpeoplenever
writeanybookintheirlifetime,whenittranspiredthatSidis,thefuturegreatestmathematician,wrotea
lengthyhobbybookaboutstreetcartransfers,theeyebrowswentup.Atransferisapieceofpapergiven
topassengerswhowanttotakeaparticulartransferroute.Sidiscollectedstreetcartransfersobsessively,
andconsideredita"reasonable"hobby,whichhecalledaperidromophila.Hisclassificationof
transferswasAristotelean.HisscrupulousnessDarwinian.Yet,thebookpublishedin1926undera
pseudonymofFrankFolupawasnotfoundtobeareasonforadmiration.Supposedly,thiswas"the
mostboringbookeverwritten".Throughouthislife,Sidisstruggledtoescapethepublicityandtheaura
ofexpectation.Tonoavail.Whenhediedofacerebralhemorrhagein1944attheageof46,hesparked
yetanothersuspicioninreferencetoearlyprodigytraining:"toomuchthinkingcanharmyourbrain,
too".Sidis'sfatherdiedearlyofthesameaffliction(seeabove)
Fallenstarorananonymousgiant
It is not true that Sidis contributed little to society beyond providing a remarkable study case for the
growthanddeclineofgenius.TheonlybookhepublishedunderhisownnamewasTheAnimateand
theInanimatein1925attheageof27(asbefitsatruerebel,hearguedspuriouslythereinagainstthe
secondlawofthermodynamics).In1979,anothergiantofthecentry,BuckminsterFullerrediscovered
thebookandwroteinaletter:"ImaginemyexcitementandjoyonbeinghandedthexeroxofSidis'1925
book,inwhichheclearlypredictstheblackhole"(SubramanyanChandrasekharcameupwiththeidea
onlyafewyearslater).Incidentally,BuckFullerwasSidis'sclassmateatHarvardandwassaddenedby
William'sstory.UnlikeSidis,Fullerbloomedlateintohislife.In1927attheageof32,bankruptand
jobless,hewasonavergeofsuicide.However,hedecidedtoembarkonanexperiment:whatasingle
individual can contribute to change the world and benefit all humanity. Documenting his life
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scrupulouslyinahalfcenturydailydiary,Fullerwentontoproducemiraclesofthemind(anarrayof
inventionsand47honorarydoctoratesarejustadropinthebucketofBuck'sachievement).
FullergotSidis'sbookfromDanMahony,aresearcherwhodecidedtounearththetruthaboutSidisand
answer the question: Where has all the genius energy gone? Mahony notes that Sidis's interest in
OkamakammessettsIndiansmayhaveresultedinespousingtheprincipleofanonymouscontributionto
society.MahonybegunasearchforpossibleanonymouscontributionsofSidis.Oneofthefruitsofthis
searchisaremarkable600pageunpublishedmanuscriptonthehistoryoftheredraceinAmericadug
outfrom a dusty attic: "TheTribesandtheStates". Lots of evidence indicates that this book packed
with most unusual theories had been written by young Sidis. The search continues (see also: Sidis
discoveriesincl.Sidis'spatentonaperpetualcalendaranditspicture,UnconsciousIntelligencewhere
teenageSidisselfanalyticallywritesabouthowsubconsciousbrainworks,Sidis'sletterwrittenshortly
before his death with his troubles attributed to being a conscientious objector,
http://home8.swipnet.se/~w80790/Q&A/Q&A_2.htm.andhttp://www.uh.edu/engines/epi969.htm)
SidisFallacy
Multiplestudiesindicatethatyoungprodigiesendupbetteradaptedtolifeinsocietythantheirpeers
(incl.thefamousTermanStudy).Sidiscaseisanexceptionratherthanarule.Onetheorysaysthatan
increaseinIQiswelcomeonlyuptoacertainpointbeyondwhichitleadstoextremeattitudesand
socialproblems.Anothertheorysaysthatthereisanoptimumspanoftimeinwhichadomineering
fatherfigurehelpschild'sdevelopment.Theinflectionpointcomesatthemomentwhenayoungman
crystallizeshisownviewsonhowtorunhislife.Oncefather'sandchild'sgoalsdiverge,fatherly
dominationmaysparknegativeemotionsinimmaturemind.Insteadoffosteringfurthergrowth,this
emotionsmaychannelyoungenergyinthewrongdirection.Thespiralofnegativeemotionsescalates
andparentchildpartnershipbecomesastrugglefordominanceingoalsandvalues.Parentaldominance
showsup,forexample,inastrongcorrelationbetweentheoccupationofparentsandchildren(e.g.
amongdoctors,lawyers,musicians,etc.).InSidis'scase,fatherlysupervisionmayhavegonebeyond
thistheoreticalinflectionpoint,andWilliamJamesSidiswastransformedfromanadmiredprodigytoa
hauntedfreakforcedintobehaviorsincongruentwithhismentalprofileandhisownsetofvalues.
ThereisnohardevidenceBorisSidismadeanymajorupbringingerrors.Hisunrelentingtutoringand
scornofignorancemighthaveputtoomuchburdenonWilliam,yetthiscouldwellbemeasuredonlyin
retrospect.Boris'sradicalviewsmighthaveaffectedthefamilyatmosphere:lesslove,morerigor(in
contrasttowarmatmosphereoffamiliesofBohr,Darwin,etc.).Thetheoryofreserveenergymight
havepushedBoristoneglectnaturalcircadianunderpinningsofhealthymentaleffort.Earlyinthe20th
century,theknowledgeofthefunctionofsleepinlearningwaslittle.Eventoday,manystudentsfall
intothetreacheroustrapofbeliefthatyoucanlearnmorebyaddingstudyhoursbycuttingdownon
sleep(thisishowthecruelmythofpolyphasicsleepgainedafootholdinnumerousyounglives).
KathleenMontourbelievesthatSidisFallacyhasbadlyaffectedtheeducationofthegiftedchildren.In
herview,arationalapproachtospecialeducationforthegiftedchildrencanonlyleadtopositive
results,andthemainproblemonthewayis,whatshecalls,acreatorparentwithexcessiveambition
forthechild'sfutureinproportiontotheknowledgeofthepsychologyofgrowth.Yet,asapsychiatrist,
BorisSidiscouldnothavebeenbetterprimedtobeagoodeducator.Thecasemayneverbeanswered
satisfactorily
Youngrebels
Theworldispopulatedwithyoungrebelgeniuses.Theytendtoberadical.Afterall,onlygeniusmind
fullyexposestheimperfectionsandcontradictionsofthesurroundingworld.Younggeniusespower
rebelenvironmentalistmovements,animalrightgroups,opensourcecommunity,humanrights
organizationsorgroupsforlegalizingnarcoticdrugs.Theyespousesocialism,communism,or...
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vegetarianism.Theystruggletoabolishnuclearpower,GMfoods,humancloning,urbansprawl,
MacDonalds,airpollutingcar,stemcellresearch,animaltesting,etc.Theyoftenabhortherichesof
BillGates,lookwithhorroratGeorgeW.Bushpresidency,orglorifyLinusTornvalds,Mike"Gorbie"
GorbachevorNelsonMandela.Drivenbysimilarbutoftennotcompletelycrystallizedmotives,they
joinopposingcamps.Someendupfightingformonolingualworld,othersstrugglefor"language
ecology"againstthe"linguisticimperialismofEnglish".SomewillfightfortheUnitedStatesofthe
World,whileothersseeglobalizationasaveilunderwhichglobalcorporationsexploitpoorercountries
inAfrica,AsiaandSouthAmerica.Thoseradicalmindsusuallyendupbeinghighlyproductiveand
balancedindividuals.Theylearntotempernegativeemotionsandstarttofavormathsovermyths.
WilliamJamesSidishasdefinitelygrowntobeayoungrebel.Itisdifficulttodiagnosehowmuchof
hisattitudewaspathologicalorneurotic.HisfascinationwithIndiantribesandsupportforanonymous
contributionstosocietycouldhaveconcealedhistrueopusvitae.Thepeerreviewpressureandpublish
orperishprincipleshavedrivenmanybrightmindsawayfromacademicpursuits.Acontemporary
littleknowndyslecticrebelgeniusDrRobertSkoyleswrites:"Iprefertobewithoutanincomeand
academicaddress.Iwouldratherstarvethanbeignorant.Iampuzzledwhymanybrightpeopleallow
themselvestobetimelobotomizedbytheconstraintsofanacademiccareer.Atuniversity,Iwitnessed
manyabrightandcuriousstudenteagertoknowgivethatuptoprosperintheacademictreadmill.
Whathadoncebeenameansnoweitherswallowedthemuporslowlyseepedinandbecameanend.
Theybecamedeadwoodpreoccupiedwithmarriage,mortgagesandapension".Doubtlessly,similar
sentimentswerecommontoWilliamJamesSidis.Hiscompletestoryhasnotbeentold
Conclusions
ThecaseofWilliamJamesSidiscontributedtoseveraldangerousmisconceptions.Itisnottruethat
childprodigiesinevitablyburnoutwithtime.Thereislittleevidencetoconfirmthatbraintumorsor
brainhemorrhagemaybecausedby"toomuchthinking".Justtheopposite,mostresearchindicatesthat
learningisablessingforthebrain'shealth.Sidiscaseshowshoweasyitistopropagaterumorandhow
difficultitistorecoverthetruth.Alongtherulesofmemetics,theselfcomfortingstoryofafallen
prodigyspreadslikewildfire.Thecarriersofthemessageseemtosay"IhavenotbeenaprodigyandI
likeitthatway"
LessonslearnedfromSidiscase:
Personalityiscriticalfordevelopingtruegenius.Lackofsocialskillscanruincreativity.Itcan
alsoruinthelifeofagenius
Geniusisavirtueinitselfanditdoesnotrequireaspotlight.Theattentiongeniusattractsmay
actuallyinhibitcreativity.Geniusisitsownreward,anddoesnotneedtostriveforgratification
Parentsneedtoexerciseutmostcautionwhenpushingtheirprodigiestowardsuccess.Ignorance
isthesourceoftroublehere.Amodernparentneedstostudychildcareliteratureandkeepupto
datewiththeprinciplesofdevelopmentalpsychology
Incontrast,anotherprodigychildofearly20thcentury,NorbertWiener,wentontoestablishthescience
ofcyberneticsandanewwayoflookingatthesurroundingworld.Incidentally,thecomputermetaphor
usedtomodelhumangeniusinthisarticle,isderiveddirectlyfromtheapproachproposedbyWiener:
usingsystemstheorytorepresentrealityandsimplifyitsanalysis.
Inconclusion,Polgar'sstatement"everynormalchildcanbetrainedtobeagenius"islargelycorrect.
However,themainstumblingblockonthewaytowardsaccomplishingthegoalisthementalprofileof
thechildaswellastheinteractionwithitstutors.Geneticlimitationswillmanifestlessintheoverall
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intellectualpotentialandmorevisiblyinovercomingpsychologicalobstaclessuchasmotivation,
curiosity,delayedgratification,selfcontrol,discipline,etc.Theneuralnetworkofthehumanbrainis
highlyplasticandcompensatory.It'squalities,reducedinmoreseveredisordersonthelikeofDown
syndrome,arelessofalimitingfactorwhencomparedwiththechild'spersonality.
Everynormalchildcanbetrainedtobeageniusaslongasutmostattentionispaidtoitsappropriate
psychologicaldevelopment.Somepersonalityprofilesmaybeparticularlyhardtocrack,andanintense
"geniustrainingprogram"canalsoposemajordevelopmentaldangers
Creativeenvironment
Forgeniusaccomplishmentsandhighcreativity,youneedtopaylotsofattentiontotherightworking
andlivingenvironment.Ifyourjobisfullofstress,humanconflict,anxiety,disruption,etc.yourcreative
potentialwilleasilygotowaste!Inmodernsociety,nothingpaysbackbetterthangenius,creativityand
novelideas.Itisbettertogetapoorlypaidjobthatwillletyougrowthantoenslaveyourmental
potentialinanenvironmentthatwillpullyouintotheproverbialraterace.
