It has become something of a fashion where I work to have an inspirational quote on one's email. These are most commonly associated with nursing administrators and administrative assistants, for some reason. Here is today's.
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a
tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." -- Albert
Einstein
I believe that was in a private conversation with von Neumann.
And what was the reply?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, "genius"/"not genius" isn't the right paradigm. The question is not how smart you are in this or that field, but how faithfully you perform what you are meant to do. That is open to everybody.
ReplyDeleteperhaps he said, "NOT everybody is a genius, von Neumann - go climb a tree!"
ReplyDeletemost (but not all) people have strengths & weaknesses - & naturally gravitate toward their strengths.
& most organisms are a decent jury-rigged solution for the environment of their ancestors. :)