Brilliant people of our time. Young geniuses of our time. How to raise a genius

They say you have to be born a genius.

They are thinking: how to explain extraordinary talent?

They ask the question: why did this person become a genius? For centuries, people have tried to find the answer, first by referring to the invisible spirit-genius that overshadows the chosen one of heaven, then by suggesting material earthly and cosmic influences, and finally by turning to genetics, innate qualities.

We will now only touch upon the mystery of giftedness, without going into details and without claiming to be a final solution to the problem.

After an absentee, but sometimes quite close acquaintance with many geniuses (this book is personal evidence of this), you come to the conclusion that a correctly posed question should sound like this: why don’t so many people become geniuses?

We choose greatest geniuses, in agreement with public opinion, partly by choice. Neither principle guarantees against errors and omissions. However, in any case, perhaps the most worthy will not be included in our list: those who left the first magnificent rock paintings, developed - without knowing it - the foundations of language and arithmetic, carried out the first astronomical observations, used fire to smelt metal...

The list can be significantly expanded. It demonstrates one important pattern: the largest, most fundamental achievements in different types activities belong to individual tribes and peoples. People together created material and spiritual culture, without caring about priorities and without emphasizing personal contribution. In the end - this has been the case in all centuries, and remains so today - whatever we create, it remains a continuation of previous achievements.

On the other hand, there are recognized geniuses about whom almost nothing is known, and in some cases even their very existence is disputed. They will have to be mentioned separately.

Prince Peter Alekseevich Kropotkin was born in Moscow into the family of a general, a descendant of the Rurikovichs; graduated from the Corps of Pages with honors, was the page-chamber of Alexander II. A brilliant career awaited him. He chose to serve in the Amur Cossack Army, made a number of difficult expeditions, discovered previously unknown mountain ranges, volcanic regions, and the Patom Highlands in Transbaikalia; clarified information about the geography and geology of Siberia, Far East. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1867, he worked at the Russian Geographical Society and traveled around Sweden and Finland. He studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, made his living from journalism and at the same time carried out educational and revolutionary propaganda work among workers (he was a populist). Arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, he wrote the classic work “Research on the Ice Age.”

He managed to make a daring escape from the prison hospital. He spent 40 years in exile. He contributed to the Encyclopedia Britannica and published scientific works: “Mutual Aid as a Factor of Evolution”, “The Great French Revolution”, “Bread and Freedom”, “Modern Revolution and Anarchy”, “Ideals and Reality in Russian Literature”, “Ethics” , as well as the biographical "Notes of a Revolutionary". After the February Revolution of 1917 he returned to Russia. He died in the city of Dmitrov (Moscow region), and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

His fate is surprising, first of all, because his universal talent, no less amazing than Goethe’s, and high professionalism in several types of activities did not bring him any blessings in life. In this respect, he is a fantastic person. Perhaps he was referring to himself when he mentioned the failed student whose bread and butter always fell with the buttered side down.

The talented Soviet writer Yuri Olesha in his book “Not a Day Without a Line” asked: “Who was he, this crazy man, the only writer of his kind in world literature, with raised eyebrows, with a thin nose bent down, with hair forever standing on end? There is evidence that, while writing, he was so afraid of what he was depicting that he asked his wife to sit next to him.

Hoffmann had an extraordinary influence on literature. By the way, on Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky.

In Germany XVIII – early XIX century, a whole galaxy of geniuses appeared: Kant, Herder, Schiller, Beethoven, Gauss, Hegel. Among them there are many universal ones (Leibniz, Goethe, A. Humboldt, Hoffmann). And this is in a country divided into small principalities? Why did such a strange phenomenon occur?

We will not turn to far-fetched assumptions that have no scientific evidence about the impact of solar activity on society or outbreaks of “biochemical energy” (“passionarity”) among the people. Everything was more complicated. Feudalism was ending in Europe; small rulers, like large ones, cared about their glory and at least the appearance of prosperity. In the Age of Enlightenment, one of the most important criteria for the greatness of a sovereign or prince was the intellectual level of his subjects and their creative achievements. In addition, a series of revolutions, wars, stormy social movements when the self-awareness of peoples and individuals, the desire for freedom, and the thirst for creativity awaken. The example of individual talented people who manage to achieve recognition is of considerable importance. But the main thing, of course, is spiritual uplift, the desire to break the shackles of everyday life, to take the path of overcoming, and not adapting to, circumstances.

The Russian poet Evgeny Baratynsky responded to his death as follows:

It's gone out! but nothing is left to them

Under the sun of the living without greetings;

He responded to everything with his heart,

What asks the heart for an answer;

With a winged thought he flew around the world,

In one boundless I found her limit.

He was born in a remote village near the mouth of the Northern Dvina, in the family of a simple peasant...

It is generally accepted that the most favorable conditions for the emergence of major thinkers, scientists, and cultural figures are created in the capital of the country or in large cities. After all, this is where the best teachers and outstanding minds gather; There are corresponding educational institutions, museums, universities, and academies. Yes, at some stage of training or first independent work useful to be in cultural center, communicate with specialists, have access to intellectual and artistic values. But in childhood, the main thing is not to learn anything special. It is important that a person’s thirst for knowledge and creativity awakens.

When it is possible to easily satisfy this need, the child may quickly lose the initial impulse. On the contrary, if you have to overcome obstacles on the paths of knowledge, then the weak retreat, but the strong do not give up.

So it was with Mikhail Lomonosov. His homeland, northern Rus', has long given shelter to brave, enterprising, and freedom-loving people. There was no humiliating serfdom here, and Tatar-Mongol yoke Same. To local residents had to engage in various trades: agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing. Pomors were excellent sailors.

What can a lawyer, philosopher, scientist, theologian, inventor, social and political figure have in common? Perhaps there is only one thing: there was a man who showed outstanding abilities in all these areas of mental and practical activity - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. On top of that, he was also an outstanding theoretical psychologist.

