The Genius Sensation

When I hear the word genius the very first person who comes to mind is Mark Zuckerberg. He is the creator of the immensely popular social networking cite that has come to be Facebook. He has made a name for himself not only in the United States but all over the world. If there is internet, then you better believe they know about Facebook. More recently there has even been a release of a movie based on his success which is called the Social Network. Once the movie came out it was a popular topic amongst all and he quickly became known as the youngest, most successful billionaire in the world.

What makes Mark Zuckerberg a genius is his natural talent for intelligence. After seeing the movie it was obvious that his knowledge of working with computers and their programming was way beyond his years. He applied his wisdom of computers to how young adults would like to interact with one another. However if we take a closer look, would you say that it was his knowledge alone that declared him a genius? Would all of the world still see him as a genius if Facebook never blew up and became the sensation that it has? Does being a genius mean you have to have a great success and become some famous and incredibly known individual? Is it about making a name for yourself or is it based on the knowledge alone? Think about it. If no one knew what was going on in that magnificent brain, then we would declare you a normal average thinker. Being a genius is not only having a massive amount of creativity and intelligence but also being able to have others see you that way. It requires a perfect balance, thus the reason we have labeled Mark Zuckerberg the genius that he is.

Shortage of Creativity in School Systems

It is my personal belief that school systems are slowly but surely killing creativity. I have come to this conclusion due to the fact that each year more schools around my high school are taking away classes that allow students to express themselves. There is a school in the conference right next to mine called Rootstown High school. I heard through many of my friends that go there, that their budget won't support some of their art classes along with cooking, child development, and a couple gym courses. Now I realize this may not seem like a huge deal to you or even me for that matter because it doesn’t effect our education; but if you take a closer look, you would see what a huge impact it has on those students. Think about all the kids in the Rootstown school system. They are being cut classes that get them away from thinking only about the core classes such as Math, History, English, and the Sciences. At what point in their school day do they get to use the other half of their brain? Rootstown isn’t the only school in their conference, in Ohio, and even in the nation that is being forced to drop creative classes. Without these classes, we are eliminating the practice of creative thinking. How do we expect kids to be successful without that skill?

            Other than the fact that many schools are dropping classes involving art and music, why is it that people don’t make a big deal about how core classes dominate all students’ schedules? My school in particular only required two credits in an “art” class.  But before you graduate you had to have four years (7 credits) of an English class. This does not seem fair to students whose strength is in the creative classes. They should have the freedom to take classes that will benefit them and their future plans. Then for students who thrive in the core classes should be put in the art classes specifically to strengthen their weakness and improve their creative thinking. Their must be a way to solve the slow paralysis of creativity.

Revision

For me, revision is definitely the most crucial part of writing a paper. I could sit and ponder what I feel the best sentence would look like for hours and where does that get me? Instead, whatever comes to my mind, I lay it down on the keys of my laptop. Most times I repeat myself, or I will finish a thought and then later on in my writing I will bring it up again and continue to elaborate on something that I have already beaten to death.  I have found that if I just start writing and turn around and start revising, I am much more successful. At that point, I am involved and dissecting what I have said and can organize my thoughts so that any reader is able to understand what I am trying to convey. I have confidence in saying that without revision I would never complete any of my projects because I’m never satisfied with the first words or thoughts that come to my mind. I don’t know anyone that ever is, and without revision my thoughts would never be well rounded and complete. Without this step it would be hard coming up with a final product that I could be proud to call my own.

Considering Henry Darger

It can go without saying that Henry Darger was without a doubt a very creative individual. But where did it all begin? It turns out his story begins simply at the beginning, where everything that could go wrong, did.

 Henry lived an interesting life filled with more turmoil than the typical person has to experience. Starting at a young age his mother passed away so his younger sister was forced to become an orphan, leaving Henry with his father. Unfortunately soon after, Henry's father grew ill and was admitted to a nursing home Henry was enrolled in The Mission of Our Ladies Home boarding school. Once Henry’s father passed away Henry was brought to an asylum for feeble minded children. He attempted to run away multiple times and was eventually successful and that’s when he moved back to Chicago at a mere age of 17.

Henry’s childhood showed that he had no other choice but to get through almost impossible obstacles not only at a young age but also by himself. If all your life you were told that you were crazy and treated separate from society at what point would start to believe that maybe you were? My view on Henry’s creative genius is that it stemmed from a mental illness. Throughout his stressful childhood he was forced into a schizotypal personality. According to PubMed Health a schizotypal personality disorder is a mental health condition in which a person has trouble with relationships and disturbances in thought patterns, appearance, and behavior. After looking at the later years of his life its obvious he preferred to stay closed away from the outside world due to the way he had been treated. Henry instead invested most of his time creating a new world where he could focus on things that were absent in his present life. His creations reflected many children, girls more specifically. In my opinion he did this be because he was deprived of a youth and even a female figure.

Henry’s 30,000 pages of work including “The Realms of the Unreal” is creative and unlike any other work seen before. It is important we focus on his work because it has potential to answer questions such as: where does creativity begin? It seems that many artists who were perceived as successful, lived troubled lives much like Henry did. Some examples are as follows: Michael Jackson, Albert Einstein, Vincent Van Gogh, etc. Can we consider Henry Darger in the same category and as influential as the people previously listed? In many ways, I can. Can you?