How (NOT) to be a genius.

Discussion in 'Smalltalk' started by naqshbandijamaati, Nov 12, 2011.

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  1. The article I think wasn't meant to be definitive just thought provoking. Anyway I certainly don't accept all those in his list as being genii. He left out many too for example Feynman who is a good modern counterexample to the suicidal, disfunctional family, model of genius! Another counterexample is Muhammad Ali, the genius pugilist and humanitarian (aka Cassius Clay). He's had none of these personal dysfunctionalities.

    As for Islamic geniuses (genii?) Iqbal certainly fulfils some of the criteria (if we can call them that!) this writer espouses: deeply unhappy married life, estrangement from a child. Then again almost all humans display some of these things at some points in their lives! Ghalib, btw, also does.

    As for Islamic scholars we generally don't know too much details about their personal lives to make any sort of comment since these personal details weren't recorded and for many of them we barely know the basic outlines.
    Islamic geniuses like Abu Hanifa, Ghazali, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Rumi, Hafez,
    Ibn Arabi, etc. have largely unknown personal lives afaik...
     
  2. Unbeknown

    Unbeknown Senior Moderator

    Assalaamua'laikum.

    Was a single Islamic scholar THIS sort of a genius ? I mean suicides, mental imbalance etc. Maybe Ibn Taymiyyah? (considering the naseeha of Imam Dhahabi).


    Wassalaam.
     

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