A concrete definition of the word “genius” is almost impossible to pin down. It’s pesky, because everyone has his or her own notion of what a genius really is. And that notion tends to evolve over time.
Darrin M. McMahon; new book, Divine Fury, traces the notion of genius through the ages. And McMahon argues we have probably democratized the notion of genius to the extent that almost anyone could be one. “You or I are probably geniuses if we slice it the right way,” he joked during a recent discussion. (You can listen to our full conversation here.)
But let’s talk about one facet of genius that captivates so many people: the evil genius.
The trope often appears in comic books and movies as powerful adversaries ceaselessly battling our hero of choice. Usually they are holed up in a dark lair somewhere, plotting world domination.
In real life, when we think of an evil genius, most of our minds immediately jump to one person: Adolf Hitler.
It’s not clear that he actually was an evil genius (he certainly got the evil part right), but he certainly posed as a genius. The Führer’s understanding of cult of genius made him a success in an impoverished post-war Germany, and allowed him to pull off one of the greatest cons in history. He was a “master at playing to the crowd.”
“[Hitler] used the cult of genius — which was so important in 19th century Europe — to catapult to power,” said McMahon. He was so effective at this marketing campaign that, for a time, he overshadowed a 20th century figure whom everyone agrees actually was a genius. Albert Einstein probably cultivated an eccentric persona, which played into his image as a genius (and explains why iconic posters of him still adorn many dorm walls.) But his aim was for good, not evil.
Still, Hitler was the ultimate master of manipulation. And McMahon emphasizes this by citing a late 1930s poll taken by Princeton University undergraduates. “In the late 1930s,” says McMahon, “they [were] asked to identify the two greatest individuals in the world. They rank Adolf Hitler one and Albert Einstein two, despite the fact that Einstein had been living at Princeton University campus since 1935.”
Listen to streaming audio of our full conversation here. And download the podcast on iTunes.
Katie Howland contributed to this post.