American Geniuses

double post



Thomas said:

Sam Maloof who makes the rocking chairs with exposed joinery? He's a marvelous craftsman but genius? I'd take Krenov over Maloof, but that's just my preference. Also, not sure Krenov's origin

How about:

T. Edison
B. Franklin
M. Anton
S. Clemens
R. Oppenheimer

Click to expand...

I've been giving thought about Maloof and suppose I brought him up because of my love of his work and thus to use him as hopefully a catalyst for discussion.

I agree with you on S. Clemens and of course M. Anton.



HORNS said:

I've been giving thought about Maloof and suppose I brought him up because of my love of his work and thus to use him as hopefully a catalyst for discussion.
I agree with you on S. Clemens and of course M. Anton.

Click to expand...

Well, it's kind of hard to discern genius in some arenas: Craftsmanship for its own sake is always fun to see, but how it manifests is up for discussion. For instance, the Newton Bridge might be termed a work of genius, at least if you buy the story of its original construction. Similarly, there was a story (probably apocryphal) about an nameless itinerant carpenter who many years ago built a spiral staircase for a convent using no screws, bolts, or nails. That, if it exists and still stands, could be genius - but it's a mechanical genius in one sense and might be an aesthetic genius as well.

Speaking of genius, how about Leonard Bernstein?

Linus Pauling



thinman said:

Linus Pauling

Click to expand...

Ding ding ding we have a winner.



thinman said:

Linus Pauling

Click to expand...

Damn, that's a good one. I thought he was British for some reason.

Here's a picture of his father, a straight-up pimp:



thinman said:

Linus Pauling

Click to expand...

I knew there was a very influential American quantum chemist but I was fixated on Fritz London. Good one -- can't believe I forgot about him and his Vitamin C prescriptions!



Baron said:

The word is kinda fraught, no? What's the criteria? What about Babe Ruth? Michael Jordan? Barry Bonds?

Click to expand...

"Genius" to me calls to mind someone who has made majorly original intellectual contributions.

Too broad of a definition including athletes. Michael Jordan dunking from the free throw line does not make him a genius, although it was unprecedented.

Richard Feynman, Linus Pauling, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson... those are the types of people I have in mind.



Thomas said:

a convent using no screws, bolts, or nails. That, if it exists and still stands, could be genius - but it's a mechanical genius in one sense and might be an aesthetic genius as well.
Speaking of genius, how about Leonard Bernstein?

Click to expand...

Beat you to it



thinman said:

Linus Pauling

Click to expand...

How can we be certain?

Bill Gates anyone?



Lighthouse said:

Beat you to it

Click to expand...

Yes, but I beat you to Edison. Unless you're referring to the younger nephew Jasper "Jimmy" Edison, who invented sleeping in the lab, urinating into empty beer bottles, and patent trolling.



jaypee said:

All very talented, but psychometrically none of these people were geniuses. You are just naming famous people.
I can't tell if you're having a laugh or not?
Christopher Langan was a genius.. Amadeo Giannini was a very intelligent man..

Click to expand...

Hendrix was such a prodigy and so utterly sui generis. He couldn't read music, was self trained and just completely reinvented his instrument in a breathtaking way. There's really nobody comparable in jazz or pop music. I feel more comfortable calling him a genius than just about any other american artist.



why said:

I don't see the point of including anyone outside of mathematics and the sciences as a genius. Maybe some people like Shakespeare would qualify, but Thomas Pynchon? Robert Frost? I wouldn't even include them in a list of worthwhile writers let alone among people like Gibbs.
Good call on Witten. Weinberg should probably be up there with him too.

Click to expand...

I think limiting genius to mathematics and sciences is too narrow and confines the discussion to only one type of intelligence.

Lighthouse said:

The hard sciences have already been well represented in the thread. One could argue that any PhD in physics is a genius in terms of raw intellectual power. But I don't think listing Mensa or physics faculty was the purpose of OP; after all, Teddy Roosevelt was included in the list.
Your view of genius is far too narrow for purposes of this thread.

Click to expand...

jaypee said:

All very talented, but psychometrically none of these people were geniuses. You are just naming famous people.
I can't tell if you're having a laugh or not?
Christopher Langan was a genius.. Amadeo Giannini was a very intelligent man..

Click to expand...

I think the "psychometric testing" rubric is too simplistic and some measure of outstanding accomplishment, in whatever field, is the critical determinant (Henry Ford, anyone?). I've known plenty of brilliant people who've never done anything with their gifts and never will.

Having said that, there are any number of lesser known, brilliant scientists who might be considered geniuses, among them

Josiah Willard Gibbs (mentioned earlier by why)
G.N. Lewis
Robert Burns Woodward

If you're unfamiliar with them, you might read a little about their accomplishments
rach, John von Neumann was truly remarkable, though unfortunately we can't claim him as an American. There must be some American dancers and musicians that we're forgetting(?).



thinman said:

G.N. Lewis

Click to expand...

Good one. I thought he was British.

Baron said:

Hendrix was such a prodigy and so utterly sui generis. He couldn't read music, was self trained and just completely reinvented his instrument in a breathtaking way. There's really nobody comparable in jazz or pop music. I feel more comfortable calling him a genius than just about any other american artist.

Click to expand...

I realize the problem here is that we can't agree on terms, but most people have at least kept certain bounds on their definitions. Hendrix was arguably not even a musician, let alone a musical genius (and I'll make that argument).