No Genius, Only Scenius | Lone Genius Myth

Overview 🔎

In this blog, I will share my thoughts on the myth of lone genius, the power of Scenius and the greater mission to keep our field alive.

I used to think that achievers achieve things alone by discovering their born talent. They would rock their field by their intelligence and change it forever.
They are called the “Lone Geniuses”. For example, Einstein changed the way we think about modern physics. Newton changed the way we think about Physics. Gauss rocked the field of mathematics. So did Euler. Feynman’s contributions to QCD is immense.

But as read more about the life of those people. I realised they were never alone. For example, Einstein was in close contact with the scientific community in Berlin when he discovered the special theory of relativity. Have you ever heard of the Newton-Leibnitz controversy over the invention of calculus? If you have heard it, you will know the way people collaborated at that time.

Brachistochrone Problem

The story of the foundation of the calculus of variations is one of my favourite stories. Johann Bernoulli solved the problem of Brachistochrone by himself. But he challenged other great mathematicians to solve the problem. No one was able to solve it. Even Leibnitz asked for an extension. Then Bernoulli wrote to Newton, claiming that he could solve the Brachistochrone problem and challenged Newton to solve it. Newton solved the problem and mailed the solution anonymously. He even said that “Foreigners think that they know everything and treat us like novices”. Newton solved that over a night. But Bernoulli took two weeks to solve that problem. When Bernoulli received the solution, he said, “I can recognise the lion by its claw” and said it must be Newton. This problem is the first seed to the subject of the calculus of variations. Now, the calculus of variations is used in every theoretical physics field.

Scenius – Ecology of Talent

Scenius refers to a scene of individuals who shares their work, steals each other’s ideas and supports each other. Musician Brian Eno coined this term.
When I read about any major discovery in Physics, though it seems to be done by a “Lone Genius”, it was not. It was done by a group of people who shared their ideas with each other. If they didn’t share their ideas with each other, there would have been no such discovery.
If we analyse more carefully, throughout history there was no “Lone Genius”, there were only “Scenius”.
So, we need to be more careful not to fall prey to the myth of “Lone Genius” and waste our precious time in being a lone genius. We should try to create ways to share and listen to others ideas in our field of interest. Only by that we can grow.

Someone Would Have Done That.

One of my favourite professors used to quote a famous German quote which is, “If Einstein didn’t discover relativity, then Twinstein would have discovered it”. It is funny if you know that “Eins” refers to number one in German.

You don’t have to be an Expert.

Don’t think you have to be an expert to share your ideas. You can share your ideas even if you are an amateur. There are many holes that an amateur can fill as much that can be filled by an expert. In fact, an expert is just a better amateur.

“That’s all any of us are: amateurs. We don’t live long enough to be
anything else.”
                                                                                          – Charlie Chaplin

One of the advantages of an amateur is that you can make mistakes without losing any of your reputations. But an expert cannot😊.

Power of Internet💻

You can create a scenius easily in this online world. We can create a Facebook group or make conversations on Twitter. You can share your ideas on youtube. If there are no scenius in your field, you can start one. The right people will eventually find it.

Online, everyone—the artist and the curator, the master and the apprentice, the expert and the amateur—has the ability to contribute something.
       – From the book “Show Your Work” bu Austin Kleon

Share Your Work – Don’t be Afraid.

Don’t be afraid to share your ideas. When you share your work, you would hear feedback about the mistakes you made and corrections that needed to be done. It makes you think more about your work. It forces you to improve your work.

Keep the Pitch Alive.

At last, when we share our ideas, we would keep the field active. We have a mission that is great than our comfort and interest.

The best players don’t keep secrets. It’s as if we have a greater mission beyond our own fortunes. And that mission is to pass it on, to keep the pitch alive”.
–  From the book “Wherever I Wind Up” by R. A. Dickey

Yeah, we have a greater mission, that is to keep the pitch alive.

Conclusion

There are no “Lone Genius”. There are only scenius. We have to share our work and create a scenius to achieve great things in our field. You don’t have to be an expert to share your ideas. Be an amateur, don’t be afraid. We have a greater mission than our own fortunes, that is, to keep the pitch alive.

Have you ever thought of sharing some ideas but didn’t do so, since you’re not an expert?

My inspiration for this blog is the book “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon.

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