The National Geographic issue for May 2007 has a feature
cover story on p. 30, “Genius: Why some people are so much smarter than the
rest of us.”, link (paywall) here .
‘
An important measure of genius is whether the person’s
output lives throughout the ages.
Beehoven’s output takes on a life of its own.
The article gives some attention to the life story of
Leonardo DaVinci.
The years of highest probability of major output are the
late twenties into the mid thirties.
An important and controversial variable would be how versatile the person is with "real life" skills. The best of today's young adults simply are or were much more mature than I was at ages like, say 16-21. But it helps to be born later.
However, there are real prodigies, in coding (Mark Zuckerberg)
and in music. In music, prodigy becomes
harder to show after Mozart. But Eugen d’Albert’s
gigantic first piano concerto (as published, in B Minor) was composed before
age 20 and shows real intellectual brilliance as to harmony, counterpoint, and
form. Brahms, on the other hand, waited until his forties to compose
symphonies. Genius enters new territory
in the latest years, as we know from the last nearly-complete symphony of
Bruckner.
There is a new series on National Geographic Channel which I
have not seen yet.
The issue also has an article on the Central African
Republic, the Burning Heart of Africa, and “United in Protest” against the
North Dakota oil pipeline.
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