3 Myths of Genius Debunked | Tim Sanders | Big Think
3 Myths of Genius Debunked
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There are three specific myths that surround our most beloved creators, and if you model yourself on those myths, you’re setting yourself up for failure. The myths are (1) the lone wolf inventor; (2) the eureka moment; (3) the myth of the expert. From new theories of physics and revolutionary patents to Toy Story and the iPhone, creators depend on their ability marshal the talent of large teams of people. Yet despite the readily available evidence that we tend to romanticize innovation, myths persist because we love telling stories in narrative form.
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TIM SANDERS:
Tim Sanders spent most of his early career on the cutting edge of innovation and change. He was on the ground floor of the quality movement, the launch of cellular phones and most notably the world wide web.
He was an early stage member of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner’s broadcast.com, which had the largest opening day IPO in history. After Yahoo acquired the company, Tim was tapped to lead their ValueLab, which enabled sales teams to close hundreds of millions of dollars of new business.
By 2001, he rose to the position of Chief Solutions Officer and later, the company’s Leadership Coach. In 2005, he founded Deeper Media, which conducts research and provides consulting and training services for leading brands, trade associations and government agencies. Today, he is one of the top rated speakers on the lecture circuit. His focus is on sales strategy, leadership, collaboration and innovation.
Tim is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends. It’s been translated into over a dozen languages and has been featured in Fast Company, USA Today, the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and on CNN. His other books include Today We Are Rich, The Likeability Factor, Saving the World at Work and his most recent book on sales collaboration, Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Tim Sanders: There are myths of creativity and these myths are usually propagated by people that have romantic notions about heroes, romantic notions about eureka moments. And these myths of creativity keep people from collaborating and it causes them to be a lone wolf. And the research says it causes them to fail. So let me talk a little bit about those myths of creativity. In the world of sales and marketing, I battle against three myths. Myth number one — the lone inventor. This is very dangerous because there is no such thing as a lone inventor. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot of historical research that has debunked [Albert] Einstein specifically in terms of inventions. Henry Ford. Not a lone inventor. A classic example — Thomas Edison. In the invention community, Thomas Edison is a brand. It stands for 14 people. Yes there was a figurehead named Thomas Edison. His name is on 10,000 patents. He did not invent a single thing. He marshaled people together and knew how to spot innovations and put people together like a creative soup, if you will. Here’s a classic example. Steve Jobs. You ask the average person, say a millennial who uses a lot of Apple technology, who’s one of the greatest inventors of our time? They’ll say Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs once said I never created anything. All I did was notice patterns and put people together to finish projects. So think about it. If he doesn’t have [Steve] Wozniak, there is no original Apple, right. If he doesn’t have [Jony] Ive, there is no iPod. If he doesn’t have Tony Fadell, there is no iPhone and the list goes on and on. Got a good friend of mine, David Burkus, who wrote a really wonderful book about the myths of genius. And he was telling me that it’s a romantic notion. And I remember when I first read this research years ago, “No Lone Inventor,” it did kind of hurt my feelings.
I’m a musician in my past. I thought I wrote a lot of songs, but according to the research I never wrote a song. I always…
Read the full transcript https://bigthink.com/videos/tim-sanders-on-creative-myths-and-collaboration
@bigthink
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
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@sateIIitepilot
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
If you read history, you begin to realize that most great achievements or inventions were group efforts or there was some race to get to that goal first, these inventions or achievements are built on or borrowed from previous knowledge from those that came before and the most effective teams with the most resources were usually the ones that did it first/ most successfully.
@anmolagrawal5358
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
I think Myth-2 needs some serious modifications – that things do build up to a eureka moment.
I call these "intersections". But to arrive at such a point, yes, many things have to be solved first.
That isn't to say the final frontier is on level with other minor stuff along the way. More like an ultimate viewpoint now that you're at the summit.
It is special indeed and it is these intersections that propel things forward.
Same with the lone genius idea. There are, in fact, few individuals who contribute a good majority, but of course not ALL would be a result of their work.
@henryzhao4622
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Seems like this page is a lot of smart people who aren’t geniuses trying to make themselves feel better. So many videos bashing individual geniuses about their close mindedness or being overrated.
@deividasg1140
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
all humanity is a team work
@jakejake7289
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
There are exceptions: Newton, DaVinci, Tesla…
@blainedecker
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
This video is great, the guy is a genius!
@SandmanZimm
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
The comment section is a bunch of people who think they are geniuses
@gustavostabe2490
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
This feels like it should be common sense but sadly happens to often. What's so hard to understand about taken in all ideas and then using logic and education to shift through and distinguish the good ideas from the bad. Any time I've been in a position of leadership, I've always asked for everyone's opinion on the task at hand. Figured I'd give everyone a chance to speak, find an idea that I hadn't thought of, and learn something new that maybe we can use later
@redrose2488
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Experts say that people started to live better, people don't agree , but they are not experts.
@sleeping4cat
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Umm! Why's he always saying "research" "research", just tell the paper that said lone wolf genius doesn't exist.
For his knowledge, there are several Scientists throughout history who invented alone and those inventions changed the world.
Only in the 21st Century you see there are more there are more collaborations being done in research section otherwise before that most papers were written by a lone author.
I have to admit the guy is trying to sell this point pretty hard with concrete evidence to back it up. In the entire video who only beat around bush rather than giving facts
@canadiancontent352
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
I had a eureka moment in my understanding when he told his genius analogy about the fish
@LifeTheUniverseAndEverythin-42
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Einstein actually shook the very foundations of physics, completely (I mean it) alone, with out any person or institution backing him, and if that wasn't astonishing enough did it in his spare time from his job as a patient office clerk. His 5 1905 papers changed the world. His paper on special relativity contained almost no experiment's that influenced it beforehand. He arrived at it completely in his mind, in his daydreams while sitting at the office. He was an unparalleled genius, even declined not only as a professor but also as a highschool teacher before the world discovered him. History has many examples like Newton, Faraday, Cavendish, Tesla… and much more.
