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In Our Time

Inspiration and Genius

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.69.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 June 2000

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg explores genius and inspiration. “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him”. So said Jonathon Swift, many people’s choice for a genius himself. But what does that word really mean? Are geniuses born or made? And what are the circumstances necessary for the great leaps of consciousness that inspire the development of science and art? Did Einstein’s brain arrive like that - markedly different from the expected formation - or did it become like that through thought? If genius does not exist, why are we so keen to invent it? Was Mozart programmed or pre-programmed and was Newton or anyone else solely responsible for inventing anything?With Arthur I. Miller, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Science & Technology, University College London; Michael Howe, Professor of Psychology, Exeter University; Dr Juliet Mitchell, psychoanalyst and lecturer at Cambridge University.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thanks for downloading the Inartime podcast. For more details about Inartime and for our terms of use

0:05.4

Please go to bbc.co.uk forward slash radio for I hope you enjoy the program

0:11.6

Hello, when a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign that the dancers are all in Confederacy against him

0:19.4

So said Jonathan Swift many people's choice for a genius himself

0:22.9

But what does that word really mean?

0:24.9

Our genius is born or made and what are the circumstances necessary for the great leaps of consciousness that inspire the development of

0:32.5

Science and art is it the old 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration or something the other way around

0:39.8

With me to discuss the quality of genius and the nature of inspiration is Arthur I miller professor of history and philosophy of science at University College London and author of insights of genius

0:49.9

Also, well, this is Juliet Mitchell psychoanalyst and author of madman and medusa's and Michael Howe, professor of psychology at Exeter University and author of genius explained

1:00.0

Arthur now Albert Einstein said of his discovery of relativity

1:03.4

But there's no logical path to these laws, but only intuition supported by the sympathetic understanding of experience

1:11.1

What do you think he meant by intuition there is that is that another word is it worth a genius?

1:16.8

Well intuition is a

1:18.8

much used much misused term I should say by

1:23.0

By intuition one means and Einstein indeed

1:27.9

discuss this point that

1:29.9

Intuition is the sum total of past experiences

1:33.6

It seems as if great discoveries burst forth from his head

1:37.6

Just like that and then a high experience, but that's not the case

1:41.4

It's the case of a great deal of thought a great deal of work that went into his thought beforehand the great deal of conscious work

1:49.8

But a lot of people do a great deal of conscious work now a lot of people do a great deal of conscious thought

1:53.6

But they then discovered Einstein discovered that's right. You can work as a physicist

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