What does it mean to be a genius? Journalist Helen Lewis is the author of the new book The Genius Myth, which offers a provocative analysis of how we put brainiacs on a pedestal. In this episode, Helen and Adam unpack our cultural myths about geniuses and explore the dangers of treating them like demigods. They also discuss what Helen learned from the wives of male geniuses and how child prodigies can avoid struggling as adults.

Follow

Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)

Guest: Helen Lewis (Website: theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewis/) 

Links

The Genius Myth

Subscribe to TED 

Instagram: @ted

YouTube: @TED

TikTok: @tedtoks

LinkedIn: @ted-conferences

Website: ted.com

Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts

Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:

TEDNext: ted.com/futureyou

TEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.