Hereisabasicchecklistforinspectingyourconditionsforcreativeeffort:
sleep:areyouabletogetasmanyhoursofsleepasyourbodyneeds?Areyouabletogotosleep
thenwhenyoufeelsleepy?Lackofsleep,poorsleepingconditions,orwrongsleepinghoursare
topcausesofsuppressedcreativity.Withoutmeetingyoursleepingneeds,youmaynotevenlive
uptoaquarterofyourcreativepotential!See:Goodsleepforgoodlearning
stress:areyouabletoisolateyourselffromthesurroundingratrace?Areyousurroundedwith
goodpeopleofgoodhearts?Stressalongsleepdeprivationarethemostimportantsuppressorsof
creativity.Whenyouleaveforthetoilet,yourbrainshouldstilllivewiththecreativeproblemthat
consumesmostofyourattentionitshouldnotstraytoruminateoveraconflictatwork,orinthe
family,orinatrafficjam.Thedamagedonebystressisnotonlyrelatedtolosttimeandattention,
butalsoduetolosthealth,andthenegativeimpactofstresshormonesonmemoryconsolidation
andneuronaldegeneration.Incontrast,serotonin,the"optimistichormone",increases
neurogenesis.See:TheMedicalBasisofStress
health:neverskimpontimeyoushoulddevotetoexercise.Qualitycirculationandahealthy
respiratorysystemareneededtonourishyourbrainduringacreativeeffortandduringsleep.Stick
toahealthydiet.Ifyouareoverweightyoumaymisslotsofqualitycreativetimebysimplybeing
lessalertandenergetic.Smokingisabadshorttermalertnessbooster,overyears,yourmental
powerwillbecurtaileddramatically.Ifyoubelievesmokinghelpsyourattention,notethatsimilar
effectscanbeaccomplishedwithexercisewithoutinhalingacarcinogenicmixofpoisons(see:
QuitNet.org)
CharlesDarwin(18091882)
TherootsofDarwin'sscrupulousscientificresearchcanbetracedbacktohischildhood.Exceptforthe
deathofhismotherwhenhewasjusteightyearsold,Darwin'schildhoodwasatrulygoldenone.He
wastakencareofbyhissistersandanolderbrotherErasmusaswellashisextensivefamily.Notby
accident,at22hewaschosentotakepartinthevoyageoftheBeagleasanunpaidnaturalist.Atthat
time,hewasalreadyaverycapableandknowledgeablebiologist.InDecember1831,Darwinsailedon
theBeaglefromPlymouth.Thelongvoyagewasplannedfortwoyearsbutultimatelylastedfive.
ThroughoutthetripDarwinkeptmeticulouslogsandcollectednumerousspecimensongeology,
botanyandzoology.TheisolationofthetripprovidedDarwinwithexcellentopportunityforcreative
thinkinganddetailedanalysisoftheobservedphenomena(eventhoughhewasseasickmostofthe
time).Hewasasgoodattheorizingashewasscrupulousatobservation.
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TheideaofbiologicalevolutionthatislargelyattributedtoDarwinwasnotnew.Manyauthorsbefore
Darwinhintedatthepossibility.Followinganaturalintuition,Lamarckhadevendrawnadiagramthat
showedthetransitionfromsimpletomorecomplexorganisms.AfterhisBeagletrip,Darwinhadhis
evolutionaryideaswellestablishedhowever,ittookhimtwodecadestocrystallizethedetailsinaform
hethoughtacceptableforpublication.Bothsociallyandlegally,hisviewscouldbringDarwintrouble.
Asearlyasin1837,hisnotesincludedremarksonhowspecieschangefromplacetoplaceandfrom
oneeratoanother.In1838DarwinreadThomasMalthus'AnEssayonthePrincipleofPopulation.
Malthusarguedthatpopulationsgrowatgeometricspeedwhilethefoodsupplyincreases
arithmetically.ThisleadDarwintoformulatehisstruggleforsurvivalprinciplesinwhichfavorable
speciesvariationswouldbepreservedwhiletheunfavorablewouldfallpreytoevolutionary
elimination.
Anextremelyimportantcomponentofcreativethinkingistheabilitytofocusentirelyonaproblemto
solve.TheBeagletripprovidedsuchanopportunity.Afterthetrip,Darwinwasfortunatetobeableto
workaloneathome.TheprivilegeofbeinganindependentscientistwasquiteuniqueinVictorian
England.FamilyendowmentsmadeitpossibleforDarwintofocusonhiscreativepursuitswithoutthe
needtoseekemploymentandworryingaboutdowntoearthconcerns.Darwinalsotooksciencetohis
familylifewheninascrupulouslyscientificmannerheproposedtohiscousinEmmaWedgwood.His
choicemadeitpossibletospendfortyyearsoncreativeinvestigationdespitethefactthathismarriage
withEmmaresultedinprocreationoftenchildren(threeofwhichdiedatyoungage).Onlyhishealth,
whichmayhavesufferedasaresultofhisBeagletripe,couldhavebeenalimitingfactor.Fordecades,
however,Darwinrelentlesslypersistedinhisendeavor.
Partofhissuccesscanalsobeattributedtohissocialskills.Hedidnotwanttopublishhistheories
earlyknowingthesecouldalienatemany.Herealizedthatthetheoryofevolutionstoodinsharp
contrasttotheteachingsofthechurch(esp.theliteralinterpretationofthebookofGenesis).Hewas
abletoworkwithotherscientistswithoutoffendingtheirfeelings.Heevenhadtorestrainhis
commentsathomeashiswifeEmmawasadevoutChristianwhocouldnotacceptthehereticclaimsof
theorganicevolution.
WhatultimatelypromptedDarwintomakehisworkpublicwasapaperbyAlfredRusselWallace,
whichindicatedthatWallacehasindependentlyarrivedtosimilarconclusionsasDarwinhimself.
Darwinreadthepaperin1858andwasdisheartenedbythefactthathiseffortcouldhavebeen
preempted.Amonthlater,WallaceandDarwinannouncedtheirtheoriesinajointpaperreadtothe
LinneanSocietyofLondononJuly1,1858.Ayearlater,Darwin'sOntheOriginofSpeciesbyMeans
ofNaturalSelectionwaspublished.Thiswasoneofthemostinfluentialscientificworksinhuman
history.Throughouttherestofhisprolificlife,Darwinworkedonexplainingtheimplicationsofhis
theoryandoneasingtheacceptanceofthedirectlinkbetweenhumansandanimals.
Eventoday,Darwin'stheoryishardtoswallowtoreligiousfundamentalists.Creationistsoppose
evolutionasbeingcontrarytotheBible.In1999,despitetheofficialstandoftheVatican,
fundamentalistChristiansontheKansasboardofeducationremovedevolutionfromthestatescience
curriculum.Asaresultofpubliccriticismandridicule,boardmemberswhosupporteddeemphasizing
evolutionweredefeatedinGOPprimariesinAugust2000.In2001,thenewboardvoted7to3forthe
newstandardstoagainrequirethesecondaryschoolstoteachevolution.
Darwin'sscientificgeniuschangedtheworld.Therootsofhiscreativesuccesscouldbefoundinhis
richupbringing,extensiveandalwaysgrowingknowledge,decadesoffreedomtofocusonhisresearch,
socialskillsinmaneuveringtheacceptanceofhistheoryinevangelicalEngland,unrelentingand
scrupulousspadework,andpersistencethroughdifficulty
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Negativeandpositiveemotions
Humanemotionisapowerfuldrivingforce.Itcanbehighlycreativeaswellashighlydestructive.It
coulddriveayoungNazitoaredhotfrenzyofhatred,butitcouldalsodriveEinstein'sbraintoaweand
admirationofthesymmetryofnature.Humanemotionisoftenrationalized,i.e.itmaylayattherootof
anendeavorthatisotherwisecoveredupwithrationalexcuses.Again,rationalizedemotioncanresultin
adisasterorcanpreventit.Hitler'sblindhate,backedupwithpseudoscientificrationalization,leadtothe
holocaust.Atthesametime,theheroicglobaldefenseoftheworldpeaceinthe1940swouldnotbe
possiblewithoutthesenseofoutrageagainstthosewhodisrespectedtheprinciplesofpeaceful
coexistence.Emotionsareverydifficulttocontrolandwilloftendetermineaperson'schancesfor
successorfailure.Negativeemotions,suchasanger,arecounterproductiveandcontributelittletoa
person'sgrowth.Positiveemotions,suchaswelldosedpassion,helponeovercomeobstaclesthatare
boundtobefoundonanyracecourse.Emotionsarealsotransitiveandtendtoamplifyinsocialgroups.
Angerbegetsanger.Cordialitybegetscordiality.Yourefforttobegetpositiveemotions,insuitable
circumstances,willsendpositiveripplesthroughsocialcirclesyouinteractwith.
Oneofthebasicpremisesofdevelopingageniusbrainis:learntocapitalizeonpositiveemotionsand
circumventnegativeemotions.
Emotionmanagementskillsmayactuallybethemostimportantfactorthatwilldetermineifapersonwill
orwillnotdevelopitsfullgeniuspotential.Asarguedthroughoutthisarticle,personalityfactorseems
overallmoreimportantthanlowlevelinformationprocessingpowersofthebrain.Negativeemotionsare
probablythenumberonecauseofthescarcityofgeniusinindustrializednations.
Thepowerofemotioncomesfromthefactthattheyarewiredintothelowlevelbrainstructuresthat
cannoteasilybecontrolledbyrationalthinkingoriginatingintheprefrontalcortex.Anangryindividual
cancommanditsbraintocooldownhowever,itcannotinstantlyreducethelevelofadrenalinethathas
alreadybeenreleasedintothebloodstream.Adrugaddictcandeciderationallytogiveupdrugs,but
whenthephysicaleffectsofcravinghithissystem,hisrationalbrainisoftenpowerless.
Inthecourseofevolution,theemotionalcircuitsofthebrainplayedacriticalroleinsurvival.Emotions
helptranslatetheinnerneedsoftheorganismintobehavioralmodesandactions.Onceyourblood
glucoseleveldropsdown,oneoftheoutcomeswillbetheactivationoftheappetitecenter.Asaresult,
thinkingoffoodwillpervadeallyouractions.Withtime,allyourattemptsatgeniusendeavormayfade
intoinsignificanceasyourbrainwillkeeponreverberatingthehungermessage.Inthiscase,yourneed
forfoodisconvertedintohunger,andyourbrainisturnedintoafoodhuntingmode.Similar
mechanismsareinvolvedinsatisfyingthirstorreproductiveneeds.
Humanmentalandemotionalcharacteristicsarestronglyrootedingeneticsandmaylimitorenhance
intellectualdevelopment.Ittakesonlyafewgenerationsofcontrolledbreedingtoinfluencethe
fiercenessofdogs.Notsonaturalgeneticselectionofmodernsocietiespromotesawidespectrumof
behavioralcharacteristics.Asaresult,weallaredrivenbyamixofemotionsthatmaybeeithervaluable
orunwelcome.
Allhealthyhumanbeingsarepronetoexperiencenegativeemotions.However,inthecourseof
upbringingmostofusgainasufficientrationalcontroloveremotioncenters.Nobodyhasseenthepope
swinginghiscrosier.AndpicturesofNikitaKhrushchevbanginghisshoeagainsttheUNGeneral
Assemblypulpitin1960belongtothefootageofthecentury.Incidentally,Khrushchevissaidtohave
beeninfullcontrolofhisemotionsandputhisshowuppurelyforpoliticalreasons.Apartfromastrong
geneticcomponent,upbringingalsoplaysahugeroleinthewayahumanbeingcopeswithemotion.A
recentUSstudyfoundthatchildrenwhospendlonghoursindaycarearemorelikelytobeaggressive,
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disobedient,anddefiant.Thosenegativecharacteristicswerecorrelatedwiththenumberofhoursspent
bykidsindaycarecenters.Atthesametimechildreninhighqualitydaycareprogramsgotbetterscores
inproblemsolvingteststhanchildrenwhostayedathome.
