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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Nature of Genius by Yale University

4.8
stars
166 ratings

About the Course

Today "genius" is all around us. Celebrities, athletes, child prodigies, even your local Apple employees, all are referred to as geniuses. But are they? And if not these individuals then who? In this course, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music Emeritus and author of The Hidden Habits of Genius, Craig Wright, will begin by giving you his definition and prerequisites for true genius and challenge you to come up with your own. From there we'll look at examples of geniuses both historical and modern to try to identify the threads that bind them together and understand what separates the true genius from the wannabe... We’ll explore where creativity, curiosity and passion originate and how geniuses are able to discover, cultivate and apply their prodigious stores of each so as to fashion world changing ideas and inventions. Specific topics covered in the course include: Genius and Gender Genius and Money Whether or not celebrities and athletes can be considered geniuses Where and when genius happen The morality of genius Genius and inequality And dozens more While this course almost assuredly will not turn anyone into a genius, we hope it will serve to inspire you to cultivate your own creativity, explore your own curiosity, and pursue your own passion....

Top reviews

SO

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l learned what a genius is and what a genius is not.The professor's lessons help you learn a lot. T

BL

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Illuminating and thought provoking. Thank you Professor Wright and Coursera for this course and making it available for free,

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51 - 75 of 78 Reviews for The Nature of Genius

By Jenny O

Oct 22, 2022

Great course, Very interesting, engaging and well presnted.

By Gonzalo T R

Dec 26, 2022

thanks, a simple form of teach and understand the subject.

By Gabrielle v N

Dec 12, 2022

Super! Lot's of insights. Thank you professor Wright :)

By Μαριζετα Κ

Dec 28, 2022

Thank you very much. I really enjoyed your class.

By Lu Z

Jan 12, 2023

It is very interesting and I have learned a lot!

By Vince J

May 5, 2023

Really well done course. Thanks Prof. Wright!

By Sanjay V

Mar 20, 2023

Just simply superb. Thanks, Professor.

By Gerry

Dec 5, 2022

Interesting and fun, got me thinking.

By yunus r s

Dec 17, 2022

very educational and interesting

By Habibur k

Apr 15, 2023

A beautiful course, indeed!

By Gordon R

Oct 28, 2022

excellent again.

By José C R P

Jul 18, 2024

Excelente curso.

By Taher A

Dec 3, 2023

very good course

By shihyang y

Mar 7, 2024

it is very good

By Tu N H

Oct 27, 2022

Great course !

By Chris J

Apr 8, 2023

Great Course!

By Elfe U

Oct 21, 2022

great course

By David H W

Feb 21, 2024

Fabulous

By Stephen C

Nov 8, 2022

Professor Wright gave perhaps the bests course I have taken "An Introduction to Classical Music." In this course He again demonstrates that he is an expert teacher. He present logically and well.And he keeps our interest by interspersing slides, anecdotes and interviews. And he has done a lot of research on the subject.so it was fun and I learned stuff.

But I did have trouble with it. First I did not agree with the definition of genius -- I think it does not have to be a mental. Perhaps he has a very broad idea of "mental", but I have seen many innovative adjustments in various sports, for example, that seem similar to me to some of the examples he uses. From that start he is pretty consistent. so if you accept that, you can enjoy the course (which I did).

I have a scientific background, so I do not know how he selected his geniuses -- who and how many he may have left out -- who may have altered some of his conclusions (He did present this with regard to mental disorders.)

I thought the course drifted from the nature of genius to the habits (not hidden -- they were well known -- maybe they were "fun facts") of some of them to brief biographies in Week 3.

He wrapped this up well in the last section of Week 4, with a typical American focus on money. (that was also an American diversion -- geniuses and wealth -- which really had nothing to do with the "nature of genius, but were fun facts about some of them.

I hope this is seen as "constructive -- I did enjoy the course and I did learn somethings about myself from it as well.

By Leah R

May 21, 2023

This course was very interesting and provided some interesting perspectives on genius. The only thing that I would add is more discussion about the faults/negative behaviors of people who are considered genius as they are presented rather than as a footnote discussed in the last week. For example, Kanye West is referred to as a genius multiple times, with no acknowledgement of his severely antisemitic remarks.

By Barbara H

Oct 10, 2022

Good course. Very thought provoking.

However, whilst appreciating that the course is still rather new, it's really pretty annoying that the answers of the quizzes are quite frequently wrongly programmed. So much so, that it turns from fun to frustration. Come on, that should be easily fixed.

By Peter B

Dec 12, 2022

It has a clear cut structure that evidently sets the student up to tilt toward parallel thinking while applying the various quotients that come with our world.

By Kathy A M

Jan 1, 2023

Very engaging. Some of the guest speakers were a bit long and boring the course does encourage personal thinking. I would definitely recommend it.

By Linda S

Oct 28, 2022

I enjoyed this course very much and appreciate the challenges it made to my assumptions

By Xiaoxuan W

Dec 30, 2022

Very interesting topic with well prepared content.