The Nature of Genius
There has always been ari interest in geniuses and prodigies. The word ‘genius’, from the Latin gens (= family) and the term ‘genius’, meaning ‘begetter’, comes from the early Roman cult of a divinity as the head of the family. In its earliest form, genius was concerned with the ability of the head of the family, the paterfamilias, to perpetuate himself. Gradually, genius came to represent a person’s characteristics and thence an individual’s highest attributes derived from his ‘genius’ or guiding spirit. Today, people still look to stars or genes, astrology or genetics, in the hope of finding the source of exceptional abilities or personal characteristics.
The concept of genius and of gifts has become part of our folk culture, and attitudes are ambivalent towards them. We envy the gifted and mistrust them. In the mythology of giftedness, it is popularly believed that if people are talented in one area, they must be defective in another, that intellectuals are impractical, that prodigies burn too brightly too soon and burn out, that gifted people are eccentric, that they are physical weaklings, that there’s a thin line between genius and madness, that genius runs in families, that the gifted are so clever they don’t need special help, that giftedness is the same as having a high IQ, that some races are more intelligent or musical or mathematical than others, that genius goes unrecognised and unrewarded, that adversity makes men wise or that people with gifts have a responsibility to use them. Language has been enriched with such terms as ‘highbrow’, ‘egghead’, ‘blue-stocking’, ‘wiseacre’, ‘know-all’, ‘boffin’ and, for many, ‘intellectual’ is a term of denigration.
The nineteenth century saw considerable interest in the nature of genius, and produced not a few studies of famous prodigies. Perhaps for us today, two of the most significant aspects of most of these studies of genius are the frequency with which early encouragement and teaching by parents and tutors had beneficial effects on the intellectual, artistic or musical development of the children but caused great difficulties of adjustment later in their lives, and the frequency with which abilities went unrecognised by teachers and schools. However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that they are not what we would today call norm-referenced. In other words, when, for instance, information is collated about early illnesses, methods of upbringing, schooling, etc., we must also take into account information from other historical sources about how common or exceptional these were at the time. For instance, infant mortality was high and life expectancy much shorter than today, home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy, bullying and corporal punishment were common at the best independent schools and, for the most part, the cases studied were members of the privileged classes. It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology in the twentieth century that studies could be carried out on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis.
Geniuses, however they are defined, are but the peaks which stand out through the mist of history and are visible to the particular observer from his or her particular vantage point. Change the observers and the vantage points, clear away some of the mist, and a different lot of peaks appear. Genius is a term we apply to those whom we recognise for their outstanding achievements and who stand near the end of the continuum of human abilities which reaches back through the mundane and mediocre to the incapable. There is still much truth in Dr Samuel Johnson’s observation, The true genius Is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particular direction’. We may disagree with the ‘general’, for we doubt if all musicians of genius could have become scientists of genius or vice versa, but there is no doubting the accidental determination which nurtured or triggered their gifts into those channels into which they have poured their powers so successfully. Along the continuum of abilities are hundreds of thousands of gifted men and women, boys and girls.
What we appreciate, enjoy or marvel at in thè works of genius or the achievements of prodigies are the manifestations of skills or abilities which are similar to, but so much superior to, our own. But that their minds are not different from our own is demonstrated by the fact that the hard-won discoveries of scientists like Kepler or Einstein become the commonplace knowledge of schoolchildren and the once outrageous shapes and colours of an artist like Paul Klee so soon appear on the fabrics we wear. This does not minimise the supremacy of their achievements, which outstrip our own as the sub-four-minute milers outstrip our jogging.
To think of geniuses and the gifted as having uniquely different brains is only reasonable If we accept that each human brain is uniquely different. The purpose of instruction is to make US even more different from one another, and in the process of being educated we can learn from the achievements of those more gifted than ourselves. But before we try to emulate geniuses or encourage our children to do so we should note that some of the things we learn from them may prove unpalatable. We may envy their achievements and fame, but we should also recognise the price they may have paid in terms of perseverance, single-mindedness, dedication, restrictions on their personal lives, the demands upon their energies and time, and how often they had to display great courage to preserve their integrity or to make their way to the top.
Genius and giftedness are relative descriptive terms of no real substance. We may, at best, give them some precision by defining them and placing them in a context but, whatever we do, we should never delude ourselves into believing that gifted children or geniuses are different from the rest of humanity, save in the degree to which they have developed the performance of their abilities.
