143 - Why High-Profile Geniuses Can’t Solve Our Problems

There is no Wizard of Oz we can petition to solve our woes. So why do we keep asking genius entrepreneurs to jury-rig our economy, healthcare, and travel?

Steve Jobs tried to cure his own cancer with fruit juice. Elon Musk lost more money than any human in history. Jeff Bezos is building a giant clock inside a hollowed-out mountain. Einstein slandered his wife in letters, Curie kept a vial of poisonous radium in her pocket, and Tesla talked to pigeons.

Geniuses are, by and large, genius at one very specific task, and pretty much “Meh” at everything else. In the old Greek there was no such thing as being a genius, instead you had a genius. It followed you around like an invisible guardian angel, a muse, or a devil. It helped you become great at your specialty and kind of left you alone in all other areas.

Our geniuses today are functionally no different than the old Greek artists, philosophers, and mathematicians. So why do we keep asking them to solve problems far outside their area of expertise? On today’s episode we discuss our cultural worship of genius CEOs and entrepreneurs, as well as a few science wizards from history. Then we hold them up to the candlelight, turn them around, examine their flaws, and ask ourselves: “Would you trust this man to solve world hunger?”

Links:

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/10-000-year-clock-being-built-under-mountain-owned-jeff-ncna851276

https://www.kpbs.org/news/news/economy/2023/01/12/elon-musk-has-lost-more-money-than-anyone-in-history-guinness-world-records-says

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-13015210

https://www.radiolab.org/podcast/180132-how-do-you-solve-problem-fritz-haber

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-educated-countries

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2021/10/05/the-forbes-philanthropy-score-2021-how-we-ranked-each-forbes-400-billionaire-based-on-their-giving/?sh=22a4c9d9457b