Friday, May 09, 2008

It Isn't Easy Being a Genius - New York Times:

The foundation avoids using the term "genius," and stresses that the award (worth $500,000) is for creativity. Most people, however, play up the genius label. I got my first taste of this the morning the awards were announced. As I left home to get coffee, my neighbor leaned from his second-story window, still in his pajamas, and yelled: "Hey, Jimmy Neutron! I didn't know I was living next to a genius."

Within days, I began to receive requests from family, friends and strangers to evaluate various pet theories, some well founded, some half-baked, ranging from the therapeutic benefits of magnets to the location of the missing dark matter in the universe. People sought me out for answers and insights, usually prefacing their question with, "You're a genius":

"We just saw 'War of the Worlds': are there aliens out there?"

"What's the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?"

"Does it really take seven years to digest chewing gum?"

"How do you weigh someone's soul?"

12:52 PM