Outstanding geniuses of mankind (44). The most talented people in the world

Eric Weiner

Writer, journalist, thinker and traveler.

It is not so easy to understand that we are in the company of a genius. Sometimes it's because we don't know what the word means.

For example, in ancient Rome, a spirit that patronizes a person or a place was called a genius. In the 18th century, the modern meaning of this word appeared - a person with special, almost divine abilities.

Today, we can easily call someone a marketing genius or a political genius, without thinking that a real genius does not need such clarifications. True genius transcends one area. That is why we should not use this word so extravagantly. Let's remember the main misconceptions about genius.

Myth #1. Genius is due to genetics

This idea has been around for a long time. Back in 1869, the British scientist Francis Galton published the book "Heredity of Talent", in which he argued that genius directly depends on our heredity. But genius is not genetically transmitted like eye color. Brilliant parents don't produce brilliant children. Heredity is just one of the factors.

Another factor is hard work. In addition, the attitude to their work also affects. This is confirmed by a study conducted among children involved in music. Identity and practice: The motivational benefits of a long-term musical identity.. It showed that the student's success is determined not by the number of hours spent on rehearsals, but by the attitude towards in the long term.

In other words, to be a genius, you need a certain way of thinking and perseverance.

Myth #2. Geniuses are smarter than other people

This is refuted by examples from history. Thus, most prominent historical figures had a fairly modest level of intelligence. For example, the IQ of William Shockley, a Nobel laureate in physics, is only 125. The famous physicist Richard Feynman has the same result.

Genius, especially creative genius, is determined not so much by mental abilities as by the breadth of vision. A genius is one who comes up with new unexpected ideas.

Also, genius does not necessarily require encyclopedic knowledge or excellent education. Many geniuses dropped out of school or did not formally study at all, such as the famous British scientist Michael Faraday.

In 1905, when Albert Einstein published four papers that changed physics, his own knowledge of the science was inferior to that of other researchers. His genius was not that he knew more than others, but that he could draw conclusions that no one else could.

Myth #3. Geniuses can appear anytime, anywhere

We usually think of geniuses as something like shooting stars - an amazing and extremely rare phenomenon.

But if you map the emergence of geniuses around the world throughout the history of mankind, you can notice a curious pattern. Geniuses do not appear singly, but in groups. In certain places at certain times, outstanding minds and new ideas are born. Think ancient Athens, Renaissance Florence, 1920s Paris, and even today's Silicon Valley.

The places where geniuses appear, although different from each other, have common characteristics. For example, almost all of these are cities.

The high population density and sense of closeness that emerges in an urban environment encourages creativity.

All these places are characterized by an atmosphere of tolerance and openness, and this, according to psychologists, is especially important for creativity. The relationship between intelligence and creativity: New support for the threshold hypothesis by means of empirical breakpoint detection.. So geniuses are less like shooting stars and more like flowers that naturally appear in the right environment.

Myth number 4. Genius is a gloomy loner

There are many such characters in popular culture. And although geniuses, especially writers and artists, are more prone to mental disorders, in particular depression, they are rarely alone. They want to be in the company of like-minded people who can reassure them and convince them that they are not crazy. Therefore, geniuses always have a "support group".

Freud had the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, which met with him on Wednesdays, Einstein had the "Olympic Academy". The Impressionist painters would meet weekly and paint together in nature to keep their spirits up in response to the rejection of critics and the public.

Of course, geniuses sometimes need to stay in, but often they switch from solitary work to communication with others. For example, the Scottish philosopher David Hume sat in his office for weeks and worked, but then he always went out and went to the local pub to live and socialize like everyone else.

Myth number 5. We are smarter now than before

The number of university graduates and IQ levels are now higher than ever, which is why many people think that we live in the age of geniuses. This misconception is so popular that it even has a name - the Flynn effect.

But people at all times believed that their era is the peak of development. And we are no exception. Of course, we have witnessed a huge breakthrough in the field of digital technologies, but the question of our genius is still open.

In science, many monumental discoveries have now been made. Although they are impressive, they are not so important as to change our understanding of the world. There are no discoveries like Darwin's evolutionary theory and Einstein's theory of relativity.

