Expert psychologist suggests the era of genius scientists is over

well this is provocative from a psychologist,

i am reminded of the closing of the patent office, (because everything that could be invented had been already)
and we know how that went, after a few weeks new patents were piling up.

i would contend that with the internet and the ability to recover knowledge at a high speed our idea of what a genius is has changed.

a genius now is someone who makes a radical advance in a particular feild of science (scientific genius)
or
someone who makes massive advances in maths (mathematical genius)
or
some computer geek who reinvents how computers speak to each other (computer genius)

but in my opinion a genius is some who re-evaluates what we think we know and harnesses the power of the internet to come to a logical conclusion that can be put to practical use, to benifit society as a whole.

and infact many people world wide would fit MY definition of genius.

thats why i was shocked to read the following

(Phys.org)—Dean Keith Simonton, a psychology professor at the University of California, has published a comment piece in the journal Nature, where he argues that it's unlikely mankind will ever produce another Einstein, Newton, Darwin, etc. This is because, he says, we've already discovered all the most basic ideas that describe how the natural world works. Any new work, will involve little more than adding to our knowledge base.

Read more at: phys.org...

phys.org...

so the idea here is that we know we know everything therfore there is nothing to discover, or re discover.
kinda like closing the patent office,

all the great geniuses have re examined "what we think we know"
and have re interoperated the conclusions and against all odds have redefined our knowledge on subjects once thought settled.

what say you are the days of genius over?
or is this thinking the perfect excuse to re define our knowledge again to allow for more geniuses to step up and break the broken paradime of
"but we already know everything".
thus proving their genius

xploder

oh now they know it all lol. this guy has no future i guess

...as we continue to discover new things everyday.

Originally posted by ShaeTheShaman
oh now they know it all lol. this guy has no future i guess

lol i guess we can now give up and live without the need for advances in science,\sarcam off

there can be no new newtons, as we know all the basics and groups of scientists will ALWAYS out produce the lone inventor.

i guess steve jobs was not a genius after all

xploder

ha, what a load of rubbish. When you look at the big picture, we really know very little.

Well, if teaching to the lowest common denominator in U.S. schools doesn't change? If accepting average as if it were exceptional doesn't change?

Then he may be right about the next generations of AMERICAN scientists anyway. I don't know about that perspective elsewhere in the world. We rank VERY low compared to similar nations in Science, Math and critical thinking ability.

Other nations will be producing genius for awhile I suppose....as I don't think the majority of genius is a born trait but an encouraged and nurtured one. Oh, some are born stupid. That's not P.C. but I don't care. It's true. Some are born exceptionally intelligence. Same thing. The VAST majority become stupid or intelligent by effort and direction of guidance in my opinion.

reply to post by XPLodER


Soon all inventions will be done by Artificial intelligence.

Not only that but as capitalism and its dog eats dog mentality collapses there will be no more financial incentive for invention, all that will remain is the internet which will remember who made what and when for an eternity.

we just need to look in another direction.....i'm sure many are.

Expert psycho here. I say the era of people taking psychologists, psychiatrists, and the drug pushing industry is over. Sorry bub, your industry is in it's death throes, I hope to see you in the unemployment line ASAP.

Hard to argue with this guy. It seems as if has a head start in proving this theory correct.

reply to post by XPLodER


I dont get how people can be very educated and so short sighted.

How in the hell are we even close to answering the basic questions we set out to answer when we started out?

Everything we know in science is about less than .000005 of everything there is to know according to any scientist worth his diplomas. Then here comes this psychologist and feels so content that he was born to the "lucky" generation that had all the answers.

WE ARE RETARDED! we have a loooong way to go before we can even hold on to a THEORY for a couple decades anymore about anything before new information rewrites what we thought we knew in light of new discoveries.

This is a huge problem I have with book smart people. They lack ALL imagination and so lack vision into what COULD be. They get stuck in the "known" universe like the idiots that persecuted people for saying the earth is round, or that the world orbits the sun.....

I will say it again......WE ARE RETARDS....all of us. There is plenty of room for progress......LOTS..We dont know jack.

Maybe he's one of the few who trully understands the power of fluoride.

well obviously no genius are coming out this guy's gene pool

reply to post by XPLodER


I know why too, it isn't because people won't have the genius, they just don't want to be robbed of their ingenuity by large corporations and die in a hole destitute while some big wig takes the credit!

reply to post by XPLodER


Let's put this in some context shall we before everyone starts running with "they think we know everything" which hunt against science, as is so prevalant on this site, shall we.

The article is not saying we know everything and there is nothing left to discover. He claims that the basic framework for all of the sciences has been laid . . . we've discovered the basic principles, so anything new is going to add to exisiting fields (say dark energy/matter).

He also states he's been working with/studying genius for 30yrs, and his position is also based on the changing paradigm of research. Now, we no longer see a lone-wolf "crazy" scientist researching in private to come up with new ideas. We now work in large teams working a project and any new breakthroughs will be the work of teams and not some exalted "genius".

