I consider myself smart, but I’m no Albert Einstein. I would venture to guess you feel the same way. We want to be on a higher plain of thinking, but for some reason we are stuck in our current set of thoughts. Little goes by day to day to substantially grow our knowledge and we seem to sit and wait for some kind of break through – hopefully through osmosis given our busy schedules. So the question becomes, “What separates our thinking from that of a genius?”
When I ask myself this question, my number one theory is memory. If I could some how retain more facts, more figures, more rules, more ideas, I could become a genius. If I could somehow secure these ideas by storing them away, then occasionally I would be able to lift the lid, sift through them and find one that’s promising. I could take this gem and shape it, polish it, and display it properly. And after stepping back and admiring my handy work, I would notice rubies and diamonds I hadn’t realized I had. Soon the bounty would be great enough that other’s would have to stop and take note of the display. This is the crucial step, as what good is this wealth if never shared?
I believe the ideas that generate new ideas are the difference between thinkers and geniuses. These new ideas adorn emptiness creating a new beauty that should seem oh so obvious when observed.
And why must we rely on our brain’s memory to store these items away? We have all the tools necessary from note pads to sketch pads. From computers to the Internet. There is more than enough space to hold these thoughts. Maybe it’s simply a matter of frugality? Saving these jewels takes will-power and practice. It’s all too easy to dismiss the small ones and over protect the large ones. I believe we also need to be aware of the cubic zirconium and glass knockoffs that take up space but add no true value.
The alternative would simply be too painful. If genius is a matter of genetic predisposition, than being born with the silver spoon is the only way to be a great thinker. The ambitious will need to distract ourselves from this desire for greatness? How many jewels can we collect before our biology says our chest is full? Can we continually replace less valuable stones with those of greater value?
Lucky for us that this type of wealth has little to do with monetary riches. Geniuses aren’t guaranteed luxury. Maybe their brains have little left over space to store these desires? If you get to the genius status, let me know.