From Denny: Today I was delayed on my posting as there were too many thunderstorms in the area and had to turn off the computer. Sometimes, the storms are so violent they shake the house and then it's time to unplug the computer! :) The next few weeks are high alert watch for intense hurricanes that could form and come on land.
As I was researching tonight for my Cheeky Quotes Day segment on my other blog, The Social Poets, that occurs every Wednesday there were some really amusing ones about the subject of genius.
Since I grew up around geniuses and the search for and control of geniuses from my father's intelligence community there is a lot I have to say on the subject. Oh, how I wish I had some of these amusing quotes to throw at them all when they were on a self-righteous slam to everyone around them.
There are a lot of angles from which to try and define genius, none of them seemed to be considered by the intelligence community at the time. Their only interest was military application and control of the civilian population. Guess by now you have figured out I used to throw all my IQ tests in school. The last thing I wanted to be was a military tool (or a "tool" in general) or my intelligence to be controlled like I was supposed to be some kind of robot subserviant to another's will, performing cute tricks like some marine animal at Disney World.
This particular quote is intellectually entertaining as it is funny. Emerson was an incredible thinker for his time and even projecting 150 years later into our generation with intriguing angles of thought. How many times have you thought the exact same thing as he discusses here?
How many times have you dismissed what you thought was some smart thinking or problem-solving at the time only to set it aside when you spoke it aloud and others didn't quite understand at the time because you were ahead of your time? Then along came a string of people talking about the subject the same way as you did and suddenly the people around you start to catch on to what you were trying to tell them in the first place. You just happened to be the first guy trying to introduce something entirely new and penetrate their awareness.
Sometimes, I've applied this same thought in the quote to a poem written a while ago, only to revisit it and think: Wow! This is pretty good writing! Why didn't I publish it?
Have a good grin as Emerson really knows how to "tell it like it is."
Quote
In every work of genius, we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self Reliance," Essays, 1841
genius quotes, funny quotes, poetry, IQ, Central Intelligence Agency, genius