Over the past 70 years, much more scientific research has been published than before, but the percentage of truly innovative work has remained unchanged.

Yes, we are now producing a record amount of data, but don't confuse that with creative genius. Otherwise, every smartphone owner would be a new Einstein.

It has been proven that the flow of information around us only hinders major discoveries. And it's really worrisome. After all, if geniuses have one thing in common, it is the ability to see the unusual in the ordinary.

They say a genius must be born.

They ponder: how to explain the extraordinary giftedness?

They ask the question: why did this person become a genius? For centuries, people have tried to find an answer, first referring to the invisible spirit-genius overshadowing the chosen one of heaven, then assuming material earthly and cosmic influences, and finally turning to genetics, innate qualities.

We will now only touch on the secret of giftedness, without going into details and without claiming to have a final solution to the problem.

After a correspondence, but sometimes quite close acquaintance with many geniuses (private evidence of this is this book), you come to the conclusion that the correctly posed question should sound like this: why do so many people not become geniuses?

We choose the greatest geniuses according to public opinion, partly by our own arbitrariness. Neither principle guarantees against errors and omissions. However, in any case, perhaps the most worthy ones will not fall into our list: those who left the first magnificent rock paintings, developed - without knowing it - the foundations of language and arithmetic, carried out the first astronomical observations, used fire to smelt metal ...

The list can be greatly expanded. It demonstrates one important pattern: the largest, fundamental achievements in various activities belong to individual tribes and peoples. People jointly created material and spiritual culture, not caring about priorities and not sticking out their personal contribution. In the end - it has been so in all ages, and remains so today - whatever we create, it remains a continuation of previous achievements.

On the other hand, there are recognized geniuses about whom almost nothing is known, and in some cases even their very existence is disputed. They will have to be mentioned separately.

Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Kropotkin was born in Moscow into the family of a general, a descendant of the Rurikovichs; graduated from the Corps of Pages with honors, was chamber-page of Alexander II. A brilliant career awaited him. He chose service in the Amur Cossack army, made a number of difficult expeditions, discovered previously unknown mountain ranges, volcanic regions, the Patom Highlands in Transbaikalia; clarified information about the geography and geology of Siberia and the Far East. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1867, he worked in the Russian Geographical Society, traveled around Sweden and Finland. He studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, earned a living by journalism and at the same time conducted educational and revolutionary propaganda work among the workers (he was a populist). Arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, he wrote the classic work "Studies on the Ice Age".

He managed to make a daring escape from the prison hospital. He spent 40 years in exile. Collaborated in the Encyclopædia Britannica, published scientific works: "Mutual Aid as a Factor of Evolution", "The Great French Revolution", "Bread and Freedom", "Modern Revolution and Anarchy", "Ideals and Reality in Russian Literature", "Ethics" , as well as biographical "Notes of a Revolutionary". After the February Revolution of 1917 he returned to Russia. He died in the city of Dmitrov (Moscow region), was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

His fate is amazing, first of all, because his universal talent, no less amazing than that of Goethe, high professionalism in several types of activity did not bring him life's blessings. In this regard, he is a fantastic person. Perhaps he was referring to himself, referring to the failed student whose bread and butter always fell smeared side down.

The talented Soviet writer Yuri Olesha in his book “Not a Day Without a Line” asked: “Who was he, this crazy man, the only writer of his kind in world literature, with raised eyebrows, with a thin nose bent downwards, with hair forever standing on end? There is evidence that, while writing, he was so afraid of what he depicted that he asked his wife to sit next to him.

Hoffmann had an extraordinary influence on literature. By the way, on Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky.

In Germany in the 18th - early 19th centuries, a whole galaxy of geniuses appeared: Kant, Herder, Schiller, Beethoven, Gauss, Hegel. There are many universal ones among them (Leibniz, Goethe, A. Humboldt, Hoffmann). And this is in a country divided into small principalities? Why did such a strange phenomenon occur?

