Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Marie Curie had brilliant ideas that pushed the boundaries of their time. However, genius is not a fixed quantity. Anyone can be a genius in the right context and with the right tools. Research suggests there are ways we can all become more intelligent and think like a genius, from being able to process information faster than most people to be able to tackle complex problems efficiently.

Genius isn't solely inborn

Great thinkers from da Vinci to Thomas Edison were more interested in how things could work. Brilliant thinkers like Marie Curie and Steve Jobs are renowned for their original thinking that led to groundbreaking discoveries. They knew how to think but weren't born with these advantages. Instead, they learned specific methods to understand the world around them and unlock hidden potential.

Great thinkers approach problems differently

R<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321729749_Robust_Prediction_of_Individual_Creative_Ability_from_Brain_Functional_Connectivity">ecent research</a> about creatives found that people who are more creative can simultaneously engage brain networks that don't typically work together. Great minds discover novel ideas because they focus on how to think, not what to think.

Geniuses know how to connect unrelated ideas

The ability to think and act outside your normal understanding realm requires you to see things from different perspectives and imagine unique solutions. <ul><li>Newton spent many years teaching himself mathematics before developing the concept of gravity.</li><li>Picasso was not born to paint. He honed his skill.</li><li>Mozart committed almost all his life to learning and composing music.</li></ul> Geniuses are mostly self-learners. The best way is to start with books.

Genius is a learnable skill

Genius minds see things abstractly. They tend to see the big picture more clearly than most people. Original ideas require you not to be afraid to try new things and take risks. Look for inspiration in things people take for granted.

Original ideas seem irrational

The human capacity to learn, discover, improve, create or change our environment is very natural. We are made to create. Creativity is not something you have or you don't. Watch how children think freely until they are formally educated to become conventional thinkers. We are expected to join closed-minded educational systems, stop thinking and do what we are told. Yet that is what prevents the development of independent and original thinking.

Society is institutionally terrible at nurturing genius

If you believe the hype, genius is a rare, fixed quantity: either you’re born with it or aren’t. But what if being a genius isn’t solely inborn? What if anyone could become a genius by adopting the…

Stashed ideas

The Path to Genius: Think “How,” Instead of “What”

Creative people across all genres have this reputation for being mentally unstable and undone by their gifts. Not knowing if you can top your great success is one of the most painful reconciliations in a creative life. Once artists produce a magnificent work, they are asked, "What if you'll never ascend to that height again? Then what will you do with the rest of your life?"

The impossible things we expect from creative geniuses

In ancient Greece and Rome, people did not believe that creativity came from human beings. It was believed to be a divine attendant spirit that came to humans. <ul><li>The Greeks called these attendant spirits of creativity "daemons." </li><li>The Romans called it a genius. Romans believed a genius was like a magical entity that lived in the walls of an artist's studio and invisibly helped the artist.</li></ul> This understanding helped the ancient artist protect himself from certain things, such as too much narcissism. If your work was brilliant (or terrible), you couldn't take all the credit for it.

Managing the inherent emotional risks of creativity

During the Renaissance, the individual was placed at the centre of the universe. People started to believe that creativity came only from the self, not from mystical creatures that took dictation from the divine. It is the first time in history that people refer to certain artists as a genius, rather than having a genius. Allowing someone to believe that they are the source of all divine, creative, eternal mystery is too much responsibility to put on one fragile human psyche. It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun. It creates unmanageable expectations about performance.

Believing creativity came from the self

The pressure of unmanageable expectations about performance is destroying artists. As an artist, you may be full of anguish if believe that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you. But if you believe that a genius was on loan to you from another unimaginable source for some portion of your life to be passed along when you're finished,  it changes how you feel. When you create, don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it and use the creative moment when it comes to you. Otherwise, keep on showing up.

Removing the pressure to outperform

Find an accurate transcript (and subtitles in 46 languages) on ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius/transcript?language=en "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk. TED Talks is a daily podcast of talks and performances from TED, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages are available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate Follow TED Talks on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tedtalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”

We are born curious. Children learn from their surroundings by touching, smelling, and looking at everything. It is our best and most effective tool for discovering new things. However, some people are born with a deeper sense of curiosity that allows them to learn constantly.We can also cultivate curiosity. Whether traveling, reading, or finding yourself in a new situation, be curious and present. It is a great first step in your journey to becoming more knowledgeable and accumulating new and innovative perspectives.

Curiosity

Geniuses are completely focused on their work and prioritize it.Take the case of Albert Einstein, for instance. If you think of him, you probably picture him in a solitary study or behind a dusty blackboard in a lecture hall working on his groundbreaking ideas. In reality, Einstein was able to maintain his concentration regardless of his surroundings.

The power of focus

<ul><li>Be open to new and unfamiliar experiences. Push yourself to do something that scares you. Let yourself get lost in the wonders of nature or a new city.</li><li>Learn about geography, history, and local culture.</li><li>Ask questions. When you’re in the role of student or employee, don’t be afraid to reveal what you don’t know. </li><li>Once you ask, listen to understand. You’ll always learn something.</li></ul>

Rediscovering a lust for creativity

It is not unusual for geniuses to wreak devastation on their surroundings. The boat sways as a result of their actions. Whether we like it or not, they are altering the course of history. They also don’t do it in a way that is compliant with the law.