Entirelydifferentemotionmanagementtechniquesmustbeusedfordifferentemotions.Someemotions
aregeneratedathighlevelsinthecentralnervoussystem,othersmayhavealongerlastinghormonal
basis.Forexample,psychogenicangercaneasilybecontrolledbyrationalization.Thesimplesttechnique
hereistodetermineandavoidstimulithatcouldgeneratenegativeemotion.Ontheotherhand,
hormonallybaseddepressionmaybehardertocombat.Mildsadnesscanbecombatedwithexercise,
caffeine,occupationaltechniques,etc.However,moreviolentmoodswingsmayhaveagenetic
backgroundandrequireprofessionalconsultationorpharmacologicalintervention.Agreatdealof
emotionallifeinmodernsocietyisrelatedtohumaninteraction.Assuch,emotionscanoftenbe
influencesbymoldingone'scircleofcontactsandmodesofcommunication.Youcaneasilyeliminatea
greatsourceofnegativeemotionsbysimplyavoidinginteractionwithindividualswhoseemtohave
negativeinfluenceonyouremotionsandwaysofthinking.WhenyourMomusedtosay:"Idonotlike
thisnewfriendofyours",shekeptexpressingauniversaltruth:peopledostronglyinfluenceeachother.
Lookforpeoplewhowillhavepositiveinfluenceonyou.Atthesametime,neverforgetthatyoushould
striveathavingapositiveinfluenceonothers!Again,positiveemotionsbegetpositiveemotions.
Yourlifephilosophywillhaveapowerfulimpactonyouremotions.Neitherstrivingatgeniusnor
strivingathappinessshoulddetermineyourphilosophy.Afterall,youshouldnotmoldthetruthtoserve
arbitrarygoals.However,Ibelievethathelpingpeoplereachthetruthviapromisesofhappinessor
intellectualaccomplishmentisofnoharmaslongasthemeansandtheendsallarecompatiblewhichI
believetheyare.
Attherootofyourphilosophicalchoicewillbetheclassicconflictbetweenstoicandepicureantrendsin
philosophy.19thcenturyutilitarianHenrySidgwickconstruedthehedonisticparadoxtodemonstrate
thatseekinghappinessisastraightwaytomisery.PersonalpowerguruTonyRobbinsjustlysuggeststo
conditionyourselftolovewhatyoudecideisbestforyoutodo.Inotherwords,insteadoflivingtobe
happy,youshouldratherhappilyliveuptoyourhighestideals.Ifyoucrosschemistryonyourpathway,
rarelywillyoustudyitwithenthusiasmasofthefirstday.Youwillneedtoconditionyourselftolovethe
subject.Yourincreasingunderstandingofchemistryislikelytocontributetothisnewlove,yetitis
worthnotingthatallsciencesaremostapproachablefromtheirhistoricperspective.Thisisthebestway
toillustratethefascinatinghumanstrugglewithmystery.NowonderDaltonorAvogadrowerereadyto
devotetheirlivestothesubject.Chemistryisfascinatingifyoujustlearntherightwaytolookatit.A
geniusentrepreneurandinventorDeanKamenpromoteshisfather'sformulaforsuccess:Picksomething
youloveandmakeityourlife'swork.Dowhatisimportantandnotwhatiseasy.
Apartfrombeingguidedbyreasonratherthanemotion,youneedtobeawarethatmeasuringyour
progressbyaccomplishedgoalsisnotalwaystheoptimumstrategy(eventhoughthisisexactlywhatall
moderncorporationsdo).Youmayactuallybeabletogetfurtherifyouderivesatisfactionfromyour
littledailyaccomplishments.Donotwaitforthegreattrophy.Letthelittlegooddeedbeitsownreward.
Onceyoureachahigherlevelofsatisfactionwithlittlethings,yourbrainmayworkonahighergearand
carryyoubeyondyouroriginaltarget.
Somehighlydrivenyoungpeoplesetambitiousgoals:earn$5millionin5years.Seeminglysuchagoal
couldputyouonahighalertandyoucouldhopetofloattowardsthetargetonagoodrushofadrenaline.
Interestingly,BillGatesmadesimilarvowsandhadsucceeded.Althoughmanywouldliketoattributeto
himsomecarnivorousinstinctsthatmadehimwinnumerousskirmishesandbattles,BillGateshas
alwaysbeenageniusvisionary.Hissuccessderivesfromthestrategybasedonunderstanding(mostof
thetime)thefutureoftechnology,themechanicsofcompetitionandthecyberneticsofmanagementnot
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fromhispredatoryambitions.Afterall,therearemanywolvesouttherewhogetnowhere.Asweenter
theKnowledgeAge,aggressivestrategieswillpaylessandless.Moreandmore,thebrainpowerwillbe
indemand,andbrainpowerfeedswellonpositiveemotion.Smallstepsgoodnightsleepphilosophy
servesasagoodmediumforbreedingbrainpower.Witha$5milliontargetonyourmind,onceyoumiss
it,ordonotfindyourselfontherighttrajectory,yourlifecanenterafrustratingpath.Insteadof
multiplyingyourstrengths,youmightslideaslipperyslopeofstrugglewithyourownemotions.
Youroptimizationalgorithmshouldnotsetanumerictargetinconditionsofinsufficientinformation.If
yousetittoohigh,youwillexperiencefrustration.Ifyousetittoolow,youwillnotgetmotivated
enough.Insteadofoptimizingforyourgoal,maximizetheresultsofyourdayusingthecriteria
determinedbythegoal.Thisbenefitsthemankind(youareveryproductive),itisalsooptimumforyou:
yougetmaximumresults/expectationsratiothatpowersaselfpropagatingspiralofcreativity.
Apopularbeliefsaysthatmoney,fameorluxuryarethemainfactorsthatdriveyoungpeople.Famed
psychologistAbrahamMaslowdisagreed.Bystudyingmotivationinsubjectsrangingfrommonkeysto
humangeniuses,hedevelopedhiswidelyquotedHierarchyofNeedswithselfactualizationatthevery
topofneedsthatcometoplayingeniusminds.Toexperimentallyshowtherealsourceoftoday'syoung
man'spositiveexperience,DrKennonSheldonoftheUniversityofMissourirefinedMaslow'stheories,
andthenprovedthemaccuratewithanexperiment.Heaskeduniversitystudentstorecallmostsatisfying
eventsintheirlife(see:Whatmakespeoplethehappiest?).Thestudentsderivedmostsatisfactionfrom
selfesteem,relatedness(relationshipswithotherpeople),autonomy(beingincontrol)andcompetence
(beingproductive).Theyderivedminimumsatisfactionfrompopularity,influence,moneyorluxury.
Stoicphilosophyislikelytohelpyoucapitalizeonthosesourcesofinternalharmonyidentifiedby
Sheldon.Lackofinternalpeacemightbeoneofthemostimportantfactorsthatpreventspeoplefrom
reachinggeniuslevelsofintellectualachievement.
Ofpositiveemotions,passionandtheragetomastercountmost.However,thesearehighlyelusive.
Everyparentwhotriedtosparklepassioninhischildknowsthatattimesthisseemslikealosingbattle.
Fewtechniquesexiststoefficientlysparkpassion.Adultsareabletorationalizetheiractionsand
generatepsychogenicmotivation.However,ifayoungindividuallackspassion,hisdevelopmentwill
sufferimmensely.Itmaybehighlyvaluabletofinda"passionhook"toinfluenceayoungman'saction.
IfapoorlymotivatedindividualfindspassionforcomputergamesorLegoblocksorcollectingbeercans,
heorshedemonstrateshisorherabilitytoactpassionately.Thedifficultjobofaneducatoristofinda
pathwaytowardsconvertingthesepassionsintoproductiveandeducationalactivities.Fordeveloping
genius,theoriginalmotivationforlearningandselfgrowthisoflesserimportance.Itcanberationalor
purelyemotional,basedonhighaspirationsorongreed,itcanbereligious,culturalormaterial.
Whateverthestartingmotorofchange,oncethechangeisunderway,growthandcontinuallearningwill
helpsteeranindividualtowardsuniversaltruths.
Havealookatthesummarybelow.Inviteallpositiveemotionsthathelpyouexecuteyourgrandplans.
Loveyourwork,people,andtheworld.Runawayfromsourcesofnegativeemotion.Although
ultimatelyrootedinignorance,negativeemotionhasbeenthesourceofwarandconflictthatdominated
humanhistory.Newton'squartercenturybattlewithLeibnitz(seeearlier)isanexcellentillustrationofa
destructiveimpactofnegativeemotions.Eventhegreatestgeniuscanfallpreytolowlevelemotionwith
nothingpositivetocomeoutinreturnexceptforyetanotherlessonforfuturegenerations.
Humancharacteristicsderivedfromemotionscanbedividedintothoseofnegativeimpactandthoseof
positiveimpact.Inaddition,ourabilitytosteerandcontrolemotionsprovidesforthethirdclassof
characteristics:
Negativeemotionsareoftenstronglyrootedingenes.Theseincludeaggression,anger,
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maliciousness,envy,sadness,lowstresstolerance(incl.anxiety,introvertedness,fearfulness,etc.),
mentaldisorders(e.g.manicdepressivedisorder,schizophrenia,depression,etc.)
Positiveemotionscanoftenbecomenegativeifoverdosed.Theseinclude:optimism(notmania),
passion(notobsession),enthusiasm,curiosity,love(notinfatuation),openness,compassion,
constructivepatriotism(notnationalismorchauvinism),scrupulousness(notobsessive
compulsiveness),laughter(notrisibility),loveofmusic,movies,sports,etc.
Emotionalcontrolistheabilitytomakeaconstructiveuseofone'semotionaldrives.Itmaybe
stronglyrootedinprefrontalcontrolandrationality(superiorityofreasonoverlowleveldrives),
selfdiscipline(impassiveadherencetoone'sownresolutions),patience(absenceofemotionin
faceofadversity),andabilitytodelaygratification(i.e.beingmotivatedbypositiveemotionsfor
longtermstrategies)
ThomasEdison
ThomasEdisoncontributedgreatlytoourunderstandingofgenius.Ononehand,heeasilymeetsthe
stricteststandardsofgenius.Hestillholdstherecordofthetotalnumberofsubmittedpatents(over
1000ofwhich400cameinasingleyear).Ontheotherhand,ofthegeniusesdiscussedinthisarticle,
Edisonseemstohavebeenmostvisiblyselfanalytical.Usinghisownexperience,heformulatedquite
anumberofrulesonhowgeniusdevelops,includingtheimmortalencouragementtoaugmentingthe
mindwithhardwork:geniusis1%inspirationand99%perspiration.Edison'sapproachtocreativity
madeaphilosopherAlfredNorthWhiteheadproclaimin1926:"Thegreatestinventionofthe19th
centurywastheinventionofthemethodofinvention,whichhasbrokenupthefoundationsoftheold
civilization".
Accordingtohisownaccount,therootofEdison'sgeniuscanbefoundinhisselfeducationandina
warmfamilyenvironment.AsforDarwin,lovingmotherlycarewasessential:"Mymotherwasthe
makingofme.Shewassotrue,sosureofme,andIfeltIhadsomeonetolivefor,someoneImustnot
disappoint".Histirelessworkhabitsformedinchildhood.Hestartedlosingthesenseofhearingearly.