- Giải thích từ vựng
- Genius (n) /ˈdʒiː.ni.əs/ thiên tài, người thiên tài
Eg: The idea came to her in a flash of genius.
Steve can solve anything – the man’s a genius.
Historians generally acknowledge her as a genius in her field.
Collocation
- have a genius for sth
- Perpetuate (v) /pəˈpetʃ.u.eɪt/ ghi nhớ mãi, làm cho tồn tại mãi
Eg: The movie perpetuates stereotypes of small-town life.
- Exceptional (a) /ɪkˈsep.ʃən.əl/ khác thường, đặc biệt, hiếm có/ ngoại lệ
Eg: The company has shown exceptional growth over the past two years.
Their standard of acting was very high but there was one exceptional performance.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Special Are you doing anything special for your birthday?
- Outstanding He accepted an award for outstanding achievement in baseball.
- Extraordinary Her capacity to remember things is extraordinary.
- Deluxe The salesman tried to sell us the deluxe model.
- Mistrust (v) /ˌmɪsˈtrʌst/ không tin, nghi ngờ, ngờ vực, hồ nghi
Eg: I’ve always mistrusted leaders who make too many promises.
- Ambivalent (a) /æmˈbɪv.ə.lənt/ có mâu thuẫn trong tư tưởng
Eg: I felt very ambivalent about leaving home.
Ambivalence (n)
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- ambiguous
- equivocal
- Defective (a) /dɪˈfek·tɪv/ có thiếu sót, có nhược điểm; có tật xấu, có khuyết điểm; kém, không hoàn toàn
Eg: I replaced the defective light switch.
If the goods are defective you should get a full refund.
Her hearing was found to be slightly defective.
The car was found to have defective brakes.
defect (v)
defection (n)
- Intellectual (n) /ˌɪn.təlˈek.tʃu.əl/ người trí thức, người lao động trí óc
Eg: She was too much of an intellectual to find popular movies interesting.
He was a leading intellectual of his day.
- Impractical (a) /ɪmˈpræk.tɪ.kəl/ không thực tế
Eg: It’s impractical to have so many people all trying to use this equipment at the same time.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Useless We have cleared out carloads of useless junk.
- no use Money is no use if it’s just sitting there.
- serve no purpose Such warnings serve no purpose other than to scare the public.
- Pointless She sees cleaning as a pointless exercise since everything is going to get dirty again.
- Purposeless He called the race “a contest in purposeless suffering”.
- Prodigy (n) /ˈprɒd.ɪ.dʒi/ người thần kỳ, vật kỳ diệu phi thường
Eg: The 16-year-old tennis prodigy is the youngest player ever to reach the Olympic finals.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Genius The system must have been designed by a mathematical genius.
- Egghead The eggheads at the University have been working on this for years.
- Brains The well-known comedian is the brains behind the new sitcom.
- whizz-kid They hired some uni whizz-kid to lead the firm.
- Adversity (n) /ədˈvɜː.sə.ti/ nghịch cảnh
Eg: She was always cheerful in adversity.
The road to happiness is paved with adversities.
- Enrich (v) /ɪnˈrɪtʃ/ làm giàu, làm giàu thêm, làm phong phú
Eg: These trips give students the opportunity to enrich their independent studies in geography and history.
The presentations could be enriched with more digital media.
Her work enriches our view of the 1960s.
Enrichment (n)
- Denigration (n) /ˌden.ɪˈɡreɪ.ʃən/ sự phỉ báng, sự gièm pha, sự chê bai; sự bôi xấu, sự bôi nhọ
Eg: Many have objected to the song’s denigration of women.
She is confused and hurt by her constant denigration by the media.
- Anecdote (n) /ˈæn.ɪk.dəʊt/ chuyện vặt, giai thoại
Eg: He told one or two amusing anecdotes about his years as a policeman.
He told some funny anecdotes about famous people.
The book is a rich store of anecdote.
- Apparent (a) /əˈpær.ənt/ rõ ràng, rõ rành rành, hiển nhiên, không thể chối cãi được
Eg: Her unhappiness was apparent to everyone.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Obvious It’s obvious that she’s upset.
- Clear It was clear that he was unhappy.
- Plain His disappointment was plain to see.
- Evident The company president was impressed by her evident ambition.
- Manifest His manifest lack of interest has provoked severe criticism.
