genius

Let’s explore the intertwined concepts of art, design, creativity and genius.

Consider the notion of ‘design art’ rather than ‘art design’. When design precedes art, we enter the realm of genius rather than mere creativity. A genius works within constraints, finding solutions through design thinking, while a creative person must venture far and wide precisely because they cannot see solutions nearby.

This distinction becomes clearer when we examine how each operates. A genius tends to be rather selfish, finding solutions primarily for themselves, perhaps because they don’t truly need them. They are clever enough to work within existing frameworks. The creative person, conversely, often benefits humanity as a whole.

Inventors must be creative first – they’re working without precedent. Designers, on the other hand, play with existing tools and are at their best when applying instruments created by others. The genius excels at mixing and matching existing inventions, rather like a chef perfecting a recipe. It’s quite a fitting analogy: the creative person handles production, while the genius crafts the experience.

This brings us to an intriguing paradox about novelty. When you try something that already exists, you’re paradoxically inventing something new, because the experience itself is novel. It’s rather like the tale of a snake eating its own tail – each bite is different not just in substance but in experience. There’s a certain melancholy in being forced to consume one’s own tail, yet it speaks to a deeper truth about resources and survival.

This connects to a fascinating consideration about mortality and resources. An entity that doesn’t need to consume resources to survive could theoretically live forever. We die not just because we age, but because we consume resources without fully recycling them. If we could recycle ourselves completely, we might achieve a form of immortality. It’s a rather startling thought that the ultimate solution to mortality might be to avoid consuming resources altogether.

The whole discourse weaves together questions of creation, consumption, and survival in rather unexpected ways. It challenges our assumptions about what it means to be creative versus genius, and how these traits relate to our fundamental existence as resource-consuming beings.