Dean Simonton || The Science of Genius

Today it’s great to have Dean Keith Simonton on the podcast. Dean is distinguished professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California Davis. His well over 500 single author publications focus on topics such as genius, creativity, aesthetics, and leadership. In 2018, MIT Press published his book The Genius Checklist but he has also published many other books on these various topics of genius, leadership, and aesthetics. I just want to personally say his book, Greatness: Who Makes History and Why, is one of the major books that inspired me to go into the field that I’m in today.

Topics:

Dean’s interest in genius, creativity, and leadership
The historiometic approach
Child prodigies and the savant syndrome
Dean’s schooling years
Can late bloomers become geniuses?
Fame and creativity in the age of social media
Using the equal odds rule to create a masterpiece
Grit and openness to experience predict genius
Dean’s solo publications and collaborations
Re-analysis of Cox’s data on geniuses
The IQs of Mozart, Cervantes, and Shakespeare
Scientific genius vs. artistic genius
The mad-genius paradox
US Presidents’ IQ scores and leadership
Variability and the role of talent in mastery

About the guest

Dean Simonton

Podcast Guest

Dean Keith Simonton is an American social psychologist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is known for his research on genius, creativity, leadership, and aesthetics, and for his use of historiometric methods to study eminent figures.

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Dean Simonton || The Science of Genius

Dean Simonton

11 years ofhuman possibility

11 years of
human possibility