Word from physicist V.S. Kirsanov: “Leibniz represents one of the most powerful and most remarkable phenomena of Western civilization, which in its scale and influence on scientific thought at the dawn new science can only be compared with the contribution and influence of Aristotle at the dawn of classical ancient science. The breadth of his intellectual interests is amazing: law, linguistics, history, theology, logic, geology, physics - in all these areas he achieved remarkable results, not to mention the fact that in philosophy and mathematics he showed himself to be a true genius. In all of it scientific research he developed practically the same idea, the particular expression of which depended on the relevant discipline, namely, the idea of ​​​​the unity of knowledge.

In his universal talent, which manifested itself very early, Gottfried Wilhelm resembles Pascal. But if the sickly Blaise was prone to pessimism, experienced flashes of creative activity and lived a short life, Leibniz was constantly energetic, did not lose optimism and, without possessing good health, lived for 70 years, leaving an extensive intellectual legacy.

It is difficult to find in the history of mankind another similar example of the manifestation of so many talents in a short life. Mathematician and writer, physicist and philosopher, inventor and religious thinker - such is the universal genius of Blaise Pascal.

His father Etienne was a mathematics teacher and a very educated man, interested in history and literature, and knew languages. He taught mathematics and Latin to his first daughter, Gilberte. As a child, the boy's only educator and teacher was his father (his mother died early). It can be assumed that Blaise's extraordinary curiosity is largely due to his father's extraordinary teaching talent and, perhaps, the influence of his older sister.

Fearing for the health of his sickly son, Etienne Pascal was in no hurry to teach him geometry, thereby arousing his keen interest in this discipline. Little Blaise independently began to find relationships between “sticks” and “rings”, composing figures and finding out their properties. He came to the proof of the Euclidean theorem: the sum internal corners of a triangle is equal to the sum of two straight lines.

And the line between them is not strictly drawn.

So wrote the poet Michelangelo, more famous as a sculptor, painter, and architect. He was a tireless and powerful inspired creator who knew no rest (a heavy cross and the high privilege of genius). In the shapeless blocks of marble, his imagination saw images that had not yet been embodied, and he freed them with a chisel, considering nature itself as his co-author:

Saturday, September 30, 2017 18:53 + to quote book

One hundred living geniuses- a list compiled by the consulting company Creators Synectics and published by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph on October 28, 2007.

The initial basis of the list was compiled through a survey: by email, 4,000 Britons were asked to name 10 contemporaries they considered geniuses, whose merits turned out to be the most valuable for humanity. Around 600 responses were received, naming around 1,100 people (of which two thirds were from the UK and US).

The firm emailed 4,000 Britons, asking each to name up to 10 living candidates for the title of genius. As a result, 1100 names were obtained. The commission then compiled a list out of 100 people, who were assessed by five parameters - contribution to changing the system of beliefs, social recognition, intellectual power, value of scientific achievements and cultural significance. As a result, Albert Hofmann and Tim Berners-Lee, who shared first place, received 27 points out of a possible 50.

"Saint Hofmann" - painting by Alex Gray

Almost quarter included in the list" 100 living geniuses"made up British. Per share Americans have to 43 places on the list. Which is not surprising, since they were not interviewing Chinese or Russians.
Nevertheless, three Russians also found a place on the list. These are Perelman, Kasparov and Kalashnikov. One even managed to get into the top ten.

100 most brilliant people of our time
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/One hundred_living_geniuses

So here is this List. Top 10 first!

1-2.Tim Berners-Lee, Great Britain. Computer Scientist


Oxford graduate, specialist in the field computer technology, he is the author of the HTTP protocol and the HTML language.
In 1989 Berners-Lee offered global hypertext project, which laid the foundation for the creation world wide web, Internet!

3. George Soros, USA. Investor and philanthropist
An outstanding financier and speculator, whose enormous resources allowed him to organize a number of attacks on the national currencies of Great Britain and Asian countries.


Recently he retired from business and is actively engaged in charitable activities through the organization" Open Society" And charities in 25 countries.

4.Matt Groening, USA. Satirist and cartoonist
Author and producer, became famous thanks to the satirical animated series "The Simpsons" and "Futurama".


The Simpson family and the fictional town of Springfield first appeared on television in 1987. Since then, the popularity of the series has not waned, and in 2007 a full-length version of the cartoon was released on movie screens.

5-6. Nelson Mandela, South Africa. Politician and diplomat


Human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1993, long time fought at the head of the African National Congress against apartheid in South Africa, spent 28 years in prison. From 1994 to 1999 he served as president of the country. Currently actively supports the fight against AIDS.

Frederick Sanger, Great Britain. Chemist
Graduate of Cambridge University, biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate.

He is known for his work on insulin, which made it possible to obtain it synthetically, and for his research in the field of DNA.

Dario Fo, Italy. Writer and playwright


Theater figure, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his work he combined propaganda satire with the traditions of medieval theater. Author of the works "Mystery-bouffe" (1969), "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" (1970), "Knock-Knock! Who's There? Police" (1974), "If you can't pay, don't pay" (1981).

Stephen Hawking, Great Britain. Physicist
One of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity.


Being practically paralyzed, Hawking continues to engage in scientific and popularization activities. Author of the bestselling book A Brief History of Time.

Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil. Architect
One of the founders of the modern Brazilian school of architecture, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction.


Since 1957 he has been developing new capital country - the city of Brazil, participated in the design of the UN headquarters in New York.

