The Genius Myth

The genius label is a filter that reveals everything about power and nothing about talent. Helen Lewis traces how societies use it to elevate certain minds while rendering others invisible—from Leonardo's Florence to Musk's rockets. She interrogates the archetypes we worship: the tortured artist, the disruptive innovator, the solitary visionary. But what if these stories are lies we tell ourselves? Lewis uncovers how the Beatles succeeded through collaboration, not individual brilliance. She exposes why Jane Austen's genius was nearly erased from history. She reveals Stephen Hawking's contempt for IQ tests as measures of actual intelligence. The modern cult of genius doesn't celebrate human potential—it distorts it, justifies hierarchies, and blinds us to how real breakthroughs happen. A provocative dismantling of the myth we've built our culture around.