We will not turn to far-fetched assumptions that do not have scientific evidence about the impact on society of solar activity or outbreaks of "biochemical energy" ("passionarity") among the people. Everything was more difficult. Feudalism was coming to an end in Europe; small rulers, like large ones, cared about their glory and at least the appearance of prosperity. In the Age of Enlightenment, one of the most important criteria for the greatness of a sovereign, a prince, was the intellectual level of his subjects, their creative achievements. In addition, a series of revolutions, wars, violent social movements began, when the self-consciousness of peoples and individuals, the desire for freedom, the thirst for creativity awaken. Of considerable importance is the example of individual talented people who manage to achieve recognition. But the main thing, of course, is spiritual uplift, the desire to break the fetters of everyday life, to take the path of overcoming, and not adapting to circumstances.

The Russian poet Yevgeny Baratynsky responded to his death like this:

Extinguished! but nothing is left to them

Under the sun of the living without greetings;

He responded to everything with his heart,

What asks the heart for an answer;

With a winged thought he circled the world,

In one boundless found her limit.

He was born in a remote village near the mouth of the Northern Dvina, in the family of a simple peasant ...

It is generally accepted that the most favorable conditions have been created in the capital of the country or in large cities for the emergence of great thinkers, scientists, and cultural figures. After all, it is here that the best teachers, outstanding minds gather; there are relevant educational institutions, museums, universities, academies. Yes, at some stage of training or the first independent work, it is useful to be in a cultural center, communicate with specialists, and have access to intellectual and artistic values. But in childhood, the main thing is not to learn something special. It is important that a craving for knowledge, creativity awakens in a person.

When it is possible to easily satisfy this need, the child may quickly lose the initial impulse. On the contrary, if one has to overcome obstacles on the path of cognition, then the weak retreat, and the strong do not give up.

So it was with Mikhail Lomonosov. His homeland, northern Russia, has long given shelter to brave, enterprising, freedom-loving people. There was no humiliating serf slavery here, and the Tatar-Mongol yoke too. Local residents had to engage in various crafts: agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing. Pomors were excellent sailors.

What can be common between a lawyer, philosopher, scientist, theologian, inventor, public and political figure? Perhaps only one thing: there was a man who showed outstanding abilities in all these areas of mental and practical activity - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. On top of that, he was still an outstanding theoretical psychologist.

The word of the physicist V.S. Kirsanov: "Leibniz is one of the most powerful and most remarkable phenomena of Western civilization, which in its scale and influence on scientific thought at the dawn of a new science can only be compared with the contribution and influence of Aristotle at the dawn of classical ancient science. The breadth of his intellectual interests is amazing : jurisprudence, linguistics, history, theology, logic, geology, physics - in all these areas he owns remarkable results, not to mention the fact that in philosophy and mathematics he showed himself to be a true genius.In all his scientific research, he developed practically one and the same idea, the particular expression of which depended on the respective discipline, namely, the idea of ​​the unity of knowledge.

In universal talent, which manifested itself very early, Gottfried Wilhelm resembles Pascal. But if the sickly Blaise was prone to pessimism, experienced bursts of creative activity and did not live long, Leibniz was constantly energetic, did not lose optimism and, without good health, lived for 70 years, leaving a vast intellectual legacy.

It is difficult to find in the history of mankind another similar example of the manifestation of so many talents in a short life. Mathematician and writer, physicist and philosopher, inventor and religious thinker - such is the universal genius of Blaise Pascal.

His father Etienne was a teacher of mathematics and a very educated person, he was interested in history and literature, he knew languages. He taught mathematics and Latin to his first daughter, Gilberte. In childhood, the only educator and teacher of the boy was his father (his mother died early). It can be assumed that Blaise's extraordinary curiosity is largely due to his father's outstanding teaching talent and, perhaps, the influence of his older sister.

Fearing for the health of his sickly son, Etienne Pascal was in no hurry to teach him geometry, thereby arousing his keen interest in this discipline. Little Blaise independently began to find the relationship between "sticks" and "rings", composing figures and finding out their properties. He came to the proof of the Euclidean theorem: the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is equal to the sum of two lines.

And the line between them is not strictly drawn.