Philip Glass, USA. Composer


Minimalist composer, performer. He became known to the general public after creating the soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaniskazzi". He also wrote music for the films “The Truman Show”, “The Illusionist”, “The Hours”, and music for the opening of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Grigory Perelman, Russia. Mathematician


Scientist from St. Petersburg proved the Poincaré conjecture, formulated back in 1904. Its discovery was recognized as the most significant scientific achievement of 2006. Despite this, the reclusive Russian refused the million-dollar prize and the highest award in the mathematical world - Fields's awards.
…………
And the rest of the geniuses:

12-14. Andrew Wiles (mathematician, UK) - proved Fermat's Last Theorem - 20
12-14. Li Hongzhi (spiritual leader, China) - Created the religious organization “Falun Gong” - a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism with elements of qigong health gymnastics.
12-14. Ali Javan (engineer, Iran) - Engineer, one of the creators of the world's first gas laser using a mixture of helium and neon.

15-17. Brian Eno (composer, UK) -19 Invented ambient - a musical genre with elements of jazz, new age, electronic music, rock, reggae, ethnic music and noise. 19
15-17. Damien Hirst (artist, UK) - One of the most expensive painters of our time. Death is a central theme in his works. The most famous series is Natural History: dead animals in formaldehyde.
15-17. Daniel Tammet (savant and linguist, UK) - Encyclopedist and linguist works with numbers faster than a computer. You can learn any foreign language in a few hours.

18. Nicholson Baker (writer, USA) - A novelist whose writing focuses on the narrator's flow of thought.
19. Daniel Barenboim (musician, Israel) - 17 Pianist and conductor. He has received many awards, including for various recordings.
20-24. Robert Crumb (writer and artist, USA) - 16 Greeting card artist, music connoisseur. He gained worldwide fame for his underground comics.
20-24. Richard Dawkins (biologist and philosopher, UK) - 16 Leading evolutionary biologist. The terms that first appeared in his books became widespread.
20-24. Sergey Brin and Larry Page (founders of Google, USA) - 16
20-24. Rupert Murdoch (publisher and media tycoon, USA) - 16 Founder and head of News Corporation. Under his control are media, film companies and book publishing houses in the USA, Great Britain, Australia and other countries.
20-24. Geoffrey Hill (poet, UK) - 16 Poet, translator. He became famous for his unusual “corporate” style - the language of advertising, mass media and political “rhetoric”.

25. Garry Kasparov (chess player, Russia) - 15
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is considered one of the strongest chess players of all time.


At 22, he became the youngest world champion in history and defended the title several times. In 2005, the grandmaster announced the completion sports career and became involved in social and political activities. Currently heads the organization "United Civil Front" and criticizes the current Russian government and the president.
………………
26-30. Dalai Lama (spiritual leader, Tibet) – 14
Spiritual leader, who, according to legend, is the reincarnation of the endless suffering of all Buddhas. Combines the title of king and head of Tibetan Buddhism.

26-30. Steven Spielberg (film director, screenwriter and producer, USA) - 14
Director, producer, screenwriter. At the age of 12, he won an amateur film competition, presenting a 40-minute film about the war, “Escape to Nowhere” (1960).

26-30. Hiroshi Ishiguro (robotician, Japan) – 14
Roboticist. Created a robot guide for the blind. In 2004 presented the most perfect android, similar to a person. Known as one of the creators of the Aktroid, Geminoid, Kodomoroid, Telenoid series of robots.

One of the versions of these robots completely replicates the appearance of the creator himself and replaces him during lectures.

26-30. Robert Edwards (physiologist, UK) – 14
Robert Edwards (Great Britain). In 1977, he was the first in the world to carry out fertilization of human germ cells outside the body and transfer the resulting embryo to the future mother. Louise Brown was born 9 months later
26-30. Seamus Heaney (poet, Ireland) - 14
Each of the poet's books became a bestseller. In 1995 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature

31. Harold Pinter (writer and playwright, UK) - 13
In his performances, the actors use colloquial vocabulary and play tramps and hard workers.
32-39. Flossie Wong-Staal (biotechnologist, China) - 12
Biologist-virologist. She became the first researcher to decipher the structure of the immune deficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.

32-39. Robert Fischer (chess player, USA) - 12


Bobby Fischer, at age 14, became the youngest US chess champion in the country's history.
…………..
32-39. Prince (singer, USA) - 12 The Western press called the singer the most unsinkable musician in history. For more than 20 years, his songs have enjoyed constant popularity.
32-39. Henryk Górecki (composer, Poland) - 12 Known for his unique style of music, which critics call vitally explosive.
32-39. Noam Chomsky (philosopher and linguist, USA) - 12 Philologist and linguist. His father was a Jew of Ukrainian descent.
32-39. Sebastian Thrun (robotician, Germany) - 12 Created unmanned vehicles that reached speeds of up to 60 km/h.

32-39. Nima Arkani-Hamed (physicist, Canada) - 12th Physicist. He states that our three-dimensional island-universe floats inside the fourth dimension, commensurate with the macrocosm
32-39. Margaret Turnbull (astrobiologist, USA) – 12
Studies the principles of the birth of stars, galaxies and universes.
40-42. Elaine Pagels (historian, USA) - 11 Historian - author of books researching alternative scriptures rejected by the church. The most famous is the Gnostic Gospels.
40-42. Enrique Ostrea (doctor, Philippines) - 11 Pediatrician and neonatologist. Known for many studies, in particular how drugs and alcohol affect the baby in the womb.
40-42. Gary Becker (economist, USA) – 11
Economist. Advocates investment in human capital
…………………
43-48. Muhammad Ali (boxer, USA) - 10
One of the most famous boxers in the history of the sport. I came up with the tactical scheme “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”

43-48. Osama bin Laden (Islamist, Saudi Arabia) - 10 Leader of the Islamic terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Terrorist #1 in the world. The reward on his head exceeded $50 million.

43-48. Bill Gates (creator of Microsoft Corporation, USA) - 10 Richest person on Earth.

