ABSTRACT
The idea of genius is the idea of extraordinary talent, usually in one only among the major fields of human activity. It is the idea of a talent which is innately based to the extent that it may manifest itself even without early and intensive education or training. There is no genius without a ready facility in mastering the medium in which the genius manifests itself, whether the medium be chess, painting, music or mathematics. But there is also no genius without an imaginative ability to use the medium to some creative purpose. Thus there is a big difference between the calculating prodigy who has an extraordinary facility with numbers and the mathematical genius who can conjecture and/or prove significant mathematical theorems. Mozart and Picasso have their place in rich musical and visual art cultures. From the point of view of educational policy there is little or no sense in going genius-spotting.
