The Genius Myth
You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate. Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Floridian rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Helen unravels a word that we all use, without really questioning what it means. Along the way, she uncovers the secret of the Beatles’ success, asks how biographers should solve the Austen Problem, and reveals why Stephen Hawking thought IQ tests were for losers (before taking one herself). Helen has written for the Guardian, Sunday Times, New York Times and Vogue. She is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4 and regularly appears on Have I Got News for You.