Hisformaleducationlastedonlythreemonths,andhewasnotconsideredbrightatthattime.Hehad
problemswithmath.Oneteacherevencalledhim"addled".Fewhadnoticedthesureearlysignof
genius:Edisonasked"toomany"questions.Child'scuriosityisthebasisofearlylearning.Kidswho
askzillionsofquestionslearnfasterthantheirreticentcounterparts.Theyoftencausemoretroublethan
theconformingones,andconsequentlygetlowerratingsfromtheteachers.Overactivekidsgetlabeled
withADHDeventhoughagreatdealofgeniusesmatchthesymptoms.InEdison'scase,hismother
decidedtotakehimoutofschoolandteachhimathome.Hedevelopaloveforreading.Attheageof
9hegotabookaboutscientificexperiments.Hedidallexperimentsinthebookandbecameinterested
inchemistry.Hishearingdisabilityhelpedhimfocusentirelyonhisexperiments.Asaresultofhisself
instruction,hedevelopedadeeprootedcontemptforformalschooling.Hebelievedthatschoolsonly
focusonmemorizingfactsinsteadofdevelopinghighlyapplicableskillsandabstractrulesof
reasoning.Alongthelawsofmemetics,hiswordshaveoftenbeenquotedinadistortedform:"Don't
justmemorizeit.Reasonitout".Asaresult,afalseperceptionhastakenroot:memorizingiswrong,
reasoningisgood.Asdiscussedearlierinthisarticle,reasoningisnotpossiblewithoutmemorizingthe
necessaryfactsandrulesneededforderivation.Edisondefinitelyunderstoodthatbuthisideaswereput
intoamisleadingsloganoflearning.Memorizationismoreimportanttogeniusthanthesheerbrain
power.Thiscomparativestatementisjustifiedbythefactthatmostofusarebornwithsufficientbrain
power,butonlyfewuseittodevelophighqualityknowledgerichinabstractrulesofreasoning.Using
thelanguageofthisarticle,Edison'sstatementwas:schoolsprovideknowledgethatispoorly
applicableandpoorlyrepresented.Alas,inmostcases,trueuntilthisday.
AnothermisconceptionbornfromdistortingEdison'sstatementsis:learningbydoingorbyplaying,as
opposedtomemorization,isnearlyapanaceaforsuccessatschool.Thetruthisthatsomeskillsare
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betterlearned"bydoing"whileotherssimply"byunderstanding".Imagesofadissectedcadaverleave
farmorepermanentimprintsinmedicalstudent'smemoriesthanaverbaldescriptionofthesame
anatomicalstructures.Usingmathematicalformulasforsolvingparticulartasksisbyfarmoreefficient
thatjustmemorizingthem.Yetthecostof"doing"mustbetakenintotheaccount,too.Fewadvocate
learninggeographybytravelingtoallremotecornersoftheworld,orlearninghistorysolelyviareading
voluminoussourcematerialsinHebrew,GreekorLatin.Whatisessentialthough,learningmustbea
pleasuretobeeffective,andshouldfollow,asEdisonputit,"thenaturalinstinctsofthehumanbeing".
Edisonbelievedthattheeducationhegainedathomewasanexcellentpreparationforhisfuture
successinengineering.Hewasalsoacutelyawareofthelimitedperimetersofhumanbraintoacquire
knowledgeaswellastheunlimitedoceanofknowledgethatislefttobeuncoveredbythemankind:We
don'tknowamillionthofonepercentaboutanything.
Askedaboutthemostimportantfactorsofhissuccess,Edisonreplied:"hardwork,sticktoitiveness,
andcommonsense".Wecantranslateittotheterminologyusedinthisarticleto(see:Componentsof
genius):
hardwork:lifelonglearning
hardwork:persistentexecutionofplansmoldedstrictlytowardsachievingone'sgoals(seebelow
toseewhyNicolaTeslawasweakerinthisarea)
sticktoitiveness:persistence,willpowerandwellchosenspecialization
commonsense:learningandapplyinghighlyabstractrulesofgeneralreasoning
Edison'sgeniuscouldthenbesummarizedasanobsessionforsolvingaspecificproblem,stickingto
theproblemforaslongasittakestosolveit,acquiringnecessaryknowledge(includingnewrules
derivedintheprocessofreasoning),andthusacquiring"commonsense"thatwillhelpsolvemore
problemsinthefuture.
Edisonvs.Tesla
NicolaTeslawasalesserknowbutpossiblyevenagreatergeniusthanEdisonhimself.Hewasbornan
OrthodoxChristianSerbin1856intoday'sCroatia,whichwasthenpartofAustriaHungary.Hismind
conceivedwhatcouldbeoneofthefirstvisionsoftheInternet.First,asateenager,heenvisageda
globalpostalsystembasedonhydraulicpipes.Laterinlife,heunsuccessfullytriedtoconvinceJ.P.
Morgantoworkonbuildingaworldbrainlikesystemofwirelesscommunicationstobroadcastphone
conversations,texts,pictures,andmusic.
UnlikeEdison,Teslareceivedstrongformalschoolingandwasatamazingeasewithmath.Tesla
arrivedasapoorimmigranttoNewYorkin1884onlytodiscovertohisdisappointmentthat,
culturally,AmericawasagesbehindEurope.WithaletterofrecommendationfromEdison'sEuropean
friend,Teslawashiredasayoungapprenticeandgotajobthatwassupposedtoearnhim$50,000.He
completedthetasktoEdison'sinstructionsinseveralmonthsbutdidnotgethispay.Edisonexplained
thatthehugedollarawardwasnotwhatTeslaexpectedittobe:"Whenyoubecomeafullfledged
AmericanyouwillappreciateanAmericanjoke".Teslaquitdisgusted.ThisishowTeslaEdisonbattle
begun.AlthoughTesla'sideaswereconsideredsuperior,hewasunabletoconvertthemintoafinancial
success.Teslawasimmenselycreativeandwouldalwaysneglectthebusinesspartofhisactivities.The
neglectoflesscreativesideoflifebyinventivemindsgaveorigintothe"Shoottheinventor"
phenomenon.Creativepeopleareeasyto"shoot"becausecravingforcreativityisaninherentfeatureof
theirbrainsthatmakesthemvulnerable.Creativitybecomesmoreimportantthanhonors,luxuries,
moneyandotherrewards.Tesla'salternatingcurrentapproachwasbyfarsuperiortoEdison'sstubborn
explorationofthedirectcurrent(Edison'sstubbornnesscouldbeexcusedbyhispriorsizeable
investmentinDC).TeslaarrivedtoAmericawithsomedesignsreadyinhisheadbutEdisonwouldnot
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listentoTesla'sideas.TheACDCbattlewaswonbyTesla'sbrainchild,buthesoldhispatentsearly
andearnedlittle.ArumorsaysthatTeslaandEdisonweresupposedtobechosentoshareaNobelprize
inphysicsbutTesladeclinedtosharetheawardclaimingthatEdisonisnotscientificenough.They
haveneverreceivedtheprize.TeslawasalsotheearlyinventoroftheradiobutitwasMarconiwho
receivedthehighlyvaluablepatentandaNobelPrizein1909.Marconi'spatentwasreversedin1943
whentheUSSupremeCourtupheldTesla'searlierpatent,butitwastoolateforTeslahimself.Hedied
afewmonthsearlier.TeslacouldhavebeenmorecreativethanEdisonbuthewaslessefficientin
carryinghisbattlesforrecognitionandfinancialawards.EdisonandMarconialwayswieldeda
substantialadvantageincontactsandconnections.ThelastthirtyyearsofTesla'slifewereseverely
damagedbythewoundshesufferedinthisunequalstruggle.EdisonwouldalsobeatTeslaasateam
player.Tesla'ssocialskillswereinadequateinthatrespect.Likemanyhighlycreativeindividuals,he
preferredtoworkalone.Hisimperfectexecutionofhisownplansdeprivedhimofthemostprominent
placeinthehistoryofmankind.
OneofRonaldReagan'sfavoritesayingstakenfromRobertWoodruffwas"thereisnolimittowhata
mancanaccomplishifhedoesnotmindwhogetsthecredit".However,Teslacouldhavecompleted
dozensofhisunfinishedideashadhebackeduphiscreativegeniuswithskillsforchoosingappropriate
partnersthatwouldprotecthisworkfrombeingovershadowed,stolenorforgotten.Teslawasalso
slightlynaiveinablindtrustinjustice.In1904hesaidaboutMarconi:"Heisagoodfellow.Lethim
continue.Heisusingseventeenofmypatents".Theneweconomyofthe21stcenturyseemsless
ruthlessthanthatofthelate19thcenturyAmerica.Today'sbrightmindsliveinmuchlessfearthattheir
effortswillnotbeappreciatedandrewarded.Naturally,asmanymoregeniusesareabletofulfilltheir
potential,theyalsofaceamuchstiffercompetitioninthefield.Ourperceptionofgeniusremainsthe
same,wereservethewordtotop1%ofthepopulation.However,thebarisbeingraisedwitheach
passingdecade,esp.withtheadventofthenewglobaleconomybasedontheInternet.Creativeskillsof
the19thcenturygeniusmightnotbeasimpressiveintoday'shighlyeducatedpopulation.
Interestingly,TeslaandEdisonsharedaremarkableabilitytosleeplittleandworkalot.Edisonwould
goonfordaystakingonlyoccasionalcatnapsonasofainhisoffice.WhileemployedatEdison's,Tesla
workingdaywouldlastfrom10:30amto5am.Inthiscontext,itisimportanttorememberthatthe
actualdemandforsleepdependsonindividualcharacteristicsandnocreativeindividualshouldever
contemplatecuttingdownonsleepinhopeofreachingtheintellectualheightsofthetwogeniuses.
Leastofall,shouldthealarmclockbeusedtoregulatesleep.Ifyouhappentosleeplittle,wakeup
naturallyandfeelrefreshed,youmayhavemoretimeforcreativity.Butthereisnoreasontobe
alarmedifyournaturalsleepdemandgoesbeyondninehoursaslongasyouwakeuprefreshed.For
comfort,Einstein,whosetheoriesTeslacontested,sportedahealthybrainthatrequiredninehoursof
sleepforbestperformance.
UnlikeEdison,Teslapreferredtomakeameticulousmentalpictureofhisideasandinventionbefore
proceedingwithactualexperimentation.Asayouth,hedevelopedaremarkableabilitytorun
computationsinhismindwithoutthehelpofpaperorasliderule.Ontheotherhand,Edisonwouldget
downtotrialanderror"perspiration"assoonashehadanuggetofanidea.Whichapproachisbetter?
Definitelyyoucansavehoursbybeingwellpreparedfor"perspiration"however,themomentwhen
youswitchfromthoughttoactionwillmostlydependontheexpectedcost.Teslamighthavehadmore
ideasinhismindbutEdisonhavebeatenhiminpracticalapplications
Lifelonglearning:RebirthoftheRenaissanceman
Recentyearshavedemonstratedatremendouspotentialofinterdisciplinaryscience.Findingsfrom
differentfieldscanlayfallowforyearsduetopoorcommunicationbetweenscientistsfromdifferent
fields.Thenasimpleassociationofknownideasproducesamajorbreakthrough.Manygeniusesofthis
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centurycomplainedthatwe,andscientistsinparticular,getoverlyspecialized.NorbertWienerpainfully
noticedthatifthedifficultyofaphysiologicalproblemismathematicalinessence,tenphysiologists
ignorantofmathematicswillgetpreciselyasfarasonephysiologistignorantofmathematics,andno
further.Theconsensusisthatspecialistknowledgeisnecessaryforscientificprogresshowever,thereis
noescapefrominterdisciplinarycommunicationandgettingabroadereducationinallfieldsofscience
thatwouldmakesuchcommunicationpossible.Afutureexpertwillneedtofindanoptimumbalance
betweenthespecialistknowledgeandgeneralknowledge.Withpopularizationoftechniquessuchas
spacedrepetitionandincrementalreading,itshouldbepossibletoseetherebirthoftheRenaissance
man.Rationalcontrolofthelearningprocessshouldmakeitpossibletocombineintensespecialist
explorationwithwellroundedstrengtheningofone'soveralleducationalbackground.Lifelonglearning
isbecominganecessitythatwillspreadfromintellectuallymostdemandingprofessionstootherfieldsof
labor.Rapidchangesintechnologydemandaquickadaptationprocessviaefficientwelltargeted
learning.WithtoolssuchasSuperMemo,itshouldbepossibletocastyournetwidefornewknowledge
andavoidthetunnelvisionthatmightleadyouintoablindalley.
