Geniuses don’t have to be friendly people

I can’t say I was surprised to learn that Isaac Newton was actively seeking the philosopher’s stone of alchemical lore. The search for answers often leads down divergent paths. Nor was I surprised to learn that he wasn’t a pleasant man to spend time with and much less surprised by the fact that this question was even raised.

The cult of celebrity has grown, unchecked to the point now where we presume ownership of our imaginary friends. Fame is a commodity and the only one left in the hands of average citizens. If our faith in fake smiles is shaken, if the beautiful people forget who turns the spotlight on them, we will knock them down hard. This is the American pastime.

Talk show and red carpet appearances leave much more of an impact than any actual work today’s actors produce. That could reflect the quality of the work, but even more so I believe it reflects the relationship public relations tries to develop with the common folk. When their movies come out only once or twice a year, these human products stay fresh on the scene by trading up to more relevant spouses, exposing indecently and above all staying on camera.

I knew it was reaching an epidemic level when I recently sang the praises of the inventor of the Dyson line of vacuum cleaners and someone retorted that he was a jerk in real life. But the funny examples are not the ones I worry about. My grandfather, when we couldn’t come to an agreement before the last election, stated that he wouldn’t want John Kerry in his foxhole. My only response was a smile because I couldn’t decide quickly enough with which part of his logic to start an argument. I still can’t decide, and it’s still not funny. But I’m still smiling.

Were I to compose a list of the people I know who are the easiest to get along with, and then another list of the most interesting, talented, intelligent people I know, I can’t help but think that my Venn diagram would be skimpy in the middle. This is not to say that being nice has no value, even though there is considerable evidence to support that idea. And it’s not that you have to be a jerk to be a genius, it’s just easier to get away with it.