On Mania

Johnny Triangles reminds us of the difference between us and them:

DR. NO: “You are right, Mister Bond. That is what I am, a maniac. All the greatest men are maniacs. They are possessed by a mania which drives them forward towards their goal. The great scientists, the philosophers, the religious leaders – all maniacs. What else but a blind singleness of purpose could have given focus to their genius, would have kept them in the groove of their purpose? Mania, my dear Mister Bond, is as priceless as genius. Dissipation of energy, fragmentation of vision, loss of momentum, the lack of follow-through – these are the vices of the herd. I do not possess these vices. I am, as you correctly say, a maniac – a maniac, Mister Bond, with a mania for power. That is the meaning of my life. That is why I am here. That is why you are here. That is why here exists.”

My take on genius is a little bit different, but I like this.

a genius must attain mastery. he perfects and re-perfects. he throws it all away and starts over. he spins off a million tangents and throws them away. a genius plays with large dangerous tools. a genius gambles using tells too subtle for the untrained eye. the genius throws himself in the garbage just to test his own genius. he pushes the limits and pretends to be immortal just to see if he can, and finally he achieves.