He also goes on to say he "hopes he is wrong on this issue", but his findings lead to that conclusion.

But . . . let's run with the hyperbole, cuz Jersey Shore attitude towards scientific articles is more fun than examining it with critical thinking.

EDIT - the article also didn't say that we wouldn't label humans as genius, just the superstar-type icons (Einstein) are a thing of the past.

Comprehension, people . . . please! Deny Ignorance, right?

Originally posted by ldyserenity
reply to post by XPLodER

 

I know why too, it isn't because people won't have the genius, they just don't want to be robbed of their ingenuity by large corporations and die in a hole destitute while some big wig takes the credit!

maby the true genius does it for the science of it not the money or fame,

or just to benefit society.

you dont have to famous or rich to be a genius.

you just have to shake things up in the area of your interests

after all isnt knowledge only validated once it given away and peer reviewed ?

a good businesses man is not always a genius,
and a genius is not always a good businessman

lol

xploder

Originally posted by zedVSzardoz

Everything we know in science is about less than .000005 of everything there is to know according to any scientist worth his diplomas. Then here comes this psychologist and feels so content that he was born to the "lucky" generation that had all the answers.

WE ARE RETARDED! we have a loooong way to go before we can even hold on to a THEORY for a couple decades anymore about anything before new information rewrites what we thought we knew in light of new discoveries.

New information adapts and refines, but most of the accomplishments of the people in question: Newton, Einstein + Darwin stand tall today. There was a step change in human understanding, starting a bit with Galileo and taking major leap with Newton. Newton's correct ideas about the structure of physical law (the concept of "state" meant and how it is implemented as differential equations for the state) marked the transition from jibberish to physics.

This is a huge problem I have with book smart people. They lack ALL imagination and so lack vision into what COULD be.

This is a huge problem I have with book ignorant people. They lack actual knowledge of what has been accomplished by humans, some of whom wrote books. And they don't have the correctly calibrated imagination that many of the smartest people who also read books do.

I will say it again......WE ARE RETARDS....all of us. There is plenty of room for progress......LOTS..We dont know jack.

There is plenty of room for progress. We do know jack, and jill, but not everything.

The original psychologist's thesis is reasonably correct: there are probably few single, big theoretical ideas defined by a "genius" to come which will transform understanding. However the notion that scientists working in teams somehow diffuses "genius" isn't true either. They work in teams to get stuff done.

Biology, after Darwin, is a series of millions of hard-won experimental increments and reinterpretations. Speculative ideas are cheap: good experiments are hard.

who was it that said the expert sees only one path where the amateur sees many?!

I think this guy has been educated into complete idiocy.

A genius either innovates the political, cultural, or social landscape.

There's most definitely room to revamp each at this point in time.

Originally posted by Wertdagf
reply to post by XPLodER

 

Soon all inventions will be done by Artificial intelligence.

Not only that but as capitalism and its dog eats dog mentality collapses there will be no more financial incentive for invention, all that will remain is the internet which will remember who made what and when for an eternity.

haha! geniuses aren't concerned with "financial incentive". probably one of the last things on their mind.

Originally posted by solomons path
reply to post by XPLodER

 

Let's put this in some context shall we before everyone starts running with "they think we know everything" which hunt against science, as is so prevalant on this site, shall we.

The article is not saying we know everything and there is nothing left to discover. He claims that the basic framework for all of the sciences has been laid . . . we've discovered the basic principles, so anything new is going to add to exisiting fields (say dark energy/matter).

He also states he's been working with/studying genius for 30yrs, and his position is also based on the changing paradigm of research. Now, we no longer see a lone-wolf "crazy" scientist researching in private to come up with new ideas. We now work in large teams working a project and any new breakthroughs will be the work of teams and not some exalted "genius".

you have to admit this guy discounts the home grown lone scientist, and "amuses" that teams of white coated guys with government funding will always out compete the lone genius

He also goes on to say he "hopes he is wrong on this issue", but his findings lead to that conclusion.

he is wrong on two levels, the definition of genius, and the inability of ordinary people to make remarkable advances for man kind in isolation.

But . . . let's run with the hyperbole, cuz Jersey Shore attitude towards scientific articles is more fun than examining it with critical thinking.

absurd articles garner absurd reprocesses, i cant help but find his conclusions .....well silly,
and that leads me to laugh when i write these answers. no more geniuses REALLY?

EDIT - the article also didn't say that we wouldn't label humans as genius, just the superstar-type icons (Einstein) are a thing of the past.

like steven hawking?

Comprehension, people . . . please! Deny Ignorance, right?

edit on 1/31/13 by solomons path because: (no reason given)

i comprehend this, genius weather by number of folds in the brain or artistic expresion is not something that can go away because of lack of super star status

ps i am still laughing

xploder