{"id":1402,"date":"2026-03-15T08:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T12:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/?p=1402"},"modified":"2025-12-26T09:07:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T14:07:47","slug":"1402","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/uncategorized\/1402\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: “The Genius Myth” (Helen Lewis)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe argument over whether Elon Musk is a genius is really an argument about what our society values and what it is prepared to tolerate. A suite of behaviors that would otherwise be inexcusable are forgiven when they are the price of greatness.\u201d<\/em>
\u2014 Helen Lewis, p.3<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Helen Lewis opens The Genius Myth<\/em> not with a question, but with a provocation. Her argument is not just about IQ scores or individual brilliance\u2014it’s about the cultural scaffolding we build around people we deem “geniuses” and what that reveals about our values. In this book, she takes a scalpel to the idea of genius as moral exemption, intellectual dominance, and solitary brilliance, and in its place offers a more grounded, democratic\u2014and uncomfortable\u2014truth: we invent genius to justify who we want to celebrate, and what we value<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This book could not be more relevant for educators and leaders trying to recalibrate what we value, reward, and excuse in schools and society.<\/p>\n

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You Would Be Interested in This Book If\u2026<\/h2>\n
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    You work in education or leadership and want to dismantle the \u201cgreat man\u201d myth of brilliance<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    You\u2019re rethinking how we identify talent, potential, or merit<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    You\u2019ve ever wondered why some people get away with destructive behaviour in the name of \u201cgenius\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    You\u2019re building a culture of character, collaboration, and humility in learning<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    1. What Is Genius, Really?<\/h2>\n

    Lewis traces how the meaning of genius has shifted\u2014from something one had<\/em> to something one was<\/em>. That subtle shift has created immense cultural license. On page 16, she writes:<\/p>\n

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    \u201cBecause there is no objective definition of genius, and there never can be, societies anoint exceptional people as geniuses to demonstrate what they value. We call some people special to demonstrate what we find special, and in turn, we give those special people latitude that is not extended to ordinary mortals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    This reframing lands hard in education. When we treat genius as fixed, innate, and rare, we start building systems\u2014admissions processes, awards, selective programs\u2014around exclusion rather than development. We start asking, Who is gifted?<\/em> instead of What does this student need to grow?<\/em><\/p>\n

    The author uses great examples of how genius, and the myth of “Great Men” (aka The Great Man Theory) still are prevalent in our society. By virtue of these stories we forget that Edison was a meglomaniac, John Lennon had mean streaks, and Jackson Pollack was married to a much more influential artist than he was. In this way, we still hold up in our education systems ways to exclude different ways of thinking. This book does a great job of trying to dismantle that.<\/p>\n