Defying the established order

Being brilliant entails more than simply being able to focus. It also involves the capacity to unwind, which is the polar opposite of exerting oneself and concentrating intensely.According to the creative habits of many geniuses, the most effective method to come up with new ideas is to take a vacation from your job for a period of time, enabling your fatigued mind to slacken and relax as much as possible.

Rest and relaxation

“An unusually engaging book on the forces that fuel originality across fields.” --Adam Grant Looking at the 14 key traits of genius, from curiosity to creative maladjustment to obsession, Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale University's popular “Genius Course,” explores what we can learn from brilliant minds that have changed the world. Einstein. Beethoven. Picasso. Jobs. The word genius evokes these iconic figures, whose cultural contributions have irreversibly shaped society. Yet Beethoven could not multiply. Picasso couldn’t pass a 4th grade math test. And Jobs left high school with a 2.65 GPA. What does this say about our metrics for measuring success and achievement today? Why do we teach children to behave and play by the rules, when the transformative geniuses of Western culture have done just the opposite? And what is genius, really? Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale University’s popular “Genius Course,” has devoted more than two decades to exploring these questions and probing the nature of this term, which is deeply embedded in our culture. In The Hidden Habits of Genius, he reveals what we can learn from the lives of those we have dubbed “geniuses,” past and present. Examining the lives of transformative individuals ranging from Charles Darwin and Marie Curie to Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol to Toni Morrison and Elon Musk, Wright identifies more than a dozen drivers of genius—characteristics and patterns of behavior common to great minds throughout history. He argues that genius is about more than intellect and work ethic—it is far more complex—and that the famed “eureka” moment is a Hollywood fiction. Brilliant insights that change the world are never sudden, but rather, they are the result of unique modes of thinking and lengthy gestation. Most importantly, the habits of mind that produce great thinking and discovery can be actively learned and cultivated, and Wright shows us how. This book won't make you a genius. But embracing the hidden habits of these transformative individuals will make you more strategic, creative, and successful, and, ultimately, happier.

The Hidden Habits of Genius

I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are. The notion that genius is only thinly separated from insanity goes back at least to ancient Greece. Aristotle linked the two when he said, “There is no great genius without a touch of madness.”*Many of history's most celebrated creative geniuses were mentally ill, from renowned artists Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo to literary giants Virginia Woolf and Edgar Allan Poe.

There Is a Thin Line Between Genius and Insanity?

Current findings of some 20 or 30 scientific studies endorse the notion of the "tortured genius." Of the many varieties of psychosis, creativity appears to be most strongly linked to mood disorders, and especially bipolar disorder. "People with bipolar tend to be creative when they're coming out of deep depression. ""When a bipolar patient's mood improves, his brain activity shifts, too: activity dies down in the lower part of a brain region called the frontal lobe, and flares up in a higher part of that lobe. Amazingly, the very same shift happens when people have bouts of creativity. "

Tortured Genius

Of course, no one is bursting with creative energy during a severe bout of depression or schizophrenia. Above all, these conditions are debilitating and even life-threatening, the scientists said, and although society benefits from the productivity of its tortured geniuses, those individuals don't always consider their moments of brilliance to be worth the extensive suffering.

Suffering  > Brilliance

“There is no great genius without a touch of madness.”* 

Geniuses and Mental illnesses.

Scientist, physicist, engineer, inventor, none of these words describe sufficiency the life of Nikola Tesla. Maybe genius only can minimally describe the life of this man. He had fascinating mental abilities which allowed him to elaborate in his mind complex electrical machines and build them without taking any notes. Nikola Tesla was a visionary that changed the history of humanity with his inventions. Tesla's vision was always ahead of his contemporaries; he imagined already two centuries ago, a world where people could communicate with radio waves, illuminate cities without using wires.

The Forgotten Genius

The alternating current put the basis of the industrial revolution. It is probably Nikola Tesla’s invention that has changed more the destiny of humanity. After winning the current battle against Thomas Edison, the AC influenced all human activities, changing forever our history.

AC alternating current

Of course, he did not invent the light, but he discovered how to channel it and made possible for example the creation of neon light.

Light

With the idea in mind that everything we need is already present in nature, Nikola Tesla has contributed significantly to the development of x-ray technology.

X Rays 

Generally, we refer to Marconi as the inventor of the radio, but Nikola Tesla deposited many years before a patent explaining the operation of the radio.

Radio

Although later developed during the two world wars, this is one of many revolutionary inventions made by Nikola Tesla. Even if today it might seem obvious, 100 years ago the idea to control the movements of any object by remote control was considered magic.

Remote Control

The engine of Nikola Tesla succeeds to operate using only magnets and without any fuel.

Electric Motor

With the idea that all living things are driven by electrical impulses, Nikola Tesla put the basis for the creation of robotics.

Robotics 

Used in thousands of ways, the laser has revolutionized many fields, including surgery.

Laser 

Through the Tesla tower, pulses can travel around the globe without wires.

Wireless

Nikola Tesla suggested the use of the earth energy to feed human activities, leading consequently to a world less dependent on fossil fuels and with fewer wars. A world where the energy might be free for everyone. This idea of free energy and freedom was presumably the cause of the marginalization that Nikola Tesla suffered.With this post we remember the genius of the geniuses, unfortunately dead in solitude.

Free Energy

Ten secret inventions of Nikola Tesla which have changed the world forever

The Path to Genius: Think “How,” Instead of “What”

Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert

The Hidden Habits of Genius

Geniuses and Mental illnesses.

the forgotten genius. How his discovery changed the word

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