So yeah there are geniuses who single handedly change the world and do so even in the most dire of situations . Einstein is the greatest example perhaps.
@yj9032
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Yeah, but 'putting people together' is also a genius act. Not everyone who 'puts people togather' is able to spot brilliance.
@kyootzee
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
My former coworkers referred to my former boss as a genius and since I left them, I’ve associated that word with narcissism. Blindly submitting to the cult of genius, makes you just another flying monkey.
@anorakpark
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
This fish water analogy is getting out of hand.
@Trisome21
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
What about Tesla? He was a lone wolf genius
@Thanos-hp1mw
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Anyone who studied science even at high school AP level already know this. It's the media and non-science people who hype up the genius out of the roof. No doubt these people were geniuses but they stood on the shoulders of Titans who came before then.
@harris977
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Yup it was the sales guy who let me go, and he ended up divorcing and putting the company to the ruins.
@francisdelacruz6439
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Only with Einstein there was no one to copy relativity from. He wrote the paper before he was noticed or famous. Like song writing sometimes great inspiration just comes to you there is no committee. You want collaboration that is the Apple of today without any new big product since Jobs
@kickinghorse2405
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
"You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader."
“This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.
*The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!
Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
–Hopi Elders' Prophecy, June 8, 2000
@monuray2446
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Expert have knowledge but they don't no how to use in a creative way that's the difference between Steve and Wozniack
@quantgeekery6358
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Tesla. Faraday & Archimedes were the three that popped into head.
Debunking Einstein as an inventor, specifically, makes no sense: He was a mathematical physicist.
@Michael_Binkley
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
I hate it when mensa level minds try to understand true genius.
@th3giv3r
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
So depressing to start watching an initially interesting video for it to devolve into "here's how to sell more"
@bubblybull
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Love this, but what about writers then?
@kingguy5897
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Tesla?
@RahulPatel-wn8gv
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Is that why the corporate world honcho are dead against allowing their **hierarchyl slaves – incl the abnormally highly paid supposed top mgt ones, from home? Short circuiting the grave n certain riks of they hvng ample time to discern notice analyse patterns n devote the spare time earned – by quickly finishing the assignments in superfast tat – not distracted by the Lolitaz n Monikas in the office planted by the CMD n his bootlickers to honey trap at worst n distract at best each n every hierarchical slave?
@kimberknutson831
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Brilliant like everything that you all produce. Thank you. : )
@augustoagnelli2523
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
No one does a thing alone
@bora3.14
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Tesla was genius 👌. Rest others sucked each others balls and created something out of it
@mcorleone77
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
I was taught since i was a kid that Edison invented everything he patented and he only slept for 3 hours a day.
@BoydGilbreath
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Oligarchs just want to be seen as great men. They are not.
@dmystfy
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Pattern recognition. Ideas can come from anywhere.
@mau345
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
There are lone geniuses and extroverted geniuses, however, i think all of them require deep insight that requires tremendous self reflection and thirst for deviancy — and thus the “loner” persona is born. Why does it have to be “debunked”
@KaiseruSoze
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
This is so dependent on the collaboration team. Is Tim Sanders an expert on collaborators? I don't disagree, but there is a bigger picture he doesn't address.
@erfho8y
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
What about Nikola Tesla?
@org-corp
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Best channel on YouTube hands down 👏👏👏👏
@qake2021
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
👍👍👍👌😁✌
@_romeopeter
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Some “Geniuses” noticed patterns that were missing then hired and collaborated with people that were professionals in different field to create a solution for a certain problem. For that they should appreciate, not Idolized.
Certain rare people (I don’t think I am one of them) were/are born with gifts and talent (Newton, Einstein, Tesla, etc), but besides them, no one person knows it all. I’m sure even them had had to reference the work of others (who may not have been gifted or talented).
Being a lone wolf is awesome, I like it, but top that with asking questions and collaborating with other, and you’ll be on a whole new level of awesomeness.
Generally, I think our understand of what it means to be a genius or an expert is flawed. Society make it look like things are suppose come off the top of your head at the snap of finger and if you aren’t built like that then you don’t have it in you. Claiming expertise will close you up, and stop you from seeing new things. Never claim it, even if people say you are. Focus more on your system and process of doing things, rather than trying to be a genius. Tweak and reengineer your process till something works out for you. This will ultimately lead to growth mindset.
I should stop here, I’m still learning how to articulate what I think and feel. This was a great video, don’t fight it.
@garyglonek5496
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
turned it off the moment he said Thomas Edison never invented a single thing.
@erikpeterson25
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
nice try 😊
@escobarlisle6007
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Henry Ford didn't invented the automobile he was the first to mass produce them also one of the greatest inventors of all time was nikola tesla who was 100% a loner, this video is just wrong, just another example of someone else telling others how they are, this man is not even an inventor and I doubt he even knows any,
@InPursuitOfCuriosity
October 12, 2025 at 9:57 pm
The point he was probably trying to make was that true success is accomplished through multiple minds – it's very rare for somebody to achieve true success without support from at least one other person along the way. However, I disagree that he "debunked" those 3 symbols of genius convincingly. He seems bitter about individual success being acknowledged – perhaps he contributed to some project and didn't receive the recognition he would have liked and has been resentful ever since.
Comments are closed.