43-48. Philip Roth (writer, USA) - 10 Received the most prestigious awards in America, including the Pulitzer. His novel The Plot Against America became a bestseller.
43-48. James West (physicist, USA) - 10 Inventor of the electret condenser microphone, which does not require a voltage source.
43-48. Vo Dinh Tuan (biologist and physician, Vietnam) - 10 Invented several diagnostic devices (in particular, an optical scanner) capable of detecting DNA damage.
…………..
49-57. Brian Wilson (musician, USA) - 9
The genius of rock music. He led the Beach Boys until he became addicted to drugs. But he managed to overcome his addiction.
49-57. Stevie Wonder (singer and composer, USA) - 9 Singer and songwriter, blind from birth. At the age of 10 he signed his first music contract, and at 12 he released his debut album.
49-57. Vinton Cerf (Internet protocol developer, USA) - 9 Computer scientist. One of the “fathers” of the Internet.

49-57. Henry Kissinger (diplomat and politician, USA) - 9 Winner of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for his unquestioned authority in the field of international relations.

49-57. Richard Branson (businessman, UK) - 9 Billionaire, founder of the Virgin corporation. Known for his repeated attempts to break world speed records.
49-57. Pardis Sabeti (geneticist, anthropologist, Iran) - 9 Received academic degree in biology with a PhD in anthropology at Oxford. Specializes in genetics.
49-57. John de Mol (media magnate, Netherlands) - 9 Producer, TV magnate. He came up with the idea of ​​​​creating the most popular reality show “Big Brother”.
……………………
49-57. Meryl Streep (actress, USA) - 9


Hollywood calls her the best actress of her generation. She was nominated for an Oscar 12 times and received two gold statuettes.

49-57. Margaret Atwood (writer, Canada) - 9 Invented the LongPen electronic device, which allows her to sign copies of her books without leaving home.
58-66. Placido Domingo (opera singer, Spain) - 8 World famous opera tenor. He is fluent in conducting and piano.
58-66. John Lasseter (animator, USA) is the creative leader of Pixar studio. He is called a solitary artist, and his style is compared to the late Walt Disney.
58-66. Shunpei Yamazaki (computer monitor developer, Japan) - 8 Computer scientist and physicist. The most prolific inventor in history- owner of more 1700 patents!

58-66. Jane Goodall (anthropologist, UK) - 8 Ethologist, primatologist and anthropologist. After living with mountain gorillas for several years, she became the founder of an original method for studying the life of chimpanzees.
58-66. Kirti Narayan Chowdhury (historian, India) - 8 Historian, writer and graphic artist. He is the only historian from South Asia to be accepted into the British Academy.
58-66. John Goto (photographer, UK) - 8 Photographer. He was the first to use Photoshop to process his photographs.
………………..
58-66. Paul McCartney (musician, UK) – 8

Rock musician, singer and composer, one of the founders of The Beatles. Wrote the most commercially successful single Hey Jude and the hit Yesterday.

58-66. Stephen King (writer, USA) - 8 Writer, works in the genres: horror, thriller, fantasy, mysticism. The universally recognized “king of horror.”

58-66. Leonard Cohen (poet and musician, Canada) - 8 Patriarch of folk rock. He published several novels and poetry collections, earning a strong literary name
67-71. Aretha Franklin (singer, USA) - 7 Black singer. She is called the "Queen of Soul". She has released two dozen records and received two Grammy awards.
67-71. David Bowie (musician, UK) - 7 Rock musician, producer, audio engineer, composer, artist, actor. Became famous in the 1970s with the advent of glam rock.
67-71. Emily Oster (economist, USA) - 7 Became the first researcher to compare data on the persecution of witches with weather conditions in the 16th and 17th centuries.

67-71. Stephen Wozniak (computer developer, co-founder of Apple, USA) - 7


Considered one of the fathers of the personal computer revolution.

67-71. Martin Cooper (engineer, inventor of the cell phone, USA) - 7

In 1973, the first call was made from the streets of New York.
But mobile phones only became truly widespread in 1990 year.

72-82. George Lucas (director, USA) - 6 He directed the television epic "Star Wars". Fans around the world still live by the principles underlying the fictional Jedi philosophy.
72-82. Nile Rodgers (musician, USA) - 6 Elite studio musician. This black guitarist, composer and producer is considered a master of disco-pop.
72-82. Hans Zimmer (composer, Germany) - 6 Known for his music for many films, for example, "Rain Man". He was the first to use a combination of orchestral and electronic music.

72-82. John Williams (composer, USA) - 6 Five-time Oscar winner. He wrote music for the films “Jaws”, Superman”, “Jurassic Park”, “Star Wars”, “Harry Potter” and others.
72-82. Annette Beyer (philosopher, New Zealand) — 6 Made a significant contribution to the development of feminist philosophy.
72-82. Dorothy Rowe (psychologist, Australia) - 6 Gives an explanation of depression and shows how to get out of this condition: “Take your life into your own hands!”
……………………..
72-82. Ivan Marchuk (artist, sculptor, Ukraine) - 6 Created a unique style of painting - weaving.

72-82. Robin Escovado (composer, USA) - 6 Supporter of the French school. In recent decades, he wrote music exclusively for the choir chapel.
72-82. Mark Dean (computer developer, USA) - 6 Invented a device that made it possible to control a modem and a printer at the same time.
72-82. Rick Rubin (musician and producer, USA) - 6 Co-owner of Columbia Records. MTV named him the most powerful producer of the last 20 years.
72-82. Stan Lee (writer, publisher, USA) - 6 Publisher and lead writer of Marvel Comics magazine. Started the X-Men comic book series.

83-90. David Warren (engineer, Australia) - 5 Created the world's first emergency flight information recorder, the so-called black box for aircraft.
83-90. Jun Fosse (writer, playwright, Norway) - 5 Became famous after writing the play “And We Will Never Separate.”
83-90. Gertrude Schnakenberg (poetess, USA) - 5 Representative of the feminist movement in modern poetry. Writes about universal human values.

83-90. Graham Linehan (writer, playwright, Ireland) - 5 Wrote scripts for many television comedies. Known as the screenwriter of the TV series Father Ted.