Acceleratedlearningisalsoaprescriptionforarealtimeproblemsolving.Onceaproblemtosolve
loomslarge,youcanthrowmoreknowledgeatit.Overpoweritwithincrementalreading.Thisrefersnot
onlytoproblemsrelatedtoyourprofession.Itcanbeanythingfromatechnicalproblemwithyour
computertoanunexpectedhealthprobleminthefamily.WiththeaccesstotheInternet,anamazing
numberofproblemscanbesolvedbymeansofknowledgethatisliterallyavailableatyourfingertips.
Oncethingsgethardtocrack,youcanmethodicallyfloodyourmemorywithnewrelevantinformation
untilnewsolutionsstartcomingup.Intheend,asillustratedwithmanyexamplesthroughoutthisarticle,
asinglepieceofinformationstoredinthehumanbraincanchangethecourseofhistory!
SuperMemo2004:Dealingwithincomprehensiblearticles
Inincrementalreading,youwilloftenencountermaterialthatisdifficulttounderstand.Youwillneed
todevelopanalyticalskillsthatwillhelpyouidentifythereasons.Iftheculpritistheauthor,deletethe
article.Ifyouneedtodigestotherpiecesofyourcollectionfirst,delaythearticle.Ifyouneedmore
knowledge,delaythearticleandimportmoreknowledgethatwillbeneededtoboostunderstanding.
Donotforgetthatsometextsmakeaninherentlypoormaterialforincrementalreading(e.g.
descriptionsofscientificexperiments,mathematicalderivations,programmingexamplesinsource
code,casestudies,etc.).Insuchcases,useatraditionalthoroughanalysismethods,summarizeresults
ofyouranalysis,anduseSuperMemoonlytokeeptrackofsuchsummaries.
Thisishowyoucanapproachcomplexityinincrementalreading:
1. Startreadingthearticlefromthetop.Onceyoufindadifficultfragment,analyzeitanddiagnose
thereasonsforyourcomprehensionproblems
2. Iftherestofthearticledoesnotdependmuchonthedifficultfragment,keeponreading(atthe
bottomofthearticleyoucouldleavea"readagain"notetoindicatethatitmightmakesenseto
readthewholearticleagainandreturntothedifficultfragmentlater)
3. Iftherestofthearticlecannotbeunderstoodwithoutunderstandingthedifficultfragmentchoose
oneofthefollowing:
ifyouneedmoreknowledgetounderstandthefragment:postponethearticle(Learning:
JumpintervalorCtrl+J)
ifthefragmentishopelesslyintricateandleavesnohopeforthefuture(e.g.becauseof
wronggrammar,wording,formulation,logic,etc.),deletethearticleandsearchfor
alternativematerial
4. IfyoudecidetopostponethearticlewithCtrl+J,decidewhatnewknowledgeyouwillneed
beforegettingbacktothedifficultfragment.Listdictionaryentries,encyclopediaarticles,articles
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onthenetorlibrarybooksthatyouwillneedtoprocessbeforegoinganyfurther
5. Schedulethereviewofthenewknowledgeortrytosearchforitimmediately(e.g.bysearching
thenet)
6. Estimatetheearliesttimewhenyouhopeyouwillbeabletounderstandthedifficultarticleand
usetheappropriateintervalwithCtrl+J.Ifthearticleincludeshighpriorityknowledge,itis
alwaysbettertoerronthesafesideandprovideatooearlyreview
MajorGeniusFallacies:
1. Youmustbebornwithacreativemind!False!Somekidsindeedshowanincrediblecuriosity
andragetomaster.However,therearemanytechniquesthatcanhelpyoumultiplyyourcreativity.
StartoffwiththeGeniusChecklistbelow.Onceyouensurehealthyandpeacefulenvironmentfor
creativework,besureyoutryincrementalreadingasthebestwayto(1)quicklygainnew
knowledgeand(2)boostyourassociationalthinkingandcreativeoutput
2. Ifyoumisschildhood,yourgeniusislost!False!Humanbrainisplasticbydefinition.Inmany
fieldsoflearning,childhoodneglectisdifficulttorecoverlaterinlifehowever,trainingcan
alwaysproducemiracles.YoungJeanJacquesRousseaulosthismotherwithinaweekofhisbirth.
Hisviolenttemperedfatherencouragedreadingbutabandonedhimatten.Hisfamilyfoundhim
incompetent.Herunawayatsixteenandbegunhisadventurewithphilosophyatthe
encouragementofsomewhatdisreputableMadamedeWarenswhobecomehislover.Onething
Rousseauwasprobablybornwith,however:curiosity.HereadPlutarch'sLivesinchildhood,
whichindicatesthatthisperiodhasnotbeenentirelylost.Childhoodisveryimportantforgrowth,
butifyoulostit,youcanstillcatchupinmanyareaswithintensetraining
3. Donotmemorize!False!YoucantrackthisbeliefbacktoRousseau'snovelmile.Itsfallacy
comesfromthefactthatmanysourcesfailtodelineatethefullspectrumofknowledge
applicabilityfromdryuselessfactstohighlyabstractreasoningrules.Understanding,thinking,
problemsolving,creativity,etc.areallbasedonknowledge.Thisruleshouldratherbeformulated
as:Knowledgeselectioniscriticalforsuccessinlearning.Thecorrectandnonpejorative
definitionofthewordmemorizeisto:"commitknowledgetomemory".Alongthisdefinition,I
exclaim:Domemorize!Justmakeasmartselectionofthingstolearn.ArecentreportonJapanese
schoolsstatedanoveremphasisonmemorizingandadeficitinpromotingcreativity.However,
solutionsproposedforsuchanimbalanceareoftenquitezany(e.g.spendingasubstantial
proportionofschooltimeonplayingwithcolorfulsheetsofpaperforthesakeofcreativity).The
reportleadtoamediabuzzthatproducedaharmfulmisnomerequatingmemorizingwith
cramming.IhearagainandagainthatSuperMemoisjustatoolforcramming.See:Smartand
dumblearningforadiscussionandexamples
4. Proliferationofgeniusesisathreattohumanity.False!Mostofthegoodthingsthatsurround
usareaproductofnature,love,orhumangenius.Itistruethattheoutputofgeniusmindsisoften
usedforevilpurposeshowever,haltinggeniuswouldbeequivalenttohaltingorreversingthe
globalprogress.FewwouldadvocateareturntopreprintMiddleAgesorvoluptuoustimesofthe
RomanEmpire.Instead,weshouldratherproliferategeniusandemployinnovativemindsto
ensuringfutureharmonious,sustained,andmeasuredprogressofhumanity
5. Ifyoudosomethingstupid,soareyou!False!Humanbrainisanimperfectlyprogrammed
machine.Itneverstopslearningandverifyingitserrors.Itsknowledgebaseispainfullylimited.
Thesamebrainmaybeabletodisentanglethecomplexitiesofthestringtheoryandthenslipon
simplesums.Wemeasuregeniusbyitstopachievements,notbythelackoffailures.Itmaybean
enticingmediatidbittoseetheUSVicePresidentfailtospellthewordpotatohowever,theblame
shouldratherbeputontheirregularspellingofEnglish(whenItypedpotatohereinmyword
processor,Ididseetheominousredwavyunderlineagain).Themisspelledwordmightactually
indicatethepoliticianwhowouldratherspendhistimeonsolvingtheproblemsofthenationrather
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thanwastetimeoncrammingthousandsofspellingpatternsofEnglish.Ifyoudoaverydumb
thing,donotblameitonyourmentalpowers.Actually,oneofcentralcharacteristicsofgeniusesis
selfconfidence.Geniusesdosillythingsandoftengoaroundincircles.Whatmakesthemsucceed
intheendisselfconfidenceandtheunshakenbeliefinthesolvabilityofproblems
6. Geniusesdonotforgetthings!False!Geniusbrainsaremadeofthesamesubstanceasaverage
ones.Consequently,theirmemoriesaresubjecttoexactlythesamelawsofforgetting.All
knowledgeinthehumanbraindeclinesalonganegativelyexponentialcurve.Forgettingisas
massiveinageniusmindasitisinanyother.Thebesttoolsagainstforgettingare(1)good
knowledgerepresentation(e.g.mnemonictechniques)and(2)review(basedonactiverecalland
spacedrepetition).Geniusesmayholdanadvantagebydevelopingpowerfulrepresentationskills
thatmakelearningmucheasier.Theyoftendevelopthoseskillsearlyandwithoutaconscious
effort.However,thescienceofmnemonicsiswelldevelopedandyoucanseeadramatic
differenceinyourknowledgerepresentationskillsafteraweeklongcourse.Withhelpof
SuperMemo,youcanalsosolvetheproblemofforgettingbyoptimizingthereviewanddetecting
yourweakspotsinknowledgerepresentation(see:knowledgeleeches).Inaddition,awelcome
sideeffectofusingSuperMemoisthesubconsciousincreaseinyourmnemonicpowers.Inother
words,mnemonictechniquesandSuperMemocanhelpyouforgetaboutforgetting.Paradoxically,
absentmindednessisalsooftenassociatedwithgenius.Theproverbialabsentmindedprofessor
indeedtendstoforgetthingsbyfocusingonwhatisimportantandneglectingminorthingsinlife.
