[SIGCIS-Members] Debunking the myth of individual genius

[Barbara B Walker]

Hi, everybody,

Hope everyone is safe and well.

Here is an article on the importance of looking beyond the mythologies and cults of genius in the history of science and tech.

https://undark.org/2020/10/22/the-fiction-of-individual-genius/

However, I would argue that in computer history as everywhere else in the history of science and tech, debunking is not enough – we must understand the reasons, cultures and process of cult-formation and myth-making that plays such an influential role in our understanding of the past. That’s something I’m exploring in an article on John von Neumann that I recently submitted for publication review (“Creation Myths”). Am also looking at the formation of political personality cults in a seminar I am teaching this semester.

Barbara Walker


Barbara Walker
Associate Professor
Department of History/308
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno NV 89557

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