“Glory is in the hands of work,” said Leonardo da Vinci, and he was undoubtedly right, but in addition to hard work, sometimes you need at least a little talent. Who knows what path the history of mankind would have taken if at least one of them had not been born - the geniuses who transformed the world. Here are just a few of the Greats living today.

1. Tim Berners-Lee - the “spider” who wove the World Wide Web

It is no coincidence that the British scientist and inventor Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee heads the World Wide Web Consortium - after all, it was he who invented the Internet, and also introduced many other developments in the field of information technology.

Working back in 1989 on the ENQUIRE internal document exchange project for CERS (European Laboratory Nuclear Research), Timothy came to the creation of a global hypertext project, approved and later called the World Wide Web - the World Wide Web. The basis was a system of hypertext documents interconnected by hyperlinks - all this was made possible by the revolutionary developments of Berners-Lee: HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), URI identifier (and its variation - URL), HTML language. He created the world's first web server "httpd" and the world's first website, which was born on August 6, 1991 (now it can be found in the Internet archive). The brilliant Briton also wrote the first Internet browser for the NeXT computer.

In 1994, Ty Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium at the Computer Science Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he is still its head: The Consortium is developing Internet standards.

Now the creator of the Internet wants to go even further: he hopes to create a semantic web - a superstructure on top of the World Wide Web, which will raise the interaction of computers around the world to an absolutely incredible level. The point is that machines will have access to clearly structured information, accessible to any client applications, and it does not matter what programming language they are written in: computers will be able to exchange information directly, without human intervention - perhaps this will lead to the creation of a Universal Artificial Intelligence.

2. George Soros, financial Robin Hood

This is one of the most controversial figures on the world economic scene: some call him a financial schemer and speculator, while others attribute him to brilliant financial instincts.

George Soros was “made” by “Black Wednesday” - September 16, 1992, when the British pound “collapsed” on foreign exchange market. It was rumored that he himself had caused this collapse, buying up pounds for several years and then exchanging them for the German mark at a speculative rate: the pound collapsed, and George, using reserve funds, earned $1–1 in one day from his purchase, according to various estimates. 5 billion. This legend is not entirely true: the “lucky one” himself admitted only that, having shares worth $7 billion, he bluffed, bringing the amount of transactions to $10 billion - whoever does not take risks, you know...

The notorious investor developed the “theory of reflexivity” stock markets”, which states that securities are purchased depending on expectations of their future value, and expectations are a delicate thing, it is subject to information attacks from the financial media and the actions of speculators destabilizing the market.

The grandiose tangled financial affairs of George Soros have one thing for sure bright side- Back in 1979, he created the Open Society Charitable Foundation in the United States. In 1988, one of the foundation’s divisions appeared even in the USSR, but because of Soviet partners, the Cultural Initiative Foundation was quickly closed down. In 1995, the Open Society itself came to Russia, thanks to whose program “University Internet Centers” 33 Internet centers emerged in Russia. However, in 2003, Soros officially curtailed his charitable activities in Russia.

3. Matt Groening, author of the cartoon universe of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama”

The world-famous cartoonist insists that his last name is pronounced Groening - the whims of a genius, nothing can be done: this is reflected in his appearance in The Simpsons, where the last name is pronounced exactly like that.

Matthew showed a talent for journalism and animation from school, and after arriving in Los Angeles he began drawing comics describing how he lived in the big city.

Apparently, the impressions of Los Angeles were not very good, since the comics were called “Life in Hell”: Matt had to work as a record seller, journalist, courier and even the director’s driver.

In 1978, the comic was published by the avant-garde magazine Wet Magazine, and in 1980 by the Los Angeles Reader newspaper. Later, Groening was invited to write a column about rock and roll, but he wrote in it mainly about what he saw during the day, recalled his childhood, shared his thoughts about life - in general, he was fired.

In 1985, he was approached by producer James Brooks to draw short cartoon sketches for The Tracey Ullman Show, but Groening came up with something else: the Simpson family, living at 742 Evergreen Alley, Springfield.

4. Nelson Mandela, who raised South Africa from its knees

Mandela's life - shining example non-violent, but no less stubborn and difficult struggle: already in his first year at the University of Fort Hare (the only higher education institution in South Africa at that time where blacks could study), he took part in a boycott of the policy of the Fort Hare government and refused to take a place in Student Representative Council, after which he left the university. While studying law at the University of the Witwatersrand, Mandela met future comrades in the fight against apartheid policies - Harry Schwartz and Joe Slovo (the latter would later take a place in Mandela's government).

In the 1940s, Nelson became interested in liberal-radical ideas and became interested in political life and participate in protest demonstrations, and in 1948 he was elected secretary of the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC) - this is how his ascent up the ladder of his political career began.

Nelson Mandela's political path was long and thorny: years of struggle (including sabotage and preparation of a real sabotage war against the South African government) against the oppression of the black population, trial, and finally 27 years in prison. Having gained freedom in 1990, Mandela again became the leader of the ANC, which by that time was already legal political party, and in 1993 received the Nobel Peace Prize. He became the first black president of South Africa when he was elected in 1994, and served in this post until 1999.

5. Frederick Sanger, two-time Nobel chemist

In his youth, Sanger intended to follow in the footsteps of his father (he worked as a doctor), but later he became interested in biochemistry and was right. Many years later he wrote: “It seemed to me that this was the way to a real understanding of living matter and to the development of more scientific foundations to solve many problems facing medicine."

The only two-time Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in the world, Sanger has been studying the structure of amino acids and the properties of insulin since the 1940s, and in 1955 he first introduced detailed description insulin molecules, thus initiating research into the molecular composition of proteins - this was his first Nobel Prize, which found a hero in 1958. Sanger's research made it possible to produce artificial insulin and other hormones.

