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Who Is Great
？
Michael Ryan
As
a
young
boy,
Albert
Einstein
did
so
poorly
in
school
that
teachers
thought
he
was
slow.
The
young
Napoleon
Bonaparte
was
just
one
of
hundreds
of artillery lieutenants in the French Army. And the teenage George
Washington, with little formal education, was being trained not as a
soldier but as a land surveyor.
Despite their unspectacular beginnings, each would go on to carve a
place
for
himself
in
history.
What
was
it
that
enabled
them
to
become
great?
Were they born with something special? Or did their greatness have more
to
do
with
timing,
devotion
and,
perhaps,
an
uncompromising
personality?
For
decades,
scientists
have
been
asking
such
questions.
And,
in
the
past few years, they have
found
evidence to
help explain why
some people
rise
above,
while
others
—
similarly
talented,
perhaps
—
are
left
behind.
Their findings could have implications for us all.
Who
is
great?
Defining
who
is
great
depends
on
how
one
measures
success.
But
there
are
some
criteria.
who
has
made
a
lasting
contribution
to human civilization is great,
of psychology at the University
of
California at
Davis and author
of the
1994 book Greatness: Who Makes History and Why. But he added a word of
caution:
A
lot
of
women
achieved
great
things
or
were
influential
but
went
unrecognized.
In writing his book, Simonton combined historical knowledge about
great
figures
with
recent
findings
in
genetics,
psychiatry
and
the
social
sciences. The great figures
he focused on include
men and women
who have
won
Nobel
Prizes,
led
great
nations
or
won
wars,
composed
symphonies
that
have
endured
for
centuries,
or
revolutionized
science,
philosophy,
politics or the arts. Though he doesn't have a formula to define how or
why
certain
people
rise
above
(too
many
factors
are
involved),
he
has
come
up with a few common characteristics.
A
surrender
attitude.
If
great
achievers
share
anything,
said
Simonton, it is an unrelenting drive to succeed.
think that they are endowed with something super-normal,
have no amazing intellectual processes. It's a difference in degree.
Greatness
is
built
upon
tremendous
amounts
of
study,
practice
and
devotion.
He
cited
Winston
Churchill,
Britain's
prime
minister
during
World
War
II, as an example of a risk-taker who would never give up. Thrust into
office
when
his
country's
morale
was
at
its
lowest,
Churchill
rose
brilliantly
to
lead
the
British
people.
In
a
speech
following
the
Allied
evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940, he inspired the nation when he said,
shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end...We shall never
surrender.
Can you be born great? In looking at Churchill's role in history
—
as
well
as
the
roles
of
other
political
and
military
leaders
—
Simonton
discovered
a
striking
pattern:
and
only
children
tend
to
make
good
leaders
in
time
of
crisis:
They're
used
to
taking
charge.
But
middle-borns are better as peacetime leaders: They listen to different
interest
groups
better
and
make
the
necessary
compromises.
Churchill,
an
only child, was typical. He was great in a crisis, but in peacetime he
was not effective
—
not even popular.
Timing
is
another
factor.
you
took
George
Washington
and
put
him
in
the
20th
century
he
would
go
nowhere
as
a
politician,
Simonton
declared.
was
not
an
effective
public
speaker,
and
he
didn't
like
shaking
hands
with
the
public.
On
the
other
hand,
I'm
not
sure
Franklin
Roosevelt
would
have done well in Washington's time. He wouldn't have had the radio to
do his fireside chats.
Can
you
be
too
smart?
One
surprise
among
Simonton's
findings
is
that
many political and military leaders have been bright but not overly so.
Beyond
a
certain
point,
he
explained,
other
factors,
like
the
ability
to
communicate
effectively,
become
more
important
than
innate
intelligence
as measured by an IQ test. The most intelligent U.S. Presidents, for
example
—
Thomas
Jefferson,
Woodrow
Wilson
and
John
F.
Kennedy
—
had
a
hard
time
getting
elected,
Simonton
said,
while
others
with
IQs
closer
to
the
average (such as Warren G. Harding) won by landslides. While political
and
economic
factors
also
are
involved,
having
a
genius
IQ
is
not
necessary
to be a great leader.
In
the
sciences,
those
with
level
IQs
do
have
a
better
chance
at achieving recognition, added Simonton. Yet evidence also indicates
that overcoming traditional ways of thinking may be just as important.
He pointed to one recent study where college students were given a
set
of
data
and
were
asked
to
see
if
they
could
come
up
with
a
mathematical
relation. Almost a third did. What they did not know was that they had
just solved one of the most famous scientific equations in history: the
Third Law of Planetary Motion, an equation that Johannes Kepler came up
with in 1618.
Kepler's
genius,
Simonton
said,
was
not
so
much
in
solving
a
mathematical
challenge.
It
was
in
thinking
about
the
numbers
in
a
unique
way
—
applying
his
mathematical
knowledge
to
his
observations
of
planetary
motion. It was his boldness that set him apart.
Love your work. As a child, Einstein became fascinated with the way
magnets
are
drawn
to
metal.
couldn't
stop
thinking
about
this
stuff,
Simonton
pointed
out.
became
obsessed
with
problems
in
physics
by
the
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