Thecurrentlocationofcarkeysisinalongerperspectivebyfarlessimportantthanthenewest
inspirationondevelopingthetheoryofeverything.Actually,duetotheirabsentmindedness
geniusesshouldbebannedfromdriving!Theirintensefocusonaproblemtosolvemaypose
dangertoothers.Ifyoutendtoforgetlittlethings,thismayactuallybeanindicationofyourstrong
creativefocus.UseMSOutlook'sCalendartofreeyourmemoryandyourmindfromworrying
aboutdetails.YoucanalsouseSuperMemotasklistsifthenumberoftasksisbyfarhigherthan
yourabilitytoexecutethem
7. Geniusessleeplittle!False!WhenlookingatEdisonandTeslaitiseasytobelievethatcutting
downonsleepdoesnotseemtoposeaproblemincreativeachievement.Thosewhotrytowork
creativelyinconditionsofsleepdeprivationwillquicklydiscoverthoughthatfreshmindisbyfar
moreimportantthanthose23hoursonecansavebysleepingless.Alessvisiblesideeffectof
sleepdeprivationistheeffectonmemoryconsolidationandcreativityinthelongterm.Lackof
sleephampersremembering.Italsopreventscreativeassociationsbuiltduringsleep.Itisnottrue
thatgeniusessleepless.Forexample,Einsteinadmittedthathewouldworkbestifhegotasolid
ninehoursblockofsleep.ThedifferencebetweenEdisonandEinsteincouldbeacombinationof
physiologyandworkingmode.Edisonwouldspendhoursonmanualexperiments,whichmay
involvelessdemandforsleepascomparedwithhighlyabstractreasoning.Edisonalsousedtorun
hisownbusinessaffairsthatcouldaddsomeadrenalinetoaffectthesleepphysiology.Apartfrom
thedifferenceintheworkingmode,thesleepphysiologycandifferbetweenindividual.Inan
extremecase,itispossiblethatEinstein'sbrainwas"slower"insleepandrequiredmoretimetodo
thesamejob.Hissleepcouldalsoincludealargerproportionofnonoptimizingstages(i.e.stages
thatarelikelytoactastransitionbetweenphysiologicallymostimportantStage4NREMand
REMsleep).Whatevertheunderlyingcause,youshouldfollowyournaturalsleepdemandand
nevercutdownonsleep
8. Earlytoripe,earlytorot!False!TermanStudycontradictsthisclaim.Seethesectiondevotedto
WilliamJamesSidisforadiscussion
9. Youneedadegree!False!Edisongotonly3monthsofformalschooling.Lincolnspentlessthan
ayearinschool.BenjaminFranklin'sformaleducationendedwhenhewas10.GrahamBellwas
alsomostlyfamilytrainedandselftaught.SteveWozniak,SteveJobs,DeanKamen,andBill
Gateswereallcollegedropouts.Ifyouhaveastrongpersonalityandanunswervingdriveforself
improvement,intheeraoftheInternet,youmayactuallygainmoreknowledgeonyourownas
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longasyouchooseafieldthatdoesnotrequireexpensivelabs,handsonexperience,closesocial
interaction,etc..Universitiestendtobeinefficientandwastefulwithoutdatedteaching
methodology.However,ifyoudoitonyourown,youalwayshavetokeepinmindthatyouneed
tolearnwhatisimportantnotwhatiseasyorjustinteresting.Universitiesarestillhardtobeatin
forcingyoutolearnthingsthatarehardbutimportant.Secondly,universitiesareagreatsourceof
inspiringhumaninteraction.Ifyoursocialskillsarepoororyoufindithardtomeetnewpeople
online,youshouldatleastexperimentwiththetraditionalschoolingsystem.Naturally,ifyour
motivationandselfdisciplinearenotofthehighestmark,goingthroughtheformalsystemof
educationmaybeamust
10. Geniuscanbeevil!False!Evil,bydefinition,isstupid.Onecanshowgeniusskillsinanarrow
fieldandstillbeanevilperson,butanevilhumanbeingdoesnotdeserveatitleofatruegeniusif
hisorherwisdomdoesnotreachbeyondthenarrowfieldofspecialization.Thisiswhyalltrue
geniusesaredeeplyconcernedwiththefutureofhumanity.Mistakenly,someuseHitlerasan
exampleofanevilgeniusquotingtheefficiencyoftheholocaustmachine,andsomeofhisearly
politicalandeconomicsuccesses.Hitlergrewinpowernotbyhisgeniusbutbyhisanger.Hewas
abyproductoftheTreatyofVersaillesandensuingdiscontentandnationalismamongGerman
population.ThetruthaboutHitlerisillustratedbytheutterfailureofhisplans,hisphilosophy,and
hisdreams.Theholocaustwasnotpoweredbyanythingbuthatethatspreadfarbeyondthemind
ofoneevilman.Lastbutnotleast,thesecondlawofthermodynamicsshouldteacheveryonethat
thereisnothinggeniusaboutdestruction.YourPCisanincredibleproductofthecollectivehuman
genius,yetittakesahammerandanuntrainedhandtoterminateitsusability.
11. Beunique!Thisboostscreativity!False!Therelationshipbetweenuniquenessandcreativityis
reverse.Itistruethatmanycreativepeopleareuniqueorstrangeinbehavior.Thiscomesfrom
theircreativewayoflookingatthingsandunwillingnesstosticktothoseformoftraditionthat
defyreason.Bynomeansanefforttowardsuniquenesswillboostcreativity.ItistruethatEinstein
smokedapipe,butitdoesnotmeanthatyouwillbemoreofageniusifyoutakeonsmokinga
pipe.IfBillGatescomestomeetyouinacrumpledoldshirt,itisbecausehevaluescomfortand
hisowntimemorethancanonsandconventions.Crumpledshirtsdonotaugmentmentalpowers.
DavidBoisemaycometotheUSSupremeCourtinsneakersbecausethesedolessdamagetohis
circulationandhiscourseofthought.GuysatYahoosleepintheirofficesandwalkaroundthe
companybarefooted.Onlybecausethatisergonomic.WozniakandJobsstartedthecompanyina
garagehopingtofollowthefootstepsofHewlettandPackard.Betterinagaragethannotatall.
Thisalldoesnotmeanthatifyoustartbarefootedinagarageyoustandabetterchancefor
successinthedotcomeconomy.Norwillithelpifyoupaintyourhairgreen.Unless,naturally,
thegreencolorwillhavesomepositiveandtangibleeffectonyourpsyche,yourboss,yourwifeor
yourbankclerk.Creativepeoplelookstrangeorunique,butthatisnotbydesign!Originalitydoes
notcarryanyvalueinitselfandstrivingforitiswasteful.Wholephilosophieshavebeenbuilton
theconceptoftheuniquevalueofstrongindividualwithnotsogoodoutcomeforthemankind
12. TVmakesyoustupid!False!TVorradiocanbeharmfulifyouareunabletocontrolwhatyou
watchorlisten,orifyouareunabletooptimizetheproportionofyourtimespentonbroadcasts.
Otherwise,TVisstillhardtomatchinitsabilitytopresenttoyouapreselectedandemphatically
graphicvideomaterialforthepurposesofeducationorgettinginformed.Videoeducationbasedon
thematerialfromreputablechannelsmaybethemostefficientformoftutorlesseducation.Rather
thangettingdrawnintoJerrySpringerorSurvivor,youcangetaquicklectureonevolution,
historyoftheOttomanEmpireorIslamicRevolutioninIranfromtheDiscoveryChannel,BBC
WorldorCNN.DoyouknowthatCNNhasspent$12milliontoproducetheir24partseries"Cold
War"?AsIwritethesewords,BBCWorldisrunninganexcellent26part"People'sCentury".
Hugeproductionbudgetshavebeenconvertedhereintoasuperbvideodocumentarythatwillgive
youthebestrateofknowledgeandinspirationperminute.Thefollowingrulescanhelpyouavoid
potentialdamageoftelevisiontoyourcreativework:
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choosetherightchannelandprogramminginadvance.Yourdecisionshouldbeconscious
ratherthanspontaneous.Donotletemotionsorcuriosityoverrideyourtrueneedsfor
informationandlearning
useaVCRtomakesureyoucanwatchthematerialatdesignedtime.Bynomeansshould
TVscheduleaffectyourownschedule.NeithershouldTVscheduledeterminewhatyou
watchandlearn.VCRwillalsohelpyoufastforwardoveradvertisingandlessrelevant
material
choosetheappropriatetiming.WatchingTVisbyfarlessdemandingtoyourbrainthan,for
example,learningwithSuperMemo.Thisiswhyyoucouldchoosethetimingwhereyour
brainislessalert,e.g.aftermealsorbeforesleep(remembertoavoidemotionallycharged
contentbeforesleep)
toboostpositiveresults,youcouldalsoaddsomeprioritytoforeignlanguagechannelsto
addsomeforeignlanguagelearning.IfEnglishisyoursecondlanguage,youshouldactually
giveEnglishchannelsastrongpreferenceduetothefactthatnocreativemindcantruly
benefitoftheKnowledgeAgewithoutafluentcommandofEnglish
13. Curiositykilledthecat!False!Forgetthisproverbialeyewash.Eveninthe13thcentury,
ThomasAquinasinSummaTheologicarationalizedcuriositybynoticingthattheviceofcuriosity
cannotbeaboutintellectiveknowledge(SummaTheologica:Question167).Aslongasyoustay
withintheboundariesofpoliteness,livebyabetterproverb:Curiosityisyourpasstothe
kingdomofknowledge
14. GeorgeW.Bushwon'tmakeagoodpresident!False!DonotbebeliedbyW'spoorknowledge
offoreignleadersorhisnotsoexcellentcommandofEnglish.Bothareindeedindicativeofhis
learningprioritiesandwillsomehowaffecthisleadership.However,despitetheappearances,
presidencyisacollectiveeffortandbeingageniusofsocialskills,delegationofdutyordiplomacy
maybeequallyormoreimportant.ThetruthaboutBushjr.willonlycomeoutafterhis
presidency,anditstruehistoricalimpactcanonlybeevaluateddecadeslater.Someonehasnoticed
thatknowledgeableAlGoremightshowatendencytobemoreautocraticwith"Iknowbetter"
attitude.Knowledgeisindispensabletoagreatleaderbutisnottheonlyfactor.Futurewilltell(see
FAQ)
Summary:GeniusChecklist
Tosummarizeandsolidifytheformulaforgeniusadvocatedbythisarticle,Ilistbelowthemost
importantfactorsunderlyingbrainpower.Isortedthesefactorssothattobeginwiththosethataremost
likelytobethestumblingblocksonyourownroadtogenius.Thecategoriesinevitablyoverlap.For
example,allthefirstthreepreconditionsforgeniusarestronglyrelated:stresslessness,goodsleepand
selfdiscipline,andmayprovidethekeytoansweringwhywearenotaplanetofgeniuses.Ilisted
individualpointsseparatelyonthebasisoftheirabilitytomotivateyourorinspiretoimproveyourown
attitudes,behaviorsandselfgrowthtechniques.Beforeyoustartreading,however,rememberwhat
HerbertSimonsaidaboutgenius:ittakesabouttenyearstodevelopit.Notonlywillyouhaveto
meetallthecriterialistedbelow,butyouwillyetneedlotsofpatiencebeforeyouclimbyoursummit!
1. Eliminatestress:Stressisunderstoodhereasrapidchangeresultinginanincreaseinstress
hormones(catecholamines,ACTH,cortisol,etc.).Stressfulchangecancomefromconflict,illness,
deathofarelativeorunemployment.Stresscanalsoresultfromseeminglyhappyeventssuchasa
marriageoraslapdashvacation.Pleasedonotfailtoread:TheMedicalBasisofStress.Asimple
testhereistomakesurethatcreativeproblemscirculateinyourmindwhileyouarebrushingyour
teeth.Youwillfailthetestifinsteadofcreativethinkingyouarepreoccupiedwithproblemsat
workorinthefamily.Stresswillcutdownyourcreativeefficiencymanifoldifittakesyourmind
awayfromproblemsolving.Mostofall,however,itwillaffectyourselfdiscipline:another
cornerstoneofgenius.Inaddition,sustainedstresswillresultinhypercortisolism,overactivityof
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thesympatheticsystem,andaresultinginhibitionoftheneuralgrowthandmemoryconsolidation
2. Sleep:Makesureyoualwaysgetasmuchqualitysleepasyourbrainrequires.Thesimplestfirst
step:throwawayyouralarmclock!Lackofsleepdeliversaquadruplewhammy:(1)itprevents
memoryconsolidation,(2)iteliminatesmemoryoptimizationresponsibleforvaluable
associations,(3)itmakesyoutiredandunwillingofmentaleffort,and(4)itunderminesyourself
discipline.Pleaseread:Goodsleepforgoodlearning
3. Selfdiscipline:Lackofselfdisciplineaggravatedbystressandlackofsleepisthenumberone
causeofreducedproductivityworldwide.Inessence,itexplainswhycapitalismappearstobe
economicallysuperiortocommunismtoday.Ifyoudevelopselfdisciplinehabitsearly,yourlifeis
likelytotakeanentirelydifferentcourse.Ifyoubelieveyouarelackinginthisfields,trythe
followingexercise:assoonasanactivitycomestoyourmindthatyoureallyareunwillingtodo,
doit.Yourrationalbrainmustbethemasterofyourbody,nottheotherwayaround.Standovera
poolofcoldwater.Doyouhatejumpingin?Themoreyouhateit,thesooneryoushouldjump.
Andintheendyouwillloveit.Coldshowerisaminorinconvenienceonceyouexperiencethe
volitionalpowerofthebrain.Youneedtomastertheskillofaperfectexecutionofyourown
plans.Themorepreciseyourplan,theharderitistoexecute,yetthemosttangibletheresults.
Learntodelaygratification.Ifyoufocusonyourlongtermgoal,yourdailyinconvenienceswillby
farbemorebearable.Astrenuousquesttowardsthegoalisthebestrewardtoageniusmind.