Long years of work on decoding DNA allowed the chemist in 1973 to create an analytical method for establishing the sequences of nucleotide chains - this development in 1980 made him again Nobel laureate along with Paul Berg and Walter Gilbert.

Sanger is now retired and enjoying a quiet family life in Cambridge with his wife Margaret Joan Howe (marriage registered in 1940), they have three children.

6. Dario Fo, Nobel Prize Laureate for Theater

We can tell everything about this man with his quotes, but it’s better to leave you the opportunity to discover his work on your own if you are unfamiliar with him. In just a few words: this is a fountain of witty political and religious satire, acting, buffoonery and farce - a fountain that, contrary to the famous expression of Kozma Prutkov, one does not want to shut up at all.

Dario Fo is an Italian director, playwright, and actor, whose tireless activity and undoubted genius have made him a major figure in theatrical Europe over the past half century. The main motive of his work has always been to ridicule power - whether political or church, it doesn’t matter.

Dario began writing sketches, monologues, and short stories. Since the 1950s, Fo has acted in films, written scripts and plays, and toured with his own theater group, actively expressing his left-wing political views.

In 1997, Dario Fo received the Nobel Prize in Literature, his diploma says: “for inheriting the medieval jesters, he boldly criticizes the authorities and defends the dignity of the oppressed.” He himself joked about this: “I also write novels, but I don’t show them to anyone.”

“The artist is in the crosshairs of the authorities and the authorities are in the crosshairs of the artist”, “Theater, literature, visual arts, who do not speak for their time, are of no value,” - all this is Dario Fo.

7. Stephen Hawking, professor of mathematics without a mathematical background

Hawking is known for his research into the structure of black holes and his work on quantum gravity: in 1975, he created the theory of “evaporation” of black holes - this phenomenon was called “Hawking radiation.” The area of ​​interest of the famous theoretical physicist is the entire Universe; he published several popular science books devoted to its birth and development, the interaction of space and time, superstring theory, and many other interesting problems modern physics and cosmology.

In his first year teaching mathematics at Oxford, Hawking, who had not received a mathematics education, read the textbook just two weeks ahead of his students.

In 2003, in an interview, he gave a somewhat pessimistic forecast for the development of humanity: according to him, we will have to move to other planets, because viruses will dominate the Earth.

Back in the 1960s, Stephen began to show signs of a central nervous system disease, which later led him to almost complete paralysis of the limbs - since then he has been moving in a special chair, which is controlled through sensors on some muscles that have retained mobility. In communicating with people, he is helped by a computer and a speech synthesizer, which his friends gave him in 1985.

A serious illness did not break the character of the great scientist - he lives an interesting, active and, as they say, full life.

8. Philip Glass, great minimalist

An American composer whose work is rooted in the Indian musical tradition, it can be said that Philip absorbed music with his mother’s milk: his father owned a music store. The 17-year-old boy's trip to Paris was fateful - from there his ascent to the heights of musical Olympus began.

Glass spent several years traveling in India, where he met the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, and has since been an ardent supporter of Tibetan autonomy. Glass's genius was shaped by the influence of Bach, Mozart, French avant-garde art and the legendary Indian musician Ravi Shankar.

The main thing in the composer’s work is rhythm: his melodies are simple but expressive, he is persistently called a minimalist, but he himself denies minimalism.

Glass gained worldwide fame in 1984 for his collaboration with director Godfrey Reggio in the creation of documentaries: in these paintings, music is not a background or an auxiliary visual device, it is the main thing actor. Before this, the most famous work Philip was left with the opera Einstein on the Beach.

Also in 1984, Glass wrote music for the opening ceremony Olympic Games in Los Angeles, his other notable works include the scores for the films Candyman, The Truman Show and The Illusionist.

When Glass was asked the question: “What music should every person hear?”, he answered: “The music of his own heart.”

9. Grigory Perelman, genius in isolation

Our brilliant compatriot stirred up the world scientific community back in the 1990s with his sensational works on geometry, mathematics and physics, but his real worldwide fame was brought to him by two proofs of the Poincaré hypothesis, one of the so-called “Mysteries of the Millennium”, and by his refusal of well-deserved awards and monetary rewards.

Grigory Yakovlevich is a surprisingly modest and unpretentious person in everyday life: having arrived in the United States in the early 1990s, he surprised his American colleagues with an almost ascetic lifestyle and a skeptical attitude towards the scientific community. He is perfectly characterized by the statement “Those who violate ethical standards in science are not considered strangers. People like me are the ones who end up isolated.”

One day, a mathematician was asked to provide a C.V. to a hiring committee. (resume) and recommendations, to which Perelman sharply responded: “If they know my work, they don’t need my C.V. If they need my C.V. “They don’t know my work.”

In 2005, Grigory Perelman resigned from the St. Petersburg branch of the Mathematical Institute, practically stopped contacts with colleagues and lives with his mother, leading a rather secluded lifestyle.

10. Andrew Wiles, dreamy mathematician

This professor of mathematics at Princeton University proved Fermat's Last Theorem, which generations of scientists have struggled with for hundreds of years.

Even as a child, Andrew learned about the existence of this mathematical theorem and immediately began looking for a solution, picking up a school textbook. He found it 30 years later after another scientist, Ken Ribet, proved the connection between the theorem of the Japanese mathematicians Taniyama and Shimura with Great Theorem Farm. Unlike his more skeptical colleagues, Wiles immediately realized that this was it, and seven years later he put an end to the proof.

The process of this proof turned out to be very dramatic: having completed his work in 1993, Wiles literally during public speaking With a sensation that shocked the scientific world, he discovers a gap in the solution - the basis of his proof crumbles before his eyes. It takes two months to search for the error line by line (solving the equation took 130 printed pages), almost another year and a half of intense work is being done to eliminate the gap - nothing comes of it, the entire scientific world is secretly waiting for the result, but at the same time gloating. And then on September 19, 1994, Wiles had an epiphany - the proof was completed.

