Kanye West’s latest award show faux pas has really got me thinking on the nature of genius. South Park hit the nail on the head (or the bag on the douche as the case may be) with their depiction of West. Kanye is 100% enthralled with himself, and has bought into his own hype, and sincerely believes he’s a genius. I wonder what else South Park was right about, could he, in fact, be gay fish… very likely.
But besides his high opinion of himself, it’s as if being a so-called genius is supposed to make up for any wrong behavior. For instance, Stephen Hawking is a very well documented bastard. Do his theories on black holes entitle him to making fun of lesser theoretical physicists or rolling over their feet on his wheel chair? Alpha dog behavior does indeed spill into the nerd world. Being the smartest or most talented today is the same as being the biggest or strongest in days of yore. And being the scariest nerd out there means never having to say “I’m Sorry.”
What is Genius?
What is the nature of genius? Can a rapper be a genius? Certainly. A genius is more than just your intelligence quotient. A genius is when a high level of intelligence is paired with an equally high work output (Figure A). To put it simply, expectations are high and those expectations are met. Kanye West would want to be compared to Stevie Wonder or other undisputed musical geniuses, but is that really a fair comparison? Has he lived up to his hype?
Figure A
The Idiot Savant and the Myth of the Flash of Genius
So, how can a man who is a “a proud non-reader of books” be a genius? Part of the problem is the political correct assumption of genius… that a genius can come from anywhere. Truthfully, genius can come from any walk of life, but by accepting this we now have the ever tricky duty of separating authentic genius from the plaything. Kanye would most likely fall under the idiot savant category. This being low intelligence coupled with high work output (Figure B ). Meaning not too bright, but expectations are far exceeded. Somehow like Shaggy or Gilligan, he stumbles into getting the job done. This would make Kanye West more or less the musical equivalent to outsider art (retards who paint), or to put it in music terms, the equal to such greatness as Sisqó.
Figure B
Most people are mistaken with the concept of genius: that lights and flashes must be going off in Einstein’s head. The fact is genius is cold and logical, it’s a Vulcan world out there. The facts are simply and slowly picked apart and reconstituted into a more pleasant configuration. Now the flash of genius is something everyone has experienced and this is why there’s so much confusion. Since, this is all we know of high level creative thought, we assume this is what genius 24/7 must be like. A flash however is more random than something that’s controlled. It’s nothing more the erratic firing of neurons on par with the average epileptic seizure. Brilliance can certainly be found there, but it’s mostly just gibberish.
A blown fuse is the only thing that can explain Kanye West. A series of unfortunate short circuits lead Kanye on stage, lead him to the mic, lead him to yet another outburst. Is it more likely that there was any calm, rational thought, or a lighting bolt and bunch of flipped switches (Figure C)?
But here’s the rub, here’s where things get sticky. Who needs more pampering, a reasonable highly functional genius, or an idiot savant with minor brain damage?
Figure C
And, hey, there’s nothing wrong with being an idiot savant… I could be one myself.
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