Chevron Left
Back to The Nature of Genius

Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Nature of Genius by Yale University

4.8
stars
186 ratings

About the Course

Today "genius" is all around us. Celebrities, athletes, child prodigies, even your local Apple employees, all are referred to as geniuses. But are
they? And if not these individuals then who? In this course, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music Emeritus and author of The Hidden
Habits of Genius, Craig Wright, will begin by giving you his definition and prerequisites for true genius and challenge you to come up with your
own. From there we'll look at examples of geniuses both historical and modern to try to identify the threads that bind them together and
understand what separates the true genius from the wannabe... We’ll explore where creativity, curiosity and passion originat...
...

Top reviews

WM

Nov 2, 2022

An amazingly eye opening class that I will gladly recommend anyone should take. For our universe to function the best way it was designed, there must be synergy between human and economic capital.

MB

Oct 29, 2022

I​ especially loved the very last part, and the way it tied to the earlier guest lecture by Dr. Jennings on how we need genius to fix things. Such a simple idea but so true.

Filter by:

76 - 85 of 85 Reviews for The Nature of Genius

By Stephen C

•

Nov 8, 2022

Professor Wright gave perhaps the bests course I have taken "An Introduction to Classical Music." In this course He again demonstrates that he is an expert teacher. He present logically and well.And he keeps our interest by interspersing slides, anecdotes and interviews. And he has done a lot of research on the subject.so it was fun and I learned stuff.

But I did have trouble with it. First I did not agree with the definition of genius -- I think it does not have to be a mental. Perhaps he has a very broad idea of "mental", but I have seen many innovative adjustments in various sports, for example, that seem similar to me to some of the examples he uses. From that start he is pretty consistent. so if you accept that, you can enjoy the course (which I did).

I have a scientific background, so I do not know how he selected his geniuses -- who and how many he may have left out -- who may have altered some of his conclusions (He did present this with regard to mental disorders.)

I thought the course drifted from the nature of genius to the habits (not hidden -- they were well known -- maybe they were "fun facts") of some of them to brief biographies in Week 3.

He wrapped this up well in the last section of Week 4, with a typical American focus on money. (that was also an American diversion -- geniuses and wealth -- which really had nothing to do with the "nature of genius, but were fun facts about some of them.

I hope this is seen as "constructive -- I did enjoy the course and I did learn somethings about myself from it as well.

By Leah R

•

May 21, 2023

This course was very interesting and provided some interesting perspectives on genius. The only thing that I would add is more discussion about the faults/negative behaviors of people who are considered genius as they are presented rather than as a footnote discussed in the last week. For example, Kanye West is referred to as a genius multiple times, with no acknowledgement of his severely antisemitic remarks.

By Barbara H

•

Oct 10, 2022

Good course. Very thought provoking.

However, whilst appreciating that the course is still rather new, it's really pretty annoying that the answers of the quizzes are quite frequently wrongly programmed. So much so, that it turns from fun to frustration. Come on, that should be easily fixed.

By Peter B

•

Dec 12, 2022

It has a clear cut structure that evidently sets the student up to tilt toward parallel thinking while applying the various quotients that come with our world.

By Kathy A M

•

Jan 1, 2023

Very engaging. Some of the guest speakers were a bit long and boring the course does encourage personal thinking. I would definitely recommend it.

By Linda S

•

Oct 28, 2022

I enjoyed this course very much and appreciate the challenges it made to my assumptions

By Xiaoxuan W

•

Dec 30, 2022

Very interesting topic with well prepared content.

By Marilyn S

•

Dec 5, 2022

Well done as always. Thank you

By Luigi C

•

Apr 6, 2023

Interesting Course.

By Jee H K

•

May 15, 2023

boring but promising maybe