Is the word "genius" the most misused/overused word ever?

People call Dylan a genius all the time. And how does Frank Lloyd Wright lack a body of work!?

I could explain why I think Einstein was a genius (and the hugely original and epochal nature of his work gives him among the strongest of claims to this status), but we can't all know enough about every area to do this, so we kind of accept the judgement of some group or other we sort of trust. I am not saying this is a good thing, but it's unavoidable - none of us can know enough to sensibly assess everyone with any claim to greatness.

I don't see 'genius' as any worse a term in art than, say, 'great'. We have to have a scale of superlatives, and any and all of them will be applied loosely, but I think we can still use them. What is there in this area that isn't sullied by slapdash or vague or contentless usage?

Blatantly.

this film may be lousy but it was made by X, who used to make great films, therefore it is INTERESTING

What's wrong with that line of thought, then? If an artist is great enough (according to one's own subjective standards), then I'd have to say that they're fascinating even when they're lousy- because maybe sometimes there's a short flash of the old greatness (which serves to remind you how great it was in the first place) and because if it's an older piece it might give you insight into an artist's evolution; plus, seeing someone fuck up who usually doesn't is always fascinating.

I think I like the word better as an abstract concept, like the "Zeitgeist," than as a job description. So I would have no problem with saying "Brian Wilson was possessed by genius when he made 'Good Vibrations'," but I wouldn't say "Brian Wilson is a genius, period" because it's not true. Just like Bobby Fischer is possessed by genius, for lack of a better word, while playing chess, but a complete idiot the rest of the time.

Bruno Brookes - TOTP, 1989

justyn is a genius.

DJ Shadow
Craig Macracken (creator of the Powerpuff Girls)
Andy Warhol

but i dont know if they deserve that accolade really...my criteria for what makes a genius is as follows:

They create or achieve something remarkable given their status and means (e.g. Mozart writing symphones when he was 7 or whatever), also possibly remarkable in that it is innovative or unprecendented in its execution, durability and usability

perhaps i abuse the term in that i apply it to people who do anything that could be classed as INVENTIVE, UNIQUE and/or UNMATCHED in several ways if not every way

haha have you seen the title of the new Warren Zevon greatest hits?
I'd've fuckin' shot the record company people who thought that up if I was him
or maybe he came up with it... worse!

i use it really loosely, to describe anyone i like basically.

i think it's a ridiculous term/concept and if i were to use it judiciously that would make it seem more legitimate.

example: my friend [redacted] is totally a genius. so hilarious.

Worst is when it gets used as an adjective. "That was a genius idea!"

How is that the worst

Words mean things

Person's saying: great idea. Using it as an adjectival intesifier

thanks for clearing that up

no prob bob

Using it as an adjectival intesifier

― i blow goat farts, aka garts for a living (waterface), Tuesday, February 17, 2015 9:55 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the correct usage there would be ingenious, genius

you can use genius as well as ingenious there, Einstein

Words change over time, Sherlock

what do you think of "irregardless"?

it's a word.

it means something.

What do you think of it

i don't think it's a word

Words change over time, Sherlock

'Genius' shares etymological roots with 'genie' and originally denoted a familiar spirit similar to the daimon of Socrates, so this word demonstrates the truth of that assertion.

But sometimes a perfectly useful word changes over time to a bowl of flavorless mush.

tomato, tomahto

i don't think it's a word

― Treeship, Tuesday, February 17, 2015 7:22 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

*rolls eyes*

words are hard

in choosing novel words, we endorse them, push the language this way. in reviling certain linguistic novelties, we oppose them, push it elsewhere. both are ordinary, unexceptional actions. both help shape language over time.

there's a joy to be had in distaste for improper usage, bitter though it might be. and i suppose some derive a corresponding droplet of smug satisfaction from sneering at uptight prescriptivists. but there's more fun in the former, and a greater chance to share in the particulars of distaste. genius is probably not the most misused/overused word ever.

there's a joy to be had in distaste for improper usage, bitter though it might be.

Sure, but it's snobbery, too.

irregardless involves a double negative

so? you get what it means, right?

lux aeterna

I object to 'irregardless' on the grounds that it sounds (and reads) uglier than 'regardless', which latter word is trimmer, neater and yet conveys exactly the same meaning more directly and at less travail to the psyche. otherwise, yeah, I get what it means

Huh, apparently there is a difference between the Latin roots of 'genius' and 'ingenious': http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/6878/is-there-any-relation-between-genius-and-ingenious

On the surface, one might think that ingenious is somehow based on the word genius. Interestingly, this is not true.

The word ingenious does not actually have the in- prefix for negation. Instead, it comes originally from the Latin ingeniōsus, which means "intellectual, talented, ingenious". At times in history it was also spelled "engenious". Indeed, ingeniōsus appears to be the same root that gave us the word engine.

Genius was originally different, but evolved to have a meaning that is similar to ingenious. It came to us from Latin, but it was originally Greek. According to the OED, it mainly had the meaning of, approximately, "genie" or similar type of spirit, in Latin. Figuratively, it was also used to mean "characteristic disposition; inclination; bent, turn or temper of mind." In English, German, and most of the Romance languages aside from Latin, it had the meaning of "natural ability" starting around the 1600s. The OED speculates that the meaning of genie was pushed towards the meaning of ingenious because of "confusion" between the two (that is, their superficial similarity).

'Ingenious' and 'genius' do seem to me to have slightly different resonances. An ingenious contraption isn't necessarily a contraption of genius.

Sure, but it's snobbery, too.

oh of course. all the best people are doing it.