So wrote the poet Michelangelo, more famous as a sculptor, painter, architect. He was a tireless and powerful inspired creator, who knew no rest (a heavy cross and a high privilege of a genius). In shapeless blocks of marble, his imagination saw images that were not yet embodied, and he released them with a chisel, considering nature itself as his co-author:

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid are mystics, experts in esotericism and occultism, authors of 14 books.

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Geniuses. genius people

Names and surnames of brilliant people of all time

Genius(lat. genius) - the highest degree of giftedness and versatility.

There is an opinion that inspiration accounts for 1% of a genius, and the remaining 99% is hard work up to a sweat. And indeed it is. Hard hard work is an integral part of great scientific discoveries, brilliant works of art, creations of music, painting and architecture.

Brilliant people and their creations remain for centuries.

Traits of a genius- a clear mind, excellent memory, extensive knowledge, creative activity, poetic imagination, literary gift, thirst for knowledge, courage of thought, heroic enthusiasm, understanding of the world and man.

The labyrinths of the movement of brilliant thought have not yet been unraveled by anyone. Geniuses amaze with a very high level of creativity, exceptional, superhuman abilities- in memorizing data, in solving mathematical problems, in instantly capturing connections between phenomena invisible to others.

Developed through persistent and long-term efforts, the abilities of a genius show the limitless possibilities of the human mind.

There is a famous phrase that genius burns on the fire of sex hormones. The constant high creative tension in which a genius lives inevitably subjugates his lifestyle, behavior and daily routine. A genius lives in the world of ideas, not in the material world.

Thoughts and ideas of brilliant people were always ahead of their time, extraordinary courage was needed in overthrowing dogmas and authorities that had existed for centuries. For their advanced ideas, many brilliant people paid with their lives. And only after some time it turned out that the genius was right. He saw what others did not see.

Genius has different forms and different levels. Below we present list of great people. Of course, it is not complete and it can be continued.

Names and surnames of brilliant people of all time (list)

Agrippa (Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim)- occultist

Anaxagoras- Ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, founder of the Athenian philosophical school

Aristotle- philosopher

Aristophanes- playwright

Archimedes- mechanic, physicist, mathematician, engineer

Honore de Balzac- writer

Bacon Francis- Philosopher, historian, politician

Bacon, Roger- Philosopher and naturalist

Bach Johann Sebastian- composer

Beethoven Ludwig van- composer

Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich- philosopher

Bor Niels- physicist

Bruno Giordano- scientist, monk

Voltaire- poet, prose writer, satirist, tragedian, historian, publicist

Galileo Galilei- astronomer, mechanic, thinker

Gegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich- philosopher

Goethe Johann- poet, statesman, naturalist, thinker

Herodotus- Greek traveler, geographer, father of history

Gogol Nikolay Vasilievich- writer

Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus- Writer, composer, artist

Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich- historian-ethnologist, archaeologist, orientalist, writer

Dante Alighieri- poet, theologian, politician

Rene Descartes- philosopher, mathematician, mechanic, physicist, physiologist

Democritus- philosopher

Euclid- mathematician, physicist

Zhirinovsky Vladimir Volfovich- statesman

Kant Immanuel- philosopher

Copernicus Nicholas- astronomer, mathematician, mechanic, economist

Cuvier Georges Leopold- naturalist, naturalist

Leonardo da Vinci- painter, sculptor, architect, scientist (naturalist), inventor, writer

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm- philosopher, logician, mathematician, mechanic, physicist, lawyer, historian, diplomat, inventor, linguist

Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich- Poet, prose writer, playwright

Lobachevsky Nikolay Ivanovich- mathematician

Lomonosov, Mikhail Vasilievich- natural scientist, encyclopedist, chemist, physicist, astronomer, instrument maker, geographer, metallurgist, geologist, poet, artist, historian

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier- chemist, naturalist

Macedonian Alexander- conqueror commander

Mendeleev Dmitry Ivanovich- encyclopedic scientist, chemist, physicist, metrologist, economist, technologist, geologist, meteorologist, oilman, teacher, aeronaut, instrument maker

Michelangelo- sculptor, painter, architect

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- Composer, virtuoso performer

Marcus Aurelius- statesman, philosopher

Napoleon I Bonaparte- commander and statesman

Nietzsche Friedrich- thinker, philosopher, philologist, composer, poet

Nostradamus Michel de- astrologer, doctor, pharmacist, alchemist, fortune teller

Newton Isaac- physicist, mathematician, mechanic, astronomer

Pascal Blaise- mathematician, mechanic, physicist, writer, philosopher

Pericles- statesman, orator, commander

Pythagoras- philosopher, mathematician, mystic, founder of the religious and philosophical school of the Pythagoreans

Claudius Ptolemy- Greek geographer, cartographer, mathematician, astronomer

Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich- Poet, playwright, prose writer

Rafael Santi- painter, graphic artist, architect

Socrates- thinker, philosopher

Stolypin, Pyotr Arkadyevich (1862 - 1911)- Russian statesman, prime minister

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich- the great Russian commander, military theorist, national hero of Russia

Tesla Nikola- Inventor in the field of electrical and radio engineering, engineer, physicist

Titian- painter

Freud Sigmund psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist

Gaius Julius Caesar- Commander, statesman, writer

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich- composer, conductor, teacher, musical and public figure

Shakespeare William- poet and playwright

Einstein, Albert- theoretical physicist, one of the founders of modern theoretical physics

Aesop- Ancient Greek fabulist

Aeschylus- Ancient Greek playwright, father of European tragedy

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Geniuses. Genius people. Names and surnames of brilliant people of all time

The consulting company Synectics has published a list of a hundred geniuses of our time. The rating was formed on the basis of a survey conducted in the summer of 2007 in the UK. The study involved 4 thousand people. According to the data received, the largest number of geniuses lives in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom.

