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Genius Requires Just the Right Mix
An anonymous reader writes "LiveScience has an interesting piece taking a look at how genius is rarely developed in a vacuum. From the article: 'The reality is that behind many scientific geniuses, there is at least one other genius, and often a number of them.' It takes much more than a genius pal or predecessor, however, to do great science, according to Simmons. Scientific advances emerge from social, economic and political conditions."
Perhaps you are familiar with the phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants"?
There is a school of thought that Sir Isaac said that not so much to be humble, but as a backhanded compliment towards Robert Hooke. Hooke was a bit of a dwarf with a bent back. In other words, Newton was saying that Hooke contributed nothing to his (Newton's) greatness.