'The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank' by David Plotz delves into the eccentric project of Robert K. Graham, who sought to improve the human race through selective breeding. Graham established a sperm bank that collected donations exclusively from Nobel laureates, with the goal of producing exceptionally intelligent offspring. Plotz explores the motivations behind Graham's endeavor and the social and scientific context of the time. The book examines the ethical implications of eugenics and the complexities of defining and measuring intelligence. Through interviews and historical research, Plotz uncovers the fascinating and unsettling story of a man who believed he could engineer a better future for humanity.
In 'The Elegant Universe', Brian Greene delves into the world of string theory, a theoretical framework that aims to unify the principles of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The book explores the historical context of physics, from classical physics to the modern theories of superstrings and hidden dimensions. Greene uses analogies and thought experiments to explain complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner, making the subject accessible to a broad audience. The book discusses the evolution of special and general relativity, the basics of quantum mechanics, and the conflicts between these theories, ultimately presenting string theory as a potential solution for a unified theory of everything.
In *Hereditary Genius*, Francis Galton explores the idea that exceptional abilities are inherited, arguing that nature plays a more significant role than nurture. He presents evidence showing that high achievers often have relatives with similar abilities, concluding that eminence is largely due to hereditary factors. The book laid the groundwork for the field of eugenics, which aimed to improve the human race through selective breeding.
Love him or hate him, many consider Elon Musk to be a modern-day genius. He co-founded PayPal, which transformed how people purchase things. He became the CEO of Tesla, which revolutionized electric vehicles—and made it cool to drive them. He founded SpaceX, accomplishing what only superpower nation-states have previously. And he is working to make our species interplanetary—maybe in a few years, we’ll be doing this podcast on Mars.
To many, these acts make Elon Musk a genius, perhaps the most important genius in history.
But it’s worth asking: What exactly makes him a genius? Is it a particular set of qualities, or is Elon Musk just particularly adept at playing the role of genius? Or at least what we’ve come to expect of geniuses? Is his offensive behavior excused by his genius, or the result of it? And why do human beings value genius, even to the point of deifying it?
All of these questions are raised in Helen Lewis’s new book, The Genius Myth. And not just with regard to Musk, but to so many of the figures our culture venerates as geniuses: Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs. Lewis asks: Were these people actually geniuses? Or was their genius based on a myth? And more importantly, how does our perception of “genius” confuse and distort our understanding of success—and how we value, or don’t value, other human beings?
Today on Honestly, Bari asks Helen Lewis if some people belong to a special and superior class, what it means to be a genius, and if she believes in geniuses at all.
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Honestly with Bari Weiss 
