Genius
Videos
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of
Srinivasa Ramanujan, a mathematician who is widely regarded as a genius. He made substantial contributions to mathematics despite little formal training.
Confucius, one of the most influential thinkers of the ancient world and the most famous Chinese philosopher, is often considered a genius.
Miguel de Cervantes, novelist who is acknowledged as a literary genius
Stanley Kubrick, deemed a filmmaking genius
Great man theory
Videos
The great man theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century. According to it, history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes: highly influential
Napoleon, a typical great man, said to have created the "Napoleonic" era through his military and political genius
Bust of Thomas Carlyle by Thomas Woolner
Herbert Spencer was a contemporary critic of Carlyle's great man theory.
William James was a 19th-century philosopher and psychologist.