The Genius Problem

© Howard Gardner 2026 Widely and mostly positively reviewed, Helen Lewis’s book The Genius Myth seeks to debunk the notion of genius—at least the view of genius as a person who possesses special—perhaps indeed unique —powers, abilities, capacities, insights, achievements, legacies. Lewis has made a persuasive claim that the label of “genius” has been bandied about too much; it needs to be…