There is another list out today and one that would make Ravenclaw proud: a list of the 100 top “Living Geniuses.” Included on this list is our favorite author, J.K. Rowling who came in at number 83. The number one spot was actually shared by two men, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited with creating the world wide web, and Albert Hoffmann, the Swiss scientist who created the drug LSD. The Telegraph reports third place went to “George Soros, the American financier and philanthropist, Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Nelson Mandela, the former South African president.”
Creators Synectics, a global consultants firm, chose their geniuses by awarding scores out of 10 to each entrant against a number of factors: paradigm shifting; popular acclaim; intellectual power; achievement and cultural importance. The firm emailed 4,000 Britons this summer and asked them to nominate up to 10 living people who they considered geniuses.
They received back 1,100 nominations for individuals in all walks of life, more than 60 per cent of whom were either American or English. Only 60 per cent were still alive.
The panel was then charged with ranking the list in order of genius and to present a resulting shortlist of 100, who were then scored against the five factors.
Others of note on this list include playwright Harold Pinter (#31), the musician Prince (#32), singer Stevie Wonder tied with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and actress Meryl Streep (#49), writer Stephen King (#58) tied with iconic rocker Paul McCartney of the Beatles , and
legendary composer John Williams who wrote the scores to the first three Harry Potter films among many others is ranked at # 72.
What counts as a living genius in this list? Apparently you just have to have a well known name. The creators should be a little bit embarrassed, i mean 40% of the people on the list are not even alive. 90% of the people on there need to be changed. Don’t get me wrong, JK Rowling is a very intelligent person, but she is not one of the top 100 living geniuses.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t talk when I met her at Carnegie Hall at the Open Book Tour. I had so much I wanted to say, but was in such awe when I got in front of her that I was speechless.
Posted by not2old2loveHarryPotter on October 29, 2007, 06:06 PM
report to moderator
Don’t know about the rest of the list, but J K Rowling absolutely deserves to be on any list counting the best and the brightest of modern history. I always liken her works to Dickens and am thrilled to to realize that even in our age we can still witness the birth of such a rich and instant classic as the Harry Potter series.
Should have OJ Simpson on there. Genius for getting away with murder for so long.
George Bush for exactly the same reason, only on a larger scale.
Tony Blair for exactly the same reason and being an accessory to murder.
What a stupid list. I thought the Guardian was a little smarter than this.
Posted by Professor Potter on October 29, 2007, 06:15 PM
report to moderator
Emma Watson should be on the list. Why? She got 8 grade As with Distinctions!!! plus 2 normal grade As. I mean getting all grade As is astounding itself but getting grade As with Distinctions is phenomenal.
Posted by Professor Potter on October 29, 2007, 06:19 PM
report to moderator
dammit, i didn’t make it! did anyone here get on?! lol.
Posted by genuis in name only on October 29, 2007, 06:42 PM
report to moderator
I don’t know. I guess I have a different definition of what a genius is than those who made this list.
I will grant paradigm breaking to JK though. When she wote SS, she got turned down a few times from different publishing houses because kids weren’t reading magic based fantasy or some such. She broke down on that and now it’s everywhere. There’s even a couple of movies out there right now based on some magical fantasy tale (Stardust and something about seven signs) trying to cash in on the wave.
A genius to me is very tied to intellectual level, discovery of some such and unparalleled level of talent on a specific field. JK can spin a great story around but it doesn’t seem like genius level to me. She’s still smart, charismatic and someone to look up to though.
Kalashnikov, surprisingly, comes across as a very soulful person in his TV bio; and why haven’t you Brits been beating us over the head with Ranulph Fiennes? What a faboo character!!!
“Should have OJ Simpson on there. Genius for getting away with murder for so long.
George Bush for exactly the same reason, only on a larger scale.
Tony Blair for exactly the same reason and being an accessory to murder.”
@ Professor Potter, your comment should get an “A*” !!!!!
Don’t go getting your panties in a bunch about this list. I don’t know how it was assembled, but it seems that the number to the right is how many votes the person or persons got. WHO is voting is not indicated. But COME ON! Matt Groening at #4!?
For those of you who don’t know why Osama Bin Laden is on the list (tied with Bill Gates – what a hoot!) I think he falls into the “Evil Genius” category. The whole 9/11 tragedy was evil on a level of thinking out of the box that has rarely been seen. To paraphrase Olivander “Terrible, but Genius!”
I think this list has the same global significance as the “Richest Fictional Characters” list that Forbes does every year. Lucious Malfoy has been on it several times and Santa Claus it at the top every year. (you can’t see my eyes rolling, but they are).
"Have either of you seen my copy of [i]Numerology and Gramatica?"[/i][br]"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but very quietly.
What counts as a living genius in this list? Apparently you just have to have a well known name. The creators should be a little bit embarrassed, i mean 40% of the people on the list are not even alive. 90% of the people on there need to be changed. Don’t get me wrong, JK Rowling is a very intelligent person, but she is not one of the top 100 living geniuses.