The Hidden Habits of Genius

“An unusually engaging book on the forces that fuel
originality across fields.” —Adam Grant
Looking at the 14 key traits of genius, from curiosity to
creative maladjustment to obsession, Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale
University's popular “Genius Course,” explores what we can learn from brilliant
minds that have changed the world.
Einstein. Beethoven. Picasso. Jobs. The word genius evokes
these iconic figures, whose cultural contributions have irreversibly shaped
society.
Yet Beethoven could not multiply. Picasso couldn’t pass a
4th grade math test. And Jobs left high school with a 2.65 GPA. What does this
say about our metrics for measuring success and achievement today? Why do we
teach children to behave and play by the rules, when the transformative
geniuses of Western culture have done just the opposite? And what is genius,
really?
Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale University’s popular
“Genius Course,” has devoted more than two decades to exploring these questions
and probing the nature of this term, which is deeply embedded in our culture.
In The Hidden Habits of Genius, he reveals what we can learn from the
lives of those we have dubbed “geniuses,” past and present.
Examining the lives of transformative individuals ranging
from Charles Darwin and Marie Curie to Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol to
Toni Morrison and Elon Musk, Wright identifies more than a dozen drivers of
genius—characteristics and patterns of behavior common to great minds
throughout history. He argues that genius is about more than intellect and work
ethic—it is far more complex—and that the famed “eureka” moment is a Hollywood
fiction. Brilliant insights that change the world are never sudden, but rather,
they are the result of unique modes of thinking and lengthy gestation. Most
importantly, the habits of mind that produce great thinking and discovery can
be actively learned and cultivated, and Wright shows us how.
This book won’t make you a genius. But embracing the hidden
habits of these transformative individuals will make you more strategic,
creative, and successful, and, ultimately, happier.

Craig Wright is the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor Emeritus of Music at Yale University, where he teaches the popular undergraduate course, “Exploring the Nature of Genius.” A Guggenheim Fellow, Wright has received an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from the University of Chicago, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded the Sewall Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Yale (2016) as well as the DeVane Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship (2018).  He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Ph.D. from Harvard.