- Collate (v) /kəˈleɪt/ đối chiếu, so sánh/ kiểm tra thứ tự (trang sách)
Eg: I began by collating biographical information for those women composers for whom reference could be found in the library.
Collation (n)
Collocation
- collate information/data/material
- collate statistics/figures/results
- Upbringing (n) /ˈʌpˌbrɪŋ.ɪŋ/ sự giáo dục, sự dạy dỗ (trẻ con)
Eg: Is it right to say all the crimes he committed were simply the result of his upbringing?
The children had had a harsh upbringing.
- Take sth into account: để ý đến việc gì
Eg: I hope my teacher will take into account the fact that I was ill just before the exams when she marks my paper.
A good architect takes into account the building’s surroundings.
- Life expectancy (n) /ɪkˈspek.tən.si/ tuổi thọ dự tính
Eg: Life expectancy for both men and women has improved greatly in the past 20 years.
Women have a longer life expectancy than men.
- Nobility (n) /nəʊˈbɪl.ə.ti/ quý tộc, quý phái
Eg: The bravery and nobility of these men who died for their country.
They gave tribute to his courage and nobility.
Noble (a)
- Bully (v) /ˈbʊl.i/ bắt nạt, trêu chọc; áp bức, khủng bố
Eg: Our survey indicates that one in four children is bullied at school.
Don’t let anyone bully you into doing something you don’t want to do.
He has a strong personality, but don’t let him bully you.
- Privileged (a) /ˈprɪv.əl.ɪdʒd/ có đặc quyền; được đặc quyền; được đặc ân
Eg: As an ambassador, she enjoys a very privileged status.
As an old friend of the president, he enjoys privileged status.
Collocation
- be/feel privileged to do/have done sth
- a privileged position/background/upbringing
- Paediatrics (n) /ˌpiː.diːˈæt.rɪks/ (y học) khoa trẻ em, khoa nhi
Eg: She specializes in paediatrics.
- Peak (n) /piːk/ đỉnh cao nhất, tột đỉnh, cao điểm
Eg: Prices reach a peak during August.
Beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough to form firm peaks.
We saw a victory by an athlete at the very peak of her fitness and career.
He seems to have reached the peak of his tennis career.
Accommodation is tricky to find at the peak of the season.
- Visible (a) /ˈvɪz.ə.bəl/ thấy được, có thể trông thấy được/ rõ ràng, rõ rệt
Eg: You should wear something light-coloured when you’re cycling at night so that you’re more visible.
The writing on the tombstone was barely visible.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Appear One or two clouds appeared in the sky.
- Show itself He believes the impact is showing itself clearly already.
- Emerge A slender figure is seen emerging from the darkness.
- Loom Clouds of volcanic ash loomed menacingly overhead.
- Outstanding (a) /ˌaʊtˈstæn.dɪŋ/ nổi bật, đáng chú ý; nổi tiếng
Eg: It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty.
He accepted an award for outstanding achievement in baseball.
Một số từ đồng nghĩa:
- Special Are you doing anything special for your birthday?
- Exceptional Their standard of acting was very high but there was one exceptional performance.
- Extraordinary Her capacity to remember things is extraordinary.
- Deluxe The salesman tried to sell us the deluxe model.
- Vice versa (adv) /ˌvaɪs ˈvɜː.sə/ trở lại, ngược lại
Eg: If they go away, we have their children and vice versa.
He refuses to believe anything they say and vice versa.
- Accidental (a) /ˌæk.sɪˈden.təl/ tình cờ, ngẫu nhiên; bất ngờ
Eg: Reports suggest that eleven soldiers were killed by accidental fire from their own side.
- Commonplace (a) /ˈkɒm.ən.pleɪs/ tầm thường; cũ rích
Eg: Electric cars are increasingly commonplace.
Public financing for sports stadiums has become commonplace.
This technology is now commonplace in schools.
Such actions were regarded as commonplace during the war.
- Supremacy (n) /suːˈprem.ə.si/ quyền tối cao/ thế hơn, ưu thế
Eg: The company has begun to challenge the supremacy of the current leading manufacturers in the textiles industry.
Supreme (a)
- Emulate (v) /ˈem.jə.leɪt/ tích cực noi gương
Eg: They hope to emulate the success of other software companies.
He just wants to emulate his dad.
Emulation (n)
- Unpalatable (a) /ʌnˈpæl.ə.tə.bəl/ không hay, không ngon
Eg: Only then did I learn the unpalatable truth.