Minorawardsoflazinessdonotbefitatruegenius.Thinkofselfdisciplinedaily.Evenstrongest
mindscanrelaxitalltooeasily.Rememberaboutstressandsleep(twopreviouspoints).Stressand
sleepinessarechieffactorsthatundermineselfdiscipline
4. Learndayandnight:Knowledgeisthesubstanceyouconverttoideas.Althoughitispossibleto
learninstressandwithsleepdeficit,learningislistedherebehindstress,sleepandselfdiscipline.
Thisisbecausehumansexhibitinborncuriositythatmakesthemcraveforlearning.WatchingTV
andreadinggutterpressalsocomesfromthethesameneedforlearning.Mostpeopleunderstand
theimportanceoflearningbutarepreventedfromexecutingtheirplansduetostressorlackof
sleeporlackofselfdiscipline.Tobreedgenius,yourwholelifeshouldrevolvearoundlearning.
Youshoulduseeverysingleandslightestopportunitytolearnsomethingnew.Thiscanbe
Einstein'sbiographyoratalkwithahomelessjunkie.Read,talk,watch,surf,andkeeponthinking.
Donotavoidhardsubjects(e.g.mathematics).Moldyourlearningstrictlytoyourcreativeneeds,
butdonotfailtoexploreawiderangeoftopics.Touchallthebases!Avoidtunnelvision.
Rememberthatyoursuccessinlearningwillrequireappropriateknowledgerepresentationand
timingofreview(asinSuperMemo).Lackinguniversityeducation?Nevermind.LookatEdison,
Lincoln,orLeibnitztoseethepowerofselfinstruction.See:Formulaforsuccessinlearning
5. Abstractknowledge:exceptforlotsoflearning,youwillneedtopayattentiontothequalityof
knowledgeanditsabstractapplicability.Youcannotjustmemorizethousandsoffacts.Youhave
toconsciouslyexploreareassuchaslogic,probability,statistics,gametheory,decisiontheory,
computingsciences,optimization,aswellasotherbranchesofmathematicsandothersciences.
Youhavetodevelopaloveforlogicalthinking,scientificmethodandskepticism.Evenifyouare
amoviecritic,youwillstillneedaqualitylogictoframeyourjudgment.Rememberthatall
knowledgeisvolatileandmaybesubjecttofalsificationatanytime.Keepyourmindopentonew
truthseveniftheyseemtoturnyourpresentvisionoftheworldupsidedown.See:Smartand
dumblearning
6. Knowledgerepresentation:themainthingthatmakesgeniusbrainsstandoutistheirabilityto
storequalityknowledgeinawaythatiseasytorememberandeasytouse.Geniusbrainscansee
complexthingsinasimpleform.Theylookatthesametextorpictureandseeadozentimesmore
thananaverageindividual.Anaveragereaderwillsay:"Iunderstand,sowhat?".Ageniusreader
willsay:"Eureka!"andlistseveralapplicationsofthejustacquiredpieceofknowledge.Geniuses
simplifywhilelearning.Theybuildabstractmodels.Theydevelopabstractlanguagesfor
representingknowledge.Thoserepresentationskillscanalsobedevelopedbytraining.Haveyou
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evertriedtolearnKanji(Japaneselanguagesymbols)?IfyouseeKanjiasatangleofconfused
sticks,youareatypicalbeginner.Withtimehowever,Kanjisymbolsshouldbegintosingtoyou
andtalktoyouintheirownlanguage.Onceyoupassthefirstfewhundred,thenextthousand
shouldgosmoothly.Thesamehappensifyoulearn20x20multiplicationtable.Withtimeyou
learnsimpletricksforrunningsimpleandrepetitivecalculations.Insteadofmemorizing20x20
combinations,youlimityourselftoastandard10x10table(just25%ofallcombinations)andadd
tothisafewrulesformanipulatingnumbersinyourworkingmemory.Thebestwaytodevelop
goodrepresentationisto(1)understandthewaythememoryworks(see:20rulesofformulating
knowledge),(2)consciouslymodifyrepresentationsinthelearningprocess(e.g.reeditingitemsin
SuperMemo)and(3)workingonabstractknowledge(themoreyoulearntheeasieritbecomes).If
youencounteradifficultprobleminincrementalreading,postponeit.Withluck,someother
sourceorarticlewillhanddownabetterrepresentationthatwillbetternourishyourunderstanding.
Forexample,thebrainmetaphorpresentedinthisarticleissupposedtosimplifytherepresentation
ofgenius.Hopefully,itshoulddemystifygeniusbycomparingittoawellprogrammedcomputer.
Intheend,itshouldencourageyourtostartprogramming(yourownbrain).Seealso:Dealingwith
complexityinSuperMemo
7. Health:takeanobsessivecareaboutyourhealth!Keepyourbloodpressuredown(highblood
pressuredamagesyourbrain),donotabusealcohol(anydosethatvisiblyaffectsyourmental
performancemaybepoisonoustoyournervoustissue),usemedicationonlywhenabsolutely
necessary,forgetsmokingorillicitdrugs,exercise,learnmedicalsciences!!!Yourbrainisahighly
sensitiveorganthatneedsahealthyenvironmenttooperatein.Healthandunderstandingthe
biologicalneedsofyourbrainmaydramaticallyaffectyourperformanceinthelongrun
8. Avoidnegativeemotions:learntocontrolandeliminatenegativeemotionsthatbluryourmind
andlongtermvision.Theonlyacceptablefeelingtowardsothersshouldbelove,compassion,
admiration,inspiration,andotherpositives.Ifothernotsonicefeelingstendtocreepin,emigrate
intoyourcreativeworld.Don'tgetswayedordiscouragedbythenastythingsinlife.Rideon
regardless.See:Negativeandpositiveemotions
9. Optimismandpatience:driveyourlifeintotheoptimistictrack!Dowhatyouloveanddevelopa
strongsenseofpurpose.Optimismandpatiencerootedinstoicphilosophyarecriticalforyour
braintopeacefullyengageinacreativeeffort.Optimismhasahormonalbasisandassuchcanbe
manipulatedandenhanced.Although,itismorethanjuststresslessness,youwillfindlotsof
inspirationin:TheMedicalBasisofStress
10. Positivestimulation:thingsthatyoulovedoingshouldfindaplaceinyourschedule.Duetoits
intimateanddirectimpactontherewardsystem,efficientlearningbelongstothebestsourcesof
positiveexperiencehowever,tomanyitcanalsobeadrudgery.Forcounterbalanceyouneedto
findtimeforhighlyenjoyableactivitiesthatwillwidenyourenthusiasmforlivingingeneral.Beit
music,art,movies,sports,religion,love,etc.
11. Cleargoal:eventhesmartestandthemostknowledgeablebraindoesnotdeservethestatusof
geniusifitlivesinavacuum.Ifyouswitchyourfocusandinterestsindefinitely,youmayendup
withlittlecreativeoutputtoshowforyourtalents.Establishingacleargoalforyourlifeshouldbe
yourfirstpriority.Ifyouareveryyoungandstilldonotunderstandyourselforthesurrounding
world,youcansafelycommityourselftoenhancedlearning.Untilyourgoalscrystallize,learning
itselfmaybeyourtemporarygoal.However,youcannotkeeponlearningforthelearningsake
indefinitely.Atsomepointyouneedtofocusonabiggoalandyourlearningshouldbefocusedon
achievingthatgoal.Chooseyourgoalbyacombinationofyourowntalentsanditsutilitarian
impact.Whatdoyouthinkisthebestthingyoucoulddotomaketheworldabetterplace?Ifyou
knowit,makeityourobsession.Thegreatestmindsinhistorytendedtofocusintenselyonasingle
problemandneglectallminorthingsoflife.YoungBillGateswouldsleepunderhisdeskbecause
hedidnotwanttowastetimeoncomingbackhome.DavidBoise,AlGore'sstarlawyer,would
liveinadirtyhouseandruninwornoutsuitstoeconomizemoretimeongettingpreparedforhis
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cases.Lincolnwoulddressnicelyonlytopleasehiswife.Einsteinwouldbecomeentirely
irresponsivetotheoutsideworldoncehefocusedonhisrelativisticideas.Edisonwouldworkfor
daysnearlywithoutsleep.AndyGroveofIntelstatedjustly:"Onlyparanoidsurvive!".Youneeda
cleargoalandyouneedtopursueitobsessively.AsforGatesandEdison,rememberthatquality
sleepwaslistedsecondonthischecklist
12. Rationaloptimization:Yourgoalcanbegreatbutwhatifagreatergoalloomsonthehorizon?
Firstofall,yourultimategoalshouldbeultimate.Ifitisnot,youmustgeneralizeyourhierarchyof
valueuntilyoureachtherootofhumanexistencetoanswerwhatlivesattheendoftheinfinite
chainofwhys.However,yoursubgoalscanbeplastic.TobesureyoudonotfallintoBabbage
TeslaNelsontrapofgrandeurdesignandendlessimprovement,yourdecisionsmustbepurely
rationalandprobabilistic.RememberCray?Hewouldgiveupbellsandwhistlesonlytobethe
firstwithaworkablesolution.Iftheexpectedpayoffofthenewgoalisgreaterthanthatofthe
formergoal,switchit.Otherwisepersisteventhoughyouremotionsmaytellyouthatthenew
thingseemssomuchbigger
13. Balancelearningandproductivity:Ononehand,thischecklistasksyoutoworkhardtoachieve
yourgoals.Ontheother,itasksyoutospendyourwholelifeonlearning.Naturally,youneedto
findanoptimumbalancebetweenlearningandproductivecreativity.ThisiswhatStevenCovey
callsP/PCratio(i.e.theratioofeffortputintoproductionasopposedtodevelopingtheproduction
capacity).Asimpleruleofthumbis:startwithallocatingyourtimefiftyfiftytolearningand
creativity.Gradually,youwillseewherethebottlenecksdevelopandyoucanchangeyour
allocation(ifyouuseSuperMemo2004,Tools:Plancanhelpyousticktothechosenproportion).
Eachtimeyouswingawayfromtheoptimum,youroptimumoutputwillbediminished.Your
geniuscannotbelikeapinkCadillacinaglassshowcase.Neithercanyouneglectdeveloping
geniuswhilepursuingyourgoals
14. Ambition,motivation,energyandpersistence:theinternaldriveandtheragetomasterarethe
preconditionofatruegenius.Onlythesewillmakeitpossibletobuildextensiveexpertiseand
skills.Thebadnewsisthatthosefactorsarestronglygenetic.Thegoodnewsisthatyouare
probablyalreadysufficientlyendowed:afterallyouarrivedthatfardiggingintothislengthy
article.Eventhemerefactthatyougotdowntoreadingisabigplus.See:Personalityfactor
15. BalancefocusandgeneralityOneonehand,thischecklistasksyoutospecializeinanarrow
areainwhichyoucanbecomenumberoneintheworld.Ontheother,itasksyoutoneverneglect
widemultidisciplinarylearning.Naturallyyouneedtobalancethetwo,anditsallintermediary
forms.Again,youcantrytocutyourlearningtimeinhalfandspendhalfofyourtimeofspecialist
knowledgeandhalfongenerallearning.Thenyoucanmakefurthersubdivisionsandoptimize
timeallocationforindividualsubjects,subsubjectsandsubsubsubjects.Byfarthebestwayto
effectivelyprioritizeyourlearningistouseincrementalreading.Eachtimeyoudiscoverpainful
gapsinknowledge,youcantossinmorematerialtoincrementalreading.Incrementalreadingputs
nolimitonhowmuchmaterialyoucanimportintothelearningprocessanditmakesitpossibleto
spendonlyasmuchtimeonlearningasyoucanafford.Youcannotoverloadincrementalreading.
Ifyouaddmorebiology,allothersubjectswillproportionallybecompressedinpriority.Thisalso
makessurethatyoudonotbreakdownunderaloadoftemporaryfad.Whateversubjectsdeclines
inpriority,itcanberescheduled(i.e.reducedinpriority)ordeleted.Reprioritizationisactually
doneasyougowithlearning.Inincrementalreading,younearlydonotneedtoallocatetimefor
planningthelearningprocess.Yourprioritizationcangoconcurrentlywiththelearningprocess.