The selection is based on the Daily Telegraph's List of 100 Living Geniuses.

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Time is a harmful and elusive thing. It always oozes through your fingers and flows away to no one knows where. What to do if all your life you wanted to write symphonies better than Mozart’s, and you have two children, a wife, a mother, and on top of everything, a burning project?

We are in website We are also extremely concerned about this problem: we want to realize ourselves in life and not choke on a bone. Examples help us not to give up and do great things famous people, which certainly had 24 hours in a day.

Leonardo da Vinci

The famous “universal man” will top our list. Let us remember that Leonardo is an outstanding artist of the Renaissance (does everyone remember La Gioconda?), an inventor (all his inventions formed the basis for the construction of modern submarines), a scientist, as well as a writer and musician. He was also the first to explain why the sky is blue: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.” He managed all this thanks to his own developed sleep system: he slept for a total of 2 hours (lights out for 15 minutes several times a day), and in the rest of his free time he changed the world and himself for the better.

Anton Chekhov

His brother's brilliant brother (that was his pseudonym). Famous master short story, humorist and satirist, the greatest playwright and part-time doctor. He himself admitted: “Medicine is my legal wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other.” Constantly torn at the crossroads of his two talents, Chekhov was engaged in medical affairs until the end of his life. He even named his dogs by name. medicines: Bromine and Hina. But he also respected his “mistress”: throughout his life, Chekhov created more than 300 works, including short stories and impressive dramas. The great humorist also loved collecting stamps. Here was the man!

Vladimir Nabokov

Writer and entomologist, and a self-taught entomologist. More than 20 genera of butterflies are named in honor of Vladimir Vladimirovich, one of which (how cute!) is called Nabokovia. Nabokov also played excellent chess. He composed several complex chess problems. His love for this intellectual sport was reflected in the novel “The Defense of Luzhin.” Let us remember that Nabokov was fluent in English. “Lolita” is loved in America just as it is here.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe was known not only as a great writer and poet, but also as a scientist: he made some discoveries in the field of the theory of light. In addition, he actively collected minerals - his collection numbers 18,000 specimens (it is clear where Faust got such a craving for alchemy). The author of the famous drama was so lucky or brilliant that he slept only 5 hours a day, but had enough strength for many, many accomplishments. Perhaps this is because Goethe adhered to strict rules and was a supporter of leading a healthy lifestyle: he did not drink alcohol at all and did not tolerate the smell of tobacco smoke. That’s why he lived 82 years and managed to create so many things.

Hugh Jackman

Not only a famous actor, but also a Broadway performer, and what a great one! Within one season, he managed to receive all the major theater awards. Everyone knows the third area of ​​Jackman’s activity in which he achieved success - family life. Hugh and Deborra-Lee Furness have been married for 20 years and together they have two children. What is there! Our Hugh can do everything: he can play the piano, guitar, violin, and also... vibrate his pupils and even juggle. Probably even Wolverine can’t do this.

Salvador Dali

Everyone says that he is crazy, but they are silent about the fact that he was universal. Dali is famous not only as a painter and sculptor, but also as the director of the most terrible “Un Chien Andalou.” Dali also wrote several “works”: “ secret life Salvador Dali, told by himself" and "The Diary of a Genius". For the sake of his psychedelic masterpieces, the modest genius often “perverted” in terms of sleep. Let us explain: Dali hired himself a special servant, who, seeing that the owner was beginning to fall asleep in complete exhaustion, woke him up after waiting a few seconds. The disheveled Dali immediately grabbed the paper and tried to sketch what he saw in the first seconds of the superficial phase of sleep.

Mikhail Lomonosov

Russian natural scientist, chemist and physicist, poet, artist... you can hardly list everything here. Lomonosov is not just an active figure - he is revered as a reformer. It was he who carried out the reform of versification. Therefore, oddly enough, we owe the learning of iambs and trochees to an outstanding chemist. By the way, being smart does not mean being an object of bullying. While studying in Marburg, for example, Lomonosov perfectly mastered the ability to handle a sword. Local bullies avoided this overly capable and skillful Muscovite. This is definitely a talented person, talented in everything!

Isaac Newton

Everyone should know that he is famous not only for the apple that fell on his head. Newton wrote books on theology, where he spoke about the denial of the Holy Trinity, and was also the chairman Royal Society arts Not many people know that Newton also invented two stunningly ingenious things: a means of carrying cats and a door for them (where would we be without them now?). His love for furry and mustachioed friends is to blame for this. Newton preferred active work sleep - he allocated only 4 hours a day for night rest.

Benjamin Franklin

We all know him as a guy with a dollar and a politician, but Franklin is like our Lomonosov. He was a journalist and inventor. He invented, for example, the stove (“Pennsylvania fireplace”), and also predicted the weather. The first one developed detailed map Gulf Stream. He founded the Philadelphia Academy, as well as the first public library in the States. Franklin also had musical talent. Uncle Ben was helped to keep up with everything by strictly following the daily routine, in which sleep was allocated only 4 hours a day.

Alexander Borodin

A man whose portrait hangs in both the music classroom and the chemistry classroom. Did you know that the author of the famous opera “Prince Igor” was also a chemist and a physician? He jokingly called himself a “Sunday musician”: he had to sacrifice his weekends in order to create something like that for the world of music. Memories of workdays Borodin was left by his wife: “He could sit for ten hours straight, he could not sleep at all, he could not have lunch.” Still would! After all, as you know, one of Borodin’s mottos was such a super-motivating phrase: “We owe everything that we don’t have only to ourselves.” Alexander Porfirievich was also an active public figure - he was one of the initiators of the opening of Women's medical courses.

