Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation
Stanford Adjunct Professor Jeremy Utley explores the counter-intuitive tactics that world-class innovators and entrepreneurs employ to break through. He's learned that while innovation is part art (paint) – it's also part science (pipette) – and treats the subject with both the rigor and the wonder that it deserves. Season 1 shined a spotlight on female founders; season 2 celebrated black creators; Season 3 guests include WIRED co-founder Kevin Kelly, Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill, CEO of Google X Astro Teller, start-up coach Liz Tran, Waze founder Uri Levine, Seth Godin, journalist Jennifer Wallace, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull, and more.
Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation
S3E17: Redefining Genius with David McRaney
From psychology to neuroscience and beyond, concepts of intelligence, genius, and hyperfixation are key to our understanding of human potential. During this episode, David McRaney joins us to discuss a topic of great import to our course on transformative design; the complexity of the concept of genius. David is a famed journalist, author, podcaster, and expert on belief, currently researching his next book. Join us as we explore the origin story of genius, the role of obsessively pursuing one’s interest, and the inevitability of genius and the implications of labels. In closing, David answers two key questions on the autism spectrum and varying cultural contexts behind the concept of genius. Thanks for tuning in!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Introducing David McRaney, journalist, author, and podcaster.
- Why the topic of genius is important enough to him to research.
- Different ways to approach the topic of genius, from psychology to neuroscience and beyond.
- The origin story behind genius, and the concept of a birthday party.
- David’s findings from spending time interviewing individuals with extraordinarily high IQs.
- Jeremy’s current thesis that giving people the opportunity to pursue their interests until the point of saturation.
- Accounting for bias in the realm of genius and the danger of labelling.
- The relationship between hyperfixation, genius, and the autism spectrum.
- How works of genius usually come into existence.
- Cultural context for the concept of genius.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: