The Hidden Habits of Genius summary

If you were asked to name a genius, who would spring to mind? Einstein, maybe? Shakespeare? What about one of the greatest figures of the Renaissance – the multitalented Leonardo da Vinci?

To many, Leonardo encapsulates everything we mean when we use the term “genius.” The famous Italian artist was a painter, a sculptor, an engineer, an architect, an anatomist, and more. More importantly, Leonardo didn’t just fulfill these roles; he excelled in them, far exceeding the efforts and expectations of his peers.

Let’s stick with Leonardo da Vinci for a minute. We’ve already seen that he had an extraordinary sense of curiosity about the world around him. But that on its own isn't a recipe for genius; in order to create an artistic ability as great as Leonardo’s, a few more key ingredients are necessary. Chief among them: outstanding powers of concentration.

When it came to creating works of art, Leonardo favored a slow and deliberate manner. Instead of rushing in and beginning straight away, he could agonize for weeks about seemingly trivial details, like a fold of clothing or a shaft of light.

When Andy Warhol arrived in New York to work as a commercial graphic artist, he couldn’t help noticing that something felt off. The works he saw displayed in galleries seemed out of touch: there was a disconnect between the real, money-driven city he knew and the kind of art hanging on the walls in front of him. 

A merely talented artist would have seen the discrepancy between the art world and the real world, and followed the implicit rule: If this is what sells and wins applause, this is what I should paint, too. But not Warhol.

The idea that there’s a connection between genius and insanity is an old one, going back at least as far as ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Aristotle noted that there is “no great genius without a touch of madness.”

He wasn’t alone in his observation, either: centuries later, the renowned English poet John Dryden wrote that “great wits are sure to madness near allied.” In other words, there’s a fine line between being a genius and losing your mind.

When is it that your best ideas strike you? Is it when you’re at your desk? Or when you’re answering emails? Probably not. If you’re like most of us, inspiration probably strikes when your mind is disengaged – while you’re taking a shower, going for a walk, or even while you’re in the depths of a dream.

We’ve already discussed concentration as a key element of genius. Isaac Newton, for example, had the ability to hold a problem in his mind and meditate on it for hours at a time – leading to revolutionary breakthroughs in the world of physics and astronomy.