Geniuses of our time

[Jalapeñomel]

DH and I got to talking about people from our generation who will go down in history as the geniuses of our time.  So who do you consider a genius of our time, could be a scientist, musician, activist, etc.?

[abs]

Lin Manuel Miranda
Simone Biles (maybe this doesn't quite fit but she is absolutely one of the best athletes ever if not the best).
Stacey Abrams

[Jalapeñomel]

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

[gummybear]

I think Prince was a musical genius

[4speedy]

Jun 9, 2021 8:31:24 GMT -5 gummybear said:

I think Prince was a musical genius

This is the person I was coming in here to suggest.

Also Steve Jobs

I hope in 10 years Mary Barra will be on that list.

[Jalapeñomel]

I also think about problematic people---can we separate their genius from who they are as people?

[gummybear]

Also a genius doesn’t have to be a good person. It can be the worst kind of human.

Bill Gates

And on the worst kind of human scale, Vladimir Putin.

And while I think he’s a dumb as a box of rocks (and that’s putting it kindly), Donald Trump’s ability to mobilize millions upon millions with lies and manipulation is pretty damn genius, especially considering how stupid he is, from a purely IQ perspective (speculating of course). I venture to guess we’ll be studying this for generations to come. It’s scary. I’ll prob get flamed for this.

[mrsd2006]

Jun 9, 2021 8:37:57 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Also a genius doesn’t have to be a good person. It can be the worst kind of human.

Bill Gates

And on the worst kind of human scale, Vladimir Putin.

And while I think he’s a dumb as a box of rocks (and that’s putting it kindly), Donald Trump’s ability to mobilize millions upon millions with lies and manipulation is pretty damn genius, especially considering how stupid he is, from a purely IQ perspective (speculating of course). I venture to guess we’ll be studying this for generations to come. It’s scary. I’ll prob get flamed for this.

I would have to agree with you. An evil genius. 

I'll add Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian (totally flammable!). But the way she and her family turned a sex tape into a empire of hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars with no (or very little) discernable skills is genius. 

[strawberry]

Oprah

Obama- Both of them.

Bill Gates

There are so many more. This is just the start of my list.

[cheeseplease]

Bezos. I work for the machine and it is amazing how it started and how it has grown.

Elon Musk



Oprah and Lin for me as well.

[Jalapeñomel]

Jun 9, 2021 8:37:57 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Also a genius doesn’t have to be a good person. It can be the worst kind of human.

Bill Gates

And on the worst kind of human scale, Vladimir Putin.

And while I think he’s a dumb as a box of rocks (and that’s putting it kindly), Donald Trump’s ability to mobilize millions upon millions with lies and manipulation is pretty damn genius, especially considering how stupid he is, from a purely IQ perspective (speculating of course). I venture to guess we’ll be studying this for generations to come. It’s scary. I’ll prob get flamed for this.

I think about this side a lot...how will the world treat Michael Jackson in 10/50/100 years? He had such an impact on music, can we separate his genius from who he was?

[mags]

worst- TRUMP (and I don't mean from his IQ)

Best- IMO Bob Dylan

[cattledogkisses]

In the music realm, John Williams.

[maudefindlay]

Stephen Hawking.

[circa1978]

Genius is hard because I think history - particularly in the areas of art vs invention - almost prioritizes people who were really good at embracing a trend or promoting their "discovery" - even if it was built on the backs of other discoveries or artists. And I think we don't see inventors in quite the same way as during other periods of history because too often they work for or sell to a corporation, so they don't get individual recognition.

I believe Barack Obama will be a stateman mentioned 100 years from now in the same breath with Washington and Lincoln and will eclipse JFK.

In technology, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. In business, I think Jeff Bezos will be mentioned in the same way John D. Rockefeller is now. Oprah has a clear place in history.

I wish I had an entire list of women.

[sonrisa]

I think Bezos is going to go in the same camp as the Sackler family. Success built on exploitation with a long tail of destruction.

[circa1978]

Jun 9, 2021 11:44:06 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I think Bezos is going to go in the same camp as the Sackler family. Success built on exploitation with a long tail of destruction.

I suppose if we're looking at villains there is also Mark Zuckerberg.

[turkletsmom]

Jun 9, 2021 9:15:52 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Jun 9, 2021 8:37:57 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Also a genius doesn’t have to be a good person. It can be the worst kind of human.

Bill Gates

And on the worst kind of human scale, Vladimir Putin.

And while I think he’s a dumb as a box of rocks (and that’s putting it kindly), Donald Trump’s ability to mobilize millions upon millions with lies and manipulation is pretty damn genius, especially considering how stupid he is, from a purely IQ perspective (speculating of course). I venture to guess we’ll be studying this for generations to come. It’s scary. I’ll prob get flamed for this.

I think about this side a lot...how will the world treat Michael Jackson in 10/50/100 years? He had such an impact on music, can we separate his genius from who he was?

I totally agree about Michael Jackson.  I think about this every time someone is cancelled because of something like a comment they made.  Why does MJ get a pass?  Just because he's dead?  Will we go back to watching Cosby Show when Bill Cosby dies?

[Gato]

This is just my own, personal list of who I’d like to see stand the test of time:

Stacey Abrams

Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro, and Louise Erdrich as novelists. And Dave Eggers for his writing as activism and McSweeney’s.

Thom Yorke for music. And Sondheim obviously.

Jeanne Gang, Renzo Piano, and Frank Gehry for architecture

I’m curious whether Spielberg will stand the test of time. My personal favorite is Barry Jenkins and I can’t wait for whatever he does next.

He’s not exactly of this time period, but Alvin Ailey changed dance forever.

[Jalapeñomel]

Jun 9, 2021 12:04:55 GMT -5 Gato said:

This is just my own, personal list of who I’d like to see stand the test of time:

Stacey Abrams

Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro, and Louise Erdrich as novelists. And Dave Eggers for his writing as activism and McSweeney’s.

Thom Yorke for music. And Sondheim obviously.

Jeanne Gang, Renzo Piano, and Frank Gehry for architecture

I’m curious whether Spielberg will stand the test of time. My personal favorite is Barry Jenkins and I can’t wait for whatever he does next.

He’s not exactly of this time period, but Alvin Ailey changed dance forever.

Sondheim yes!

[W.T.Faulkner]

Absolutely Stephen Sondheim.