1. Albert Hoffman- chemist (Switzerland)

1. Tim Berners-Lee- Inventor of the Internet (UK)

3. George Soros- philanthropist (USA)

4. Matt Groening- cartoonist, creator of the series "The Simpsons" (USA)

5. Nelson Mandela- politician (South Africa)

5. Frederick Sanger- chemist (UK)

7. Dario Fo- writer, playwright (Italy)

7. Stephen Hawking- physicist (UK)

9. Oscar Niemeyer- architect (Brazil)

9. Philip Glass- composer (USA)

9. Grigory Perelman- mathematician (Russia)

12. Andrew Wiles- mathematician (UK)

12. Li Hongzhi- spiritual leader (China)

12. Ali Javan- engineer (Iran)

15. Brian Eno- composer (UK)

15. Damien Hirst- artist (UK)

15. Daniel Tammet- linguist (Great Britain)

18. Nicholson Baker- writer (USA)

19. Daniel Barenboim- musician (Israel)

20. Robert Crumb- artist (USA)

20. Richard Dawkins- biologist and philosopher (Great Britain)

20. Larry Page and Sergey Brin- creators of the Google search engine (USA)

20. Rupert Murdoch- publisher (USA)

20. Geoffrey Hill- poet (UK)

25. Garry Kasparov- chess player (Russia)

26. Dalai Lama- spiritual leader (Tibet)

26. Steven Spielberg- director (USA)

26. Hiroshi Ishiguro- creator of robots (Japan)

26. Robert Edwards- one of the founders of IVF (Great Britain)

26. Seamus Heaney- poet (Ireland)

31. Harold Pinter- writer, playwright (UK)

32. Flossy Wong-Staal- biologist (China)

32. Bobby Fischer- chess player (USA)

32. Prince- musician (USA)

32. Henryk Goretzky- composer (Poland)

32. Avram Noam Chomsky- philosopher and linguist (USA)

32. Sebastian Thrun- creator of robots (Germany)

32. Nima Arhani-Hamed- physicist (Canada)

32. Margaret Turnbull- astrobiologist (USA)

40. Elaine Pagels- historian (USA)

40. Enrique Ostrea- doctor (Philippines)

40. Gary Becker- economist (USA)

43. Muhammad Ali- boxer (USA)

43. Osama bin Laden- Islamist (Saudi Arabia)

43. Bill Gates- Creator of Microsoft Corporation (USA)

43. Philip Roth- writer (USA)

43. James West- physicist (USA)

43. Tang Wo-Ding- biologist, physician (Vietnam)

49. Brian Wilson- musician (USA)

49. Stevie Wonder- singer, composer (USA)

49. Screw Surf

49. Henry Kissinger- diplomat and politician (USA)

49. Richard Branson- media mogul (UK)

49. Pardis Sabeti- anthropologist (Iran)

49. John de Mol- television producer (Netherlands)

49. Meryl Streep- actress (USA)

49. Margaret Atwood- writer (Canada)

58. Placido Domingo- opera singer (Italy)

58. John Lasseter- cartoonist (USA)

58. Sunpei Yamazaki- physicist, computer developer (Japan)

58. Jane Goodel- Anthropologist (UK)

58. Kirti Narayan Chowdhury- Historian (India)

58. John Goto- photographer (UK)

58. Paul McCartney- musician (UK)

58. Stephen King- writer (USA)

58. Leonard Cohen- poet, musician (USA)

67. Aretha Franklin- singer (USA)

67. David Bowie- musician (UK)

67. Emily Oster- economist (USA)

67. Stephen Wozniak- computer developer, co-founder of Apple (USA)

72. George Lucas- director (USA)

72. Nile Rogers- musician (USA)

72. Hans Zimmer- composer (Germany)

72. John Williams- composer (USA)

72. Annette Beyer- Philosopher (New Zealand)

72. Dorothy Rove- psychologist (UK)

72. Ivan Marchuk- artist, sculptor (Ukraine)

72. Robin Escovado- composer (USA)

72. Mark Dean- computer developer (USA)

72. Rick Rubin- musician and producer (USA)

72. Stan Lee- publisher (USA)

83. David Warren- engineer (Australia)

83. Jon Fosse- writer, playwright (Norway)

83. Gertrud Schnackenberg- poetess (USA)

83. Graham Linehan- writer, playwright (Ireland)

83. Joanne Rowling- writer (UK)

83. Ken Russell- director (USA)

83. Mikhail Kalashnikov- designer of small arms (Russia)

83. Eric Jarvis- neuroscientist (USA)

91. Chad Worah- founder of the Samaritans charity organization (UK)

91. Nicholas Hayek- businessman, founder of Swatch (Switzerland)

91. Alastair Hanny- Philosopher (UK)

91. Patricia Bath- doctor (USA)

94. Thomas Jackson- engineer, developer of aerospace technologies (USA)

94. Dolly Parton- singer (USA)

94. Morrissey- singer (UK)

94. Renalf Fiennes- Traveler (UK)

100. Quentin Tarantino- director (USA)

Publication time: October 29, 2007 01:13 PM | last updated: Dec 7, 2017 08:56 AM

ALL PHOTOS

The international company Creators Synectics has compiled a list of 100 living geniuses in science, politics, art and entrepreneurship. Among them were three Russians. About a quarter of the participants in the list are natives of the UK - there is the highest concentration of geniuses per capita, The Daily Telegraph proudly notes (full text on the Inopressa.ru website).

The first place was shared by the inventor of the World Wide Web - the Englishman Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann - the discoverer of the hallucinogenic properties of LSD. The second place went to billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, and the third went to Matt Groening - the author of the cartoon "The Simpsons". Closes the list of geniuses American director Quentin Tarantino.

The list included 24 Englishmen and 43 Americans. Thus, in the UK there were the most geniuses per capita - one in 2.5 million inhabitants. Among them are physicist Stephen Hawking (7th), avant-garde artist Damien Hirst (15th), Sir Paul McCartney (58th), David Bowie (67th) and writer JK Rowling, author of books about the young wizard Harry Potter (83rd place). Some of the names on the list are surprising. Thus, Osama bin Laden took 43rd place, sharing it with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former heavyweight boxing champion Mohammed Ali.

Creators Synectics chose geniuses by assigning each a score of up to 10 points on five factors: role in changing the belief system, social recognition, strength of the intellect, achievement and cultural significance. This summer, the firm sent emails to 4,000 Britons asking them to name up to 10 living genius candidates. More than 60% of the resulting 1.1 thousand names were Americans and British. Only 60% of these people are still healthy.

