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The Myth of the Myth of the Lone Genius
the “lone genius” myth:
Austin Kleon • Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (Austin Kleon)
Contrary to the pervading quantity myth, creative geniuses don’t become geniuses by narrowly working in one area, striving to produce one ‘great work’; they cast the net widely and produce many things in the hope (but not the knowledge) that some might succeed.† But why does this myth have such a hold on us?
Bec Evans, Chris Smith, • Written
The stories our culture tells about creativity almost always concern individuals: think Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Kanye West. These stories are tempting because they are simple, because they appeal to our veneration for individualism, because we love our heroes. We have very few models for storytelling that concern small groups of people, or ent... See more
The thesis seems to be that each advance, from the Pythagorean Theorem to Marxism to the atom bomb to the Boeing 747, came ultimately from one person’s desire to express their individuality. This claim—more believable in the case of an oil painting than in the invention of TNT—is, as we’ve seen, the kernel of the postwar concept of creativity itsel
... See moreSamuel W. Franklin • The Cult of Creativity: A Surprisingly Recent History