- Integrity (n) /ɪnˈteɡ.rə.ti/ tính chính trực, tính liêm chính
Eg: No one doubted that the president was a man of the highest integrity.
His comments cast a slur on the integrity of his employees.
Her probity and integrity are beyond question.
- Delude (v) /dɪˈluːd/ đánh lừa, lừa dối
Eg: He’s deluding himself if he thinks he’s going to be promoted this year.
He’s deluding himself if he thinks he’s going to get that promotion.
Collocation
- delude somebody/yourself into doing something
- delude yourself that…
- Inherit (v) /ɪnˈher.ɪt/ hưởng, thừa hưởng, thừa kế
Eg: She will inherit her father’s estate when she is 21.
She inherited a fortune from her grandmother.
Would you quit your job if you inherited lots of money?
Collocation
- inherit sth from sb She inherited a fortune from her father when he died.
- Luyện tập
Bài 1: Chọn từ trong khung để hoàn thành các câu bên dưới
| genius | exceptional | collated | prodigy | defective |
| mistrust | perpetuate | adversities | enrich | anecdote |
- Davis has done an ………………… job of reporting.
- The aim of the association is to …………………. the skills of traditional furniture design.
- We learned to ……………… easy answers to problems without precedent.
- Using a sailing ship as the company badge was a touch of ……………….
- He was something of a ………………. on the piano.
- The government’s economic policies are designed to ………………. insiders.
- He overcame many personal ……….……….
- The editors have ……………….. the texts in these manuscripts with those in other copies.
- The biographer provides a telling ……………….. about the President’s actions at this time.
- She was born with …………… hearing.
Bài 2: Chọn đáp án đúng để điền vào chỗ trống
- My wife loves the opera, but I have …..…………. feelings about it. A. ambivalent B. exceptional
- Left-wing ……………….. were purged from the universities. A. geniuses B. intellectuals
- It’s …………….. to buy things just because they’re on sale. A. impractical B. defective
- There is a slow but steady …………………. of this important industry in our state. A. anecdote B. denigration
- I was on the metro this morning when, for no ……………….. reason, the man opposite me suddenly screamed. A. apparent B. impractical
- Those joining the ……………… few at the top of the firm have been responsible for some of the company’s greatest successes. A. ambivalent B. privileged
- It is important that you report it to the teacher if you see anyone being ………………. A. bullied B. collated
- I wonder what it was about her …………………. that made her so insecure. A. collating B. upbringing
- The heroic sacrice of the missionary spirit, in the face of this seemingly intractable reality, was true ……………… A. nobility B. anecdote
- Japanese people have a very high life ………………… A. prodigy B. expectancy
- Examples of clinical areas where this could have benefits include ………………. and neo-natology, dermatology, oncology, palliative care, and total parenteral nutrition. A. paediatrics B. peaks
- The comet should be …………….. to the naked eye. A. outstanding B. visible
- She’s very angry with him and ………………….. A. vice versa B. vite versa
- Her …………….. performances set a new benchmark for singers throughout the world. A. outstanding B. ambivalent
- Double agents are quite ………………. in the world of espionage. A. accidental B. commonplace
- Fitzgerald is eager to ………………. Martin’s record of three successive world titles. A. emulate B. delude
- He ………………………………….. the family business, but he had little interest in it and soon sold it. A. inherited B. bullied
- I think you have to take into ………………….. that he’s a good deal younger than the rest of us. A. collate B. account
- There are always …………………. and troughs in any relationship. A. peaks B. paediatrics
- This victory clearly proves the ………………… of the Brazilians in football. A. integrity B. supremacy
- Don’t be ………………… into thinking that we are out of danger yet. A. emulated B. deluded
- Against this background was an ………………….. fact: the poverty of the suburbs where the immigrants were concentrated. A. unpalatable B. accidental
- He was regarded as a man of absolute …………………… A. integrity B. supremacy
- He plays a naive salesman who becomes an ………………. hero by saving a child’s life. A. visible B. accidental
Bài 1:
1.exceptional 2. perpetuate 3. mistrust 4. genius 5. prodigy
- enrich 7. adversities 8. collated 9. anecdote 10. defective
Bài 2:
1.A 2.B 3.A 4. B 5. A
6.B 7. A 8. B 9. A 10. B
- A 12. B 13. A 14. A 15.B
- A 17. B 18. B 19.A 20. B
- B 22. A 23.A 24. B
