Jash Dholani Profile picture
Feb 1 14 tweets 5 min read Read on X
In 1997, Hans Eysenck died the most cited psychologist in the world. THEN he was posthumously cancelled. An enquiry said his work was "unsafe"

Code for "problematic but TRUE"

Eysenck studied human intelligence and discovered 8 traits common to geniuses across history. A thread:Image
1/ Geniuses have big egos

Eysenck: "Your typical genius is a fighter"

Since geniuses are original, their "battle against orthodoxy is endless"

Potential geniuses with no fighting zeal feel resistance and GIVE UP. Actualized geniuses are disagreeable

They got "inner strength"
Image
Image
2/ Geniuses often trust their intuitions OVER DATA

Newton and Kepler infamously "fudged" their data to hide discrepancies and back their pet theories

Eysenck writes:

"Usually the genius is right, of course, and we may in retrospect excuse his childish games." Image
3/ Geniuses are schizo

They don't limit their thinking to "relevant ideas, memories, images"

Distant ideas look unconnected to a normal mind

But geniuses can see the hidden links

Geniuses produce insight via "unusual associations." Too many hidden links and ur schizophrenic
4/ Geniuses are hyper competitive

From childhood, future geniuses possess an "innate assurance of superior ability"

SINGLE most persistent trait among geniuses across different domains?

Their untiring and obsessive "desire to excel"

Rivalries often bring out their best... Image
5/ Why high IQ isn't enough

Eysenck wrote high IQ is a "necessary but not sufficient" condition for genius

A high IQ man will FAIL to achieve if he doesn't have the disagreeability (ego-strength) to fight orthodoxy

And if he doesn't have an extremely high DESIRE to succeed Image
6/ CUNNING problem selection

A genius intellect can be wasted on the wrong problem

A problem may be too little for a genius - or unsolvable

A genius must pick an extremely hard problem that's nevertheless "soluble at the present time"

Aim high but dont invade russia in winter Image
7/ Geniuses use the unconscious

Eysenck: "Often when one works at a hard question, nothing good is accomplished"

BUT, this apparently unproductive session introduces the problem to the unconscious, which sets to work

During the second crack, "the decisive idea presents itself"
8/ Geniuses persist

The smartest man with not enough persistence

Will LOSE to an extremely persistent man with *just enough* intelligence

The latter will "achieve greater eminence" as intelligence doesn't, by itself, mean genius achievement

Zeal and striving are crucial too Image
9/ Hans Eysenck, once the world's most cited psychologist, concluded that geniuses have:

• High IQ
• Uncommon persistence
• Irrational belief in his intuitions
• Conscious mind in tune with his unconscious
• Brilliant problem selection
• Fire to compete
• A schizo brain.. Image
Shoutout to @jordanbpeterson for recommending this great book Image
@jordanbpeterson George Orwell on his creative process:

"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." Image
@jordanbpeterson Thank you for reading fren

I appreciate your time!

If you enjoyed this thread, do repost and Genius-Pill your timeline👇🏻

Follow me for more: @oldbooksguy


Image
Great follow-up thread from @rjmalka on how the ancient view of science was different from ours, and why brilliant men sometimes fudge their data

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jash Dholani

Jash Dholani Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @oldbooksguy

Jan 31
When Experts Go Wrong🧵

In 1928, a professor wrote a parenting guide. It became a best-seller...

THEN 3 of his own kids committed suicide

Meet John Watson: the father of Behaviorism

A story of scientific arrogance, the meaning of love, and one expert with blood on his hands👇🏻 Image
1/ Dr. John Watson was a man of bold claims

He believed he could turn a random infant into “any type of specialist” from doctor to artist to a thief - “regardless of his talents, tendencies, abilities”

How?

With psychological conditioning and other behaviorist tools
2/ John Watson shared these tools with the world in a book co-written with his wife: Psychological Care Of Infant and Child

"Society" comes up 8 times

"Environment” comes up 10 times

"Soul" comes up 0 times

Among other things, the book says a mother’s love is "dangerous"Image
Read 15 tweets
Jan 10
Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon on this day, 2073 years ago

With one move, he started a civil war and changed the course of world history

On the anniversary of a great man's great decision...

Let me show you history's 13 best works of art dedicated to Caesar🧵 Image
1/ Three Worthy Pagans: Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar by Daniel Hopfer (1516) Image
2/ Gaius Julius Cæsar on a Cigarette Box in 1888. Part of the Great Generals series taken out by Allen & Ginter... Image
Read 15 tweets
Jan 7
2,700 years ago, Heraclitus GAVE UP his throne to his brother

He only wrote one book on a fragile papyrus scroll

0 copies survive...

Yet he influenced thinkers from Plato to Nietzsche

Heraclitus on the flaws of democracies, why you need conflict, and more👇🏻 Image
1/ Heraclitus on why conflict matters:

"The poet was a fool who wanted no conflict among us, Gods or people. Harmony needs low and high, as progeny needs man and woman."

Life is only possible in the tension between opposites

Our world's STRIFE is what makes it fertile Image
2/ The moderns are obsessed with how to live, the ancients were obsessed with how to die

Heraclitus: "The luckiest men die worthwhile deaths"

What is a worthwhile death is every man's individual puzzle to solve

But perhaps honor, courage, and principles are part of the answer Image
Read 11 tweets
Dec 31, 2023
The French Revolutionaries invented a new Calendar. Minutes: 44% longer. Days: from 24 to 10 hours

The goal? Make time-keeping more “scientific”

The result? Total disaster

The story of the French Revolutionary Calendar banished by Napoleon, on this day, 218 years ago👇🏻 Image
1/ This is a story of political arrogance

The revolutionaries overestimated the power of science. And underestimated the stickiness of religion

One hour = 100 minutes. One min = 100 seconds. New year shifted from 1st Jan to 22nd Sept

A radical attempt to redefine time itself..
2/ The French revolutionaries adopted a new calendar for three reasons:

- To eliminate religious consciousness from the French society

- To make time more “rational”

- To announce the birth of an egalitarian era

In their zeal they forgot an important factor: human nature
Read 18 tweets
Dec 25, 2023
As the world gets crazier, there is one name you will hear more often: Nicolás Gómez Dávila

He wrote 1 book. Published ONLY a 100 copies...

But he's the best teacher on why societies need MYTHS to live

Without myths, collapse is inevitable

A thread👇🏻Image
1/ A culture that ignores its distinct DNA, and embraces homogenization, is signing its own death warrant

Dávila:

"Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it."
2/ The opposite of myth is not rationality, but SHALLOWNESS

As Dávila put it:

"The enemies of myth are not the friends of reality but of triviality"

Myths deal with deep and TIMELESS questions

To throw all myths out of the window is to only be left with trivial queries Image
Read 13 tweets
Dec 23, 2023
You're looking at a 464 year old painting...

That contains 126 hidden messages (that we've been able to count...)

This painting is The Topsy Turvy World by Bruegel

And it has the earliest illustration of the *Blue Pill*

Discover this painting's top ten HIDDEN insights 👇🏻Image
1/ "She puts the blue cloak on her husband"

Bruegel's original name for his painting: The Blue Cloak

In the center a woman puts a blue cloak on her husband - a Danish proverb meaning to deceive someone

The Matrix made the Blue Cloak the Blue Pill - the meaning remains the same Image
2/ "Never believe someone who carries fire in one hand and water in the other"

How much of the modern economy is captured in this proverb?

Fast food creates billions in GDP. Erodes people's health

Then "Healthcare" comes in. More billions in GDP

Rinse and Repeat Image
Read 13 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(