| A genius equals 1% inspiration plus 99% perspiration? | |
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| Mar 14, 2008 04:31 |   |
| guestwanna | Do you believe in such a saying: a genius equals 1% inspiration plus 99% perspiration? I found it is not that true. A genius has some inborn gifts. A large part of the inborn traits can not be acquired no matter how much you perspired. This forfula should be rectified to a certain extent. Genius=20%(at least) inspiration+ 80% perspiration. Do you agree? |
| Mar 14, 2008 05:30 | #1 |
 | No, I don't. This statement was originally made by Thomas Edison, inventor of the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and many other things that I can't remember at this moment. I believe that there is genius of some kind in nearly all of us. For it to be realized, a person must try very hard to develop it so that it can reach its full potential. Oh sure, there are some people who do not have to try very hard to do great things, but that does not lessen the value and genius of the contributions that can be made by the rest of us through contemplation + hard work. |
| Mar 14, 2008 07:23 | #2 |
| No, I don't believe so. It is to encourage people to work hard. Indeed hard working can make average people a few steps closer to the genius. But a genius is a genius, if by hard working everyone can be a genius, then we don't need the word "genius"! Everyone is a genius! And, at the same time, no one is mediocre, so we don't need the word either. |
| Mar 14, 2008 08:12 | #3 |
| If 'genius' is defined simply as having unique ideas then it takes very little perspiration! All of us may have a little of this form of 'genius' but it is of little significance to the world at large. To carry through unique ideas to a level of formulation that can then change the world - that takes a lot of perspiration! I therefore agree with Edison's assessment |
| Mar 14, 2008 18:08 | #4 |
| It was a display of modesty by Edison. If anyone other than Thomas Edison had said it, I would have responded by saying, "Then you have never met a genius." However, that is not to discount the value of perspiration for those of us who are merely blessed with moments of genius. |
| Mar 14, 2008 21:45 | #5 |
| Inspiration means the idea (usually represented by a light bulb in caricatures) but that idea is almost nothing (1%) unless you can exert the effort to bring it to out, manifest it, make it tangible. That 99% is the effort to bring it out to fruition, not giving up, keep on trying (this is the perspiration). Just like Edison, all of us have ideas to make this world a better place, but those ideas are nothing (rhetoric) unless we can apply them in our lives and really make a difference that the people around us can feel. So yea, I agree that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. |
| Mar 16, 2008 05:24 | #6 |
| I just realized that my answer was quite ambiguous. When I said no, I meant no, genius is not found exclusively among a select few who are gifted in some way. I do believe that for most people genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. And I would also add that, even among the extremely gifted, they often work very hard for many hours to figure things out and perfect their ideas. We can't see it because to them, that kind of hard work on a question or problem that they are trying to find an answer to is like playing. I liken it to a musician who can work for hours and hours on a musical piece until he or she is nearly exhausted, feeling the whole time that they are playing. |
| Mar 16, 2008 14:15 | #7 |
| >>Do you believe in such a saying: a genius equals 1% inspiration plus 99% perspiration? I found it is not that true.... Do you agree?<< Hi Guestwanna. I don't really have an answer to your question but I found it amusing that the very next post in this Forum was a Deodorant Survey by UNISTRALSUND. :) Talk about coincidences! |
| Mar 19, 2008 21:21 | #8 |
| The saying is meant to encourage people to be diligent. A genius is distinguished because he has some unmatched gifts. Working hard does not always work in reality. The American Myth " anyone who works hard can climb to the peak of the society" is similar to the above saying. Even though you work hard, you can't become a genius since you lack the inspiration. A genius consists of much more than 1% inspiration. |
| Nov 20, 2008 20:37 | #9 |
| GUEST77205 | even a genius needs perspiration |
| Nov 20, 2008 22:19 | #10 |
| I believe a genius is a composite of gifts and perspiration, but the difference between inpiration and perspiration is too large. I should be balanced. IMO, the formula should be: Genius= 30% inspiration + 70% perspiration. |
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