In his youth, Bulgakov worked as a zemstvo doctor, and he had to be a generalist: a therapist, a gynecologist, a surgeon, and a dentist. “Notes of a Young Doctor” owes its appearance to precisely that period in the life of young Bulgakov. It was difficult to combine healing and creativity, so I had to “plow” my shift, treat unassuming village people all day, and then also find time for writing... You can sacrifice everything for the sake of art. Once in a letter to his mother, he wrote: “At night I write “Notes of a Zemstvo Doctor.” A solid thing could come out.” Bulgakov is also an example of the correct attitude towards criticism. He collected critical articles about his works, including 298 negative and 3 positive feedback critics.

Well, do you still think that you don’t have enough time?

Published: October 29, 2007 01:13 pm | Last update: December 7, 2017, 08:56

ALL PHOTOS

The international company Creators Synectics has compiled a list of 100 living geniuses in the fields of science, politics, art and entrepreneurship. Among them were three Russians. About a quarter of the list's participants are natives of Great Britain - there is the highest concentration of geniuses per capita, The Daily Telegraph proudly notes (full text on the website Inopressa.ru).

First place was shared by the inventor of the World Wide Web, the Englishman Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of the hallucinogenic properties of LSD. Second place went to billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, and third place went to Matt Groening, the author of the cartoon "The Simpsons." American director Quentin Tarantino closes the list of geniuses.

The list included 24 Englishmen and 43 Americans. Thus, Great Britain has the most geniuses per capita - one per 2.5 million inhabitants. These include physicist Stephen Hawking (7th place), avant-garde artist Damien Hirst (15th place), Sir Paul McCartney (58th place), David Bowie (67th place) and author JK Rowling about the young wizard Harry Potter (83rd place). Some of the names on the list are surprising. Thus, Osama bin Laden took 43rd place, sharing it with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

Creators Synectics selected geniuses by assigning each a score of up to 10 points on five factors: role in changing belief systems, social recognition, intellectual strength, achievement and cultural significance. This summer, the firm emailed 4,000 Britons asking them to nominate up to 10 living candidates for the title of genius. More than 60% of the resulting 1.1 thousand names were Americans and British. Only 60% of these people are still alive.

Nigel Clarke, managing partner of Synectics UK and Europe, says: “Many people argue that the way to recognize a genius is when he turns conventional ideas about the world upside down. I think Albert Hofmann and Tim Berners-Lee are similar to the geniuses of the past. “Both of them, in their own way, turned our world upside down. For this alone, they can be considered the greatest living geniuses.”

10 most outstanding geniuses of our time

1. Albert Hofmann, Switzerland. Chemist
The elderly scientist is known primarily as the “father” of LSD - lysergic acid diethylamide. In 1943, he discovered the hallucinogenic properties of this drug. He is the author of more than a hundred scientific works and an autobiography with the title "LSD - My Problem Child."

1. Tim Berners-Lee, UK. Computer Scientist
An Oxford graduate and computer scientist, he is the author of the HTTP protocol and the HTML language. In 1989, Berners-Lee proposed the Global Hypertext Project, which marked the beginning of the creation of the World Wide Web. Since 1994, he has headed the World Wide Web Consortium, which is responsible for Internet standards.

3. George Soros, USA. Investor and philanthropist
An outstanding financier and speculator, whose enormous resources allowed him to organize a series of attacks on the national currencies of Great Britain and Asian countries, earning billions of dollars. Recently he retired from business and is actively involved in charitable activities through the Open Society Organization and charitable foundations in 25 countries.

4. Matt Groening, USA. Satirist and cartoonist
Author and producer, became famous thanks to the satirical animated series "The Simpsons" and "Futurama". The Simpson family and the fictional town of Springfield first appeared on television in 1987. Since then, the popularity of the series has not waned, and in 2007 a full-length version of the cartoon was released on movie screens.

5. Nelson Mandela, South Africa. Politician and diplomat
The human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1993, fought for a long time at the head of the African National Congress against apartheid in South Africa, for which he spent 28 years in prison. From 1994 to 1999 he served as president of the country. Currently actively supports the fight against AIDS.

5. Frederick Sanger, UK. Chemist
Graduate of Cambridge University, biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate. He is known for his work on insulin, which made it possible to obtain it synthetically, and for his research in the field of DNA.

7. Dario Fo, Italy. Writer and playwright
Theater figure, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his work he combined propaganda satire with the traditions of medieval theater. Author of the works "Mystery-bouffe" (1969), "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" (1970), "Knock-Knock! Who's There? Police" (1974), "If you can't pay, don't pay" (1981).

7. Stephen Hawking, UK. Physicist
One of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity. Being practically paralyzed, Hawking continues to engage in scientific and popularization activities. Author of the bestselling book A Brief History of Time.

9. Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil. Architect
One of the founders of the modern Brazilian school of architecture, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction. Since 1957, he carried out the construction of the new capital of the country - the city of Brazil, and participated in the design of the UN headquarters in New York.

9. Philip Glass, USA. Composer
Minimalist composer, performer. He became known to the general public after creating the soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio's film "Koyaniskazzi". He also wrote music for the films “The Truman Show”, “The Illusionist”, “The Hours”, and music for the opening of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

9. Grigory Perelman, Russia. Mathematician
A scientist from St. Petersburg proved the Poincaré conjecture, formulated back in 1904. Its discovery was recognized as the most significant scientific achievement of 2006. Despite this, the reclusive Russian refused the million-dollar prize and the highest honor in the mathematical world, the Fields Medal.

Russians included in the list

In addition to Grigory Perelman, the list of world geniuses included chess player Garry Kasparov and designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the famous AK-47 assault rifle.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is considered one of the strongest chess players of all time. At 22, he became the youngest world champion in history and defended the title several times. In 2005, the grandmaster announced the end of his sports career and became involved in social and political activities. Currently he heads the United Civil Front organization and criticizes the current Russian government and president.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov is known primarily as the creator of the AK-47 assault rifle, adopted for service in many countries, known for its effectiveness and ease of manufacture. For the creation of the famous weapon he was awarded the Stalin Prize and many other awards. Currently lives and works in Izhevsk.