Youwillnotbelongtothosepeoplewholosetheirchanceforsuccessbyspreadingitalltoothin.
Neitherwillyoudeveloptunnelvision.Withconsciouslycontrolledincrementalreading,youwill
easilyfindanoptimumbalancebetweenspecializationandthebigpictureandallthatfallsin
between
16. Lifephilosophythewayyoulookattheworldandyourmostbasicbeliefswillstronglyaffect
yourabilitytodevelopageniusmind.Particularpoliticalaffiliationsorreligiousconvictionsareof
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lesserconcernaslongasthesedonotinterferemuchwithpointsonthischecklist.Yourviewswill
crystallizealongthegeniusitself.Yourreasonwillbeyourbestjudge.However,twofactorscome
tomymindasworthmentioninginthiscontext.Theybothcanbelikenedtoalwaysseeingthe
glasshalffull:
measuretheday:measureyourprogressbyyourdailyeffortandnotthe
distanceremainingtotheultimategoal.Onlywiththisparadoxicalapproach
willyoubeabletofollowtheoptimumtrajectory.Forone,today'seffortismore
tangiblethanthetinydifferenceadayoftenmakesonyourroad.Productivityis
themostsatisfyingfeelingthatwilldriveyoutoyourgreatestheights.Sensing
productivitymaybethemostimportantpositiveemotionofacreativemind.As
longasyouderiveyourprimarysatisfactionfromaperfectexecutionofyour
plansthatleadtothebiggoal,yourmotivationwillremainhighandtrajectory
correct.Occasionally,yourgeniusmayendupunfulfilledasitwaswithCharles
Babbage'sdifferentialmachineorTedNelson'sXanadu.Butthisisnoexcuse
fornottrying
forgetaboutmoney:ifyoufollowthemoneytrail,youwillinpartoptimize
againstcreativity!Moneyorientedoptimization,atleastintoday'sworld,will
preventyoufromdevelopingaclearcreativefocus.Veryfewtruegeniuseswere
motivatedbymoney.Mostweremotivatedbyutilitariangoalsorforsimply
beingthebestintheirfield.Ofgeniuseslistedinthisarticle,nonewere
motivatedbymoney(asforGutenberg,weknowtoolittletojudge).Youneed
tobendyourcreativitydowntoearthonlyasmuchastoensurethischecklistis
leftuntouched(esp.inpointsrelatedtohealth,stress,sleepandtimeforcreative
effort).ForcomfortyoushouldkeepinmindthatBillGates'esofthefuturewill
berecruitedfromthecreativeelite.Allnationsworkinconcerttodevelop
planetarymechanismsforrewardinggeniusesfortheirinvaluableeffort.
Genius'ssolejobandresponsibilityistocreateandcontributevalue
17. Incrementalreading:incrementalreadingisanewideayoumayhaveneverheardof.Itmakesit
possibletoreadthousandsarticlesatthesametime(see:Incrementalreading).Istartedusing
incrementalreadingonly1.5yearsago.However,ithasalreadybecomethekeycomponentofmy
dailyschedule,andIwholeheartedlyrecommendittoallcreativepeople.Forathorough
descriptionofincrementalreadingsee:Devouringknowledge.Itmaytakeyouuptoamonthto
learnthemostimportantskillsofincrementalreadingbutthebenefitsareimmense:
dramaticallyincreasingthespeedoflearning
optimizingthestructureofknowledgeinyourmindintermsofcoherence,
integrityandrepresentation
enhancingcreativitybyassociationofideas(seealso:Ideafisher)
maximizingmemoryconsolidationwhileyoufocusonknowledge
representation
prioritizingtheacquisitionofknowledgeinvariousfieldsaswellasfinetuning
thebalancebetweenspecializationandgeneralknowledge
overcomingtheboredomfactorindigestingcomplexmaterial
minimizingthestressrelatedtoinformationoverloadandmakinglearningfun
18. Writedownnewideas:nevertrustyourmemorytokeepyournewideas.Onceyoucomeupwith
anidea,writeitdowninstantly.Writeitdowneventhenwhenitisonlyahintonhowtosolvea
problem.Writeitdownifyouarenotsureifitiscorrect.Youcannotpredicthowyourhintora
shadowofanideawillaffectyourfuturethinking.Iftheideaseemsweak,soisitsmemorytrace.
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CharlesBabbagesaid:Writedownthethoughtsofthemoment.Thosethatcomeunsoughtforare
commonlythemostvaluable.GrahamBellkeptmeticulousnotesofhisideasthatcollectively
couldhelpBellbreaktheEdison'spatentrecord.Botvinnikkeptmeticulousnotesofhischess
gameideasandencouragedhisstudentstofollowthesamepractice.Bohr'sofficehadawallwith
narrowdrawerinwhichhewouldkeepmultiplemanuscriptsinvariousstagesofpreparationfor
publication.Hewouldnothurrythecreativeprocess,butwouldalwayswanttopreservethe
currentstateofthinking.Today,thebestwaytofollowBellandBohristowritedownnuggetsof
ideasstraightintotheincrementalreadingprocess.Onceyouwritedownanidea,describeall
associationsofthemoment.Gradually,intheincrementalreviewprocess,youwillreanalyze
individualpieces,builduponthem,consolidate,enhancewithnewknowledge,etc.Intheprocess
ofincrementalreading,addnewideastotopicsthatsparkedthem.Thiswillalsohelpyou
understandtheimpactofassociationalthinkingandincrementalreadingoncreativity
19. Brainstorming:discussgreatideaswithyourcolleagues:inagrouporinrelaxedonetoone
encounters.Doitinaparkorbythelakeside.Avoiddistractingorstressfulsurroundingssuchas
offices,crowdedplaces,etc.Learnbrainstormingtechniques.Youwillfindlotsofmaterialsonthe
netoratAmazon.com
20. Timemanagement:learntimemanagementtechniquestomaximizetheefficiencywithwhich
youuseyourtime.Ifyoudoublethetimespentoncreativeactivities,youcanincreaseyour
lifetimeoutputmanifold.Yourefficiencymaynotdoubleduetothefatiguefactor,buttheresults
ofcreativeoutputtendtocumulate,consolidate,andselfamplifyintime.Tesla'sACpatentswere
secondmostvaluabletothatofthephoneandTesla'sspeedherecouldhaveensuredlifetime
creativesecurityhadhenotsoldthepatentsearly.Hisearlyinventionprovidedhimwithmaterial
fornumerousideaslaterinlife.Creativityisagreatinvestmentthatcarriesahugeinterestthatwill
produceasnowballingeffectthroughoutyourlife.Toenhanceyourtimemanagementskills,start
frommakinganexactrecordofyourworkinacoupleofexemplarydays.Seehowmuchtimes
goestowasteortolowpriorityactivities.Ifyouhaveneverdonesuchanexercisebefore,youare
boundtobesurprisedwiththeamountofhiddenpotential.Timemanagementwillreleasethat
potential.UsesoftwaresuchasMSOutlooktoscrupulouslyscheduleandprioritizeyourtasks.
Learntouseemailinsteadofaphoneoracar.UsetasklistsinSuperMemotomanage
unmanageablylonglistsoftasksandideas.UseAbove&Beyondsoftwaretodynamicallymanage
yourschedule.Regularandrepetitivescheduleworksbestforcreativity.Ifyoucanafforda
repetitiveschedule,Tools:PlaninSuperMemowillbeofgreathelpinoptimizingtherealistic
allocationoftimetoindividualactivitiesinproportiontotheirpriority.Youwillfindlotsof
materialsabouttimemanagementonthenetoratAmazon.com
21. Studygreatpeople:fewthingsareasinspiringasthelivesofthegreatestindividualsthathave
walkedtheplanet.Lookforstrategiesthatcouldbehelpfulinyourowneffort
22. Studyyourself:trytodocumenthowyougotyourbestideasinthepast,andwhatservesyour
brainbest.Mostofallfocus,youshouldfocusonyouroptimumworkingenvironment,mental
state,andthemethodology
23. Growsocialskills:donotneglectskillsneededtointeractwithotherpeople!Teamworkand
cooperationcanproducemiracles.Byalienatingpeopleyoumayblockyourideasfromsurfacing.
Makefriends,andavoidbadlot.Listentoadvicebutpolitelyrefusetofollowitifyoudisagree.
Neverletotherpeopledominateyourpathinanyotherwaythanthroughasuperioradvice.Good
peopleareoftendrivenbytheirnoseasothersabusetheirpoliteness.Learntosay"No"
24. Slugitout:ifyouneedtosolveahardproblem,allocatemanyhourstothegoal.Foraperiodof
time,trytoforgetaboutthewholeworld.Tosslotsofnewinspirationalknowledgetoincremental
reading.Slugitoutasmuchasyoucan,andthensleepoverit.Learn,think,create,sleep,learn,
think,create,sleepuntiltheproblemissolved.Rememberthatyourmemoriesarereorganized
duringsleep.Thisiswhyyouwillneedplentyofsleepatthetimeofhighcreativeeffort.Most
likely,ononebeautifulday,youwillwakeupwithanideareadyforconsumptioninyourhalf
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awokenmind.Itisonlythematterofchoosingtherightproblemforyouragenda.Thegreatest
scientistsandinventorshadagoodnoseforspottingsolvableproblems.Iftheproblemissolvable
withpresentmeans,sluggingitoutinasmartwaywillproduceasatisfactoryoutcome
25. Warmfamily:toperpetuategenius,pleaseprovidethebestandmostinspiringenvironmentto
yourownkids.Parentalattentionishighlycorrelatedwithfutureyoungman'sachievements.
Historyofthegreatestmindsshowsthatloving,caring,inspiring,andwarmfamilywasthekeyto
developingbrainsthatchangetheworld(see:Edison,Darwin,Wozniak)
Theshortestsynthesisoftheabove25rulesisexpressedbythepointsuggestingyouworkongaining
highlyabstractknowledge.Alltheaboverulesformcriteriafordecisionmaking,andarehighlyabstract
andhighlyapplicabletoshapingyourbehaviorfromminutetominute.Theserulescanbeevokeddozens
oftimesduringthecourseofasingleday:eitherasguidancefordecisionmakingorimplicitlyaspartof
yourschedule,automaticbehavior,orgroundformorepreciserulesofconduct.Evenatthismoment
someoftherulescouldkickin.Forexample,ifitislateinthenightandareyousleepy,stopreadingthis
article,gotosleep,andcomebacktomorrow.Ifyoucannotfocusonreadingduetohighlevelsofstress,
trytoresolvethestressfulsituationfirst,orworkonstressmanagement(e.g.gofora30minutejogging).
Ifyouhaveanimportantexamtomorrowthatcouldcostyouayear,invokeselfdisciplineruleandstick
toyourhighlevelresolutionsfirst,etc.
Inshort,geniusdevelopsoveryearsofdailyremoldingofyourneuralconnections.Workhard,makeit
smartandbepatient:Romewasnotbuiltinaday
Furtherreadingatsupermemo.com:
GeniusFAQ
ModerneducationbasedonSuperMemothistextwrittenin1990aspartofmyMaster'sThesis
claimsthattrainingbasedonspacedrepetitioncanenhancecreativity.Thecontroversyitsparked
wasamongthefactorsthatleadmetowritingthepresentedtext
It'smorethanjustmemorizinghowwetendtoobscurethelinkbetweenknowledgeandwisdom
NoforceintheworldcanconvincemetoSuperMemo!atypicaloppositiontotheviews
presentedinthisarticle
Furtherreadingonthenet:
TheIQparadoxresolvedbyDickensandFlynnhowminorgeneticdifferencesgetamplifiedto
producemajorIQdifferences
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