Nigel Clarke, Managing Partner of Synectics UK and Europe, says: "Many people say that you can recognize a genius by turning conventional ideas about the world upside down. I think Albert Hofmann and Tim Berners-Lee are similar to the geniuses of the past in this. Both of them, in their own way, turned our world upside down. For this alone, they can be recognized as the greatest living geniuses."

10 most prominent geniuses of our time

1. Albert Hofmann, Switzerland. Chemist
The aged scientist is best known as the "father" of LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide. In 1943, he discovered the hallucinogenic properties of this drug. He is the author of more than a hundred scientific papers and an autobiography with the title "LSD - my problem child."

1. Tim Berners-Lee, UK. computer scientist
An Oxford graduate and computer scientist, he is the author of the HTTP protocol and the HTML language. In 1989, Berners-Lee proposed the global hypertext project, which marked the beginning of the creation of the World Wide Web. Since 1994, he has chaired the World Wide Web Consortium, which is responsible for Internet standards.

3. George Soros, USA. Investor and philanthropist
An outstanding financier and speculator, whose huge resources allowed him to organize a series of attacks on the national currencies of Great Britain and Asian countries, earning billions of dollars. He has recently retired from business and is actively involved in philanthropic work through the Open Society Organization and philanthropic foundations in 25 countries.

4. Matt Groening, USA. Satirist and cartoonist
The author and producer, became famous thanks to the satirical animated series "The Simpsons" and "Futurama". The Simpson family and the fictional city of Springfield first appeared on television in 1987. Since then, the popularity of the series has not weakened, and in 2007 a full-length version of the cartoon was released on movie screens.

5. Nelson Mandela, South Africa. Politician and diplomat
The human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1993, fought for a long time at the head of the African National Congress against apartheid in South Africa, for which he spent 28 years in prison. From 1994 to 1999 he served as president of the country. Currently actively supporting the fight against AIDS.

5. Frederick Senger, UK. Chemist
Graduate of the University of Cambridge, biochemist, Nobel Prize winner. He is known for his work on the study of insulin, which made it possible to obtain it synthetically, and for research in the field of DNA.

7. Dario Fo, Italy. Writer and playwright
Theatrical figure, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997. In his work, he combined propaganda satire with the traditions of the medieval theater. Author of "Mystery Buff" (1969), "Death of an anarchist from an accident" (1970), "Knock knock! Who's there? Police" (1974), "If you can't pay, don't pay" (1981).

7. Stephen Hawking, UK. Physicist
One of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity. Being practically paralyzed, Hawking continues to engage in scientific and popularization activities. Bestselling author of A Brief History of Time.

9. Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil Architect
One of the founders of the modern Brazilian school of architecture, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction. Since 1957, he carried out the construction of the new capital of the country - the city of Brazil, participated in the design of the UN headquarters in New York.

9. Philip Glass, USA. Composer
Minimalist composer, performer. He became known to the general public after creating the soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaniskazzi". He also wrote music for the films "The Truman Show", "The Illusionist", "Hours", music for the opening of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

9. Grigory Perelman, Russia. Mathematician
A scientist from St. Petersburg proved the Poincaré hypothesis, formulated back in 1904. His discovery was recognized as the most significant scientific achievement of 2006. Despite this, the reclusive Russian turned down the million-dollar prize and the math world's highest honor, the Fields Medal.

Russians included in the list

In addition to Grigory Perelman, chess player Garry Kasparov and designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creator of the famous AK-47 assault rifle, were on the list of world geniuses.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is considered one of the strongest chess players of all time. At 22, he became the youngest world champion in history, and defended the title more than once. In 2005, the grandmaster announced the end of his sports career and took up social and political activities. Currently, he heads the United Civil Front organization and criticizes the current Russian government and president.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov is best known as the creator of the AK-47 assault rifle, adopted in many countries, known for its efficiency and ease of manufacture. For the creation of the famous weapons, he was awarded the Stalin Prize and many other awards. Currently lives and works in Izhevsk.