Scenius | # 11

It's a word I learned a while ago that more people should know and feel good about.

Scenius, is word. It means ‘communal genius’. It’s a new term that I came across in Austin Kleon’s book “Show your work!”. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction but this one is small, with nice illustrations, and always leaves me feeling motivated. The first time I read it what stuck with me most was this word “scenius”. It’s not technically a real word yet but Urban dictionary defines it as:

“The intelligence of a whole operation or group of people.“

A little context

“Scenius” was coined by the musician Brian Eno to be the opposite of the classical ‘genius’. The idea that you have to be an individual with superhuman abilities to do something remarkable. There are plenty of examples of these kinds of geniuses throughout history; Albert Einstein, William Shakespere, Mozart, Picasso, Tesla, Newton, Musk, etc. They are real, and they exist.

But the truth is these people, while incredibly skilled or intelligent, had a whole cast of characters supporting them, reviewing their work, contributing ideas, and so on. History tells of lone geniuses because they wrote the play, they derived the equation, they finished the painting. They owned the final result. And rightly so, it was their genius.

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

Scenius in action

The idea of Scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of remarkable people, just acknowledges that good, creative work, isn’t created alone. That creativity is always a result of some kind of collaboration, of minds influencing other minds.

Even someone in the famously lonely creative professions of being a writer can, and should, be a scenius. Find me one successful writer who doesn’t talk about reading other writers, taking inspiration, borrowing or stealing ideas, structure, and prose. And even then the process of beta reading and getting feedback and getting people to help is critical. Look at the acknowledgements section of your favorite book and tell me it didn’t take an army.

The key thing about this idea is that it makes room in the ‘realm of the remarkable’ for the rest of us. For the people who don’t consider ourselves geniuses. Being a part of a scenius, like being a part of a community, isn’t about how smart you are or how skilled, or how talented. It’s about what you specifically can contribute, the ideas you share, the conversations you have, and the work you can do. It’s a way of looking at the exceptional and understanding that the iceberg is not just the tip.

Photo by Andrew Moca on Unsplash

Conclusion

If this idea was more widely understood and maybe even taught in schools, we could adjust expectations, change how people value themselves and other people. Not by measuring themselves or striving toward lone, arrogant genius, but by contributing to a larger goal.

“We can stop asking what others can do for us and start asking what we can do for others” - Austin Kleon

In this way you don’t have to be rich, or famous, or pigeon holed into something you don’t want to do, you can contribute what you’re interested in, what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about. It’s just a matter of finding your community. Of finding your scenius.

Thanks for reading. The best way to support this newsletter is to sign up if you haven’t already, share it around, and get your friends to sign up too. That’s what this lovely purple button is for …