The Genius in All of Us: New Insights Into Genetics, Talent, and IQ (50 page)

Gneezy, Uri, Kenneth L. Leonard, and John A. List. “Gender Differences in Competition: The Role of Socialization.” UCSB Seminar Paper. Published on the University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Economics Web site. June 19, 2006.

Goffen, Rona.
Renaissance Rivals: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian
. Yale University Press, 2004.

Mighton, John.
The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child
. Walker, 2004.

Tauer, John M., and Judith M. Harackiewicz. “Winning isn’t everything: competition, achievement orientation, and intrinsic motivation.”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
35 (1999): 209–38.

CHAPTER NOTES

    
da Vinci sported a public “disdain” for his younger peer Michelangelo Buonarroti—a hostility so strong that the great Michelangelo eventually felt compelled to leave Florence so that he and Leonardo wouldn’t have to share the same town
.

According to Giorgio Vasari:

There was very great disdain between Michelangelo Buonarroti and him, on account of which Michelangelo departed from Florence, with the excuse of Duke Giuliano, having been summoned by the Pope to the competition for the façade of S. Lorenzo. Leonardo, understanding this, departed and went into France, where the King, having had works by his hand, bore him great affection; and he desired that he should color the cartoon of S. Anne, but Leonardo, according to his custom, put him off for a long time with words.

Finally, having grown old, he remained ill many months, and, feeling himself near to death, asked to have himself diligently informed of the teaching
of the Catholic faith, and of the good way and holy Christian religion; and then, with many moans, he confessed and was penitent; and although he could not raise himself well on his feet, supporting himself on the arms of his friends and servants, he was pleased to take devoutly the most holy Sacrament, out of his bed. The King, who was wont often and lovingly to visit him, then came into the room; wherefore he, out of reverence, having raised himself to sit upon the bed, giving him an account of his sickness and the circumstances of it, showed withal how much he had offended God and mankind in not having worked at his art as he should have done. Thereupon he was seized by a paroxysm, the messenger of death; for which reason the King having risen and having taken his head, in order to assist him and show him favor, to the end that he might alleviate his pain, his spirit, which was divine, knowing that it could not have any greater honor, expired in the arms of the King, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. (Vasari, “Life of Leonardo da Vinci,”. pp. 104–5)

    
Da Vinci also pointedly criticized the art of sculpture—Michelangelo’s forte—as a messy, easier, and obviously inferior craft that requires “greater physical effort [while] the painter conducts his works with greater mental effort
.
”

All of this is from Leonardo’s own
Paragone
(A comparison of the Arts)
. (Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, p. 65.)

For specifics about “messy” and “easier,” see “Paragone: painting or sculpture?” on the Universal Leonardo Web site.

    
Walking with a friend near S
.
Trinità: Symonds,
The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti
, p. 173.

    
“Every natural gift must develop itself by contests,” wrote Nietzsche
.

More: “Without envy, jealousy, and competing ambition the Hellenic State like the Hellenic man degenerates. He becomes bad and cruel, thirsting for revenge, and godless; in short, he becomes ‘pre-Homeric.’” (Nietzsche, “Homer’s Contest.”)

    
the Islamic Renaissance radiating from Baghdad
:
Shenk,
The Immortal Game
, pp. 29–38.

    
In the twenty-first century, the United States is home to eleven of the fifteen top-rated universities in the world
:
US News & World Report
, “World’s Best Colleges and Universities.”

    
New Haven pizza
.

Principally Sally’s and Pepe’s—a great Wooster Street rivalry going back to 1938. Map at
http://bit.ly/iepEc
.

    
In his study of the ancient Greeks, Nietzsche imagined Plato declaring, “Only the contest made me a poet, a sophist, an orator!
”:
Nietzsche, “Homer’s Contest.”

    
“The ancient Greeks turned competition into an institution on which they based the education of their citizens,” explains Olympic official Cleanthis Palaeologos
:
Palaeologos, “Sport and the Games in Ancient Greek Society.”

Also: “The ancient Greeks in many respects stood as symbols of our commonly shared potential for overcoming artistic, intellectual, and athletic mediocrity,” writes Chicago State University’s Alexander Makedon. (Makedon,
“
In Search of Excellence.”)

  Makedon’s seventeen reasons for Greek success:

Some of the reasons mentioned by those who examined Greek culture, then, include, first,
democracy
, where free speech and public criticism were openly practiced; and a corresponding hatred for tyrannies or one-man-rule of all kinds. Second,
striving for excellence
by the public at large. This happened through the internalization over the centuries of the heroic or “aristocratic” ideal by the masses, in the classical sense of “aristocratic” as the rule of the excellent. Third, a corresponding effort at
moral excellence
, including not only constantly inquiring which life is worth living, but also people practicing what they preached. Fourth,
fighting graft and corruption
at all levels, with a corresponding internalization over the centuries of certain basic civic values. For example, even the slightest infraction by someone entrusted with a public office may lead not only to his dismissal, but also to his exile from the city state. Fifth, trying to
overcome personal weaknesses
, which may be seen as a corollary to their unusually intense attempts to excel. Sixth, behaving with the
highest integrity
even in the absence of immediate supervision. Seventh, subscribing to the “agonistic” or
competitive
spirit
, mostly through playful contests and competitions. Eighth, rewarding individuals on the
basis of merit
, as opposed to wealth, or family or political connections. This led to the birth of the Olympic Games in Greece, which in ancient Greece included not only physical, but also literary, dramatic, and musical contests. Ninth, instituting
education through play
. Tenth, designing a
whole city as the school
, by building it for personal
effort and refinement, than mere protection from the elements. Eleventh, making public facilities
free to the poor
, so everyone could abundantly benefit from opportunities for self-development. Twelfth,
inviting young people to adult events
, where there were ample opportunities for learning through emulation by the young. In such situations, adults usually acted uprightly in their capacity as role models. Thirteenth, exercising
neighborhood supervision
over the young, similar to the supervision exercised in Philippine barangays, except with many more opportunities for the worthy canalization of youthful energy through sports, and artistic and educational contests. Fourteenth, the
institutionalization through art of numerous role models
, including lining streets with statues of heroes. Fifteenth, involving numerous adults in a
city-wide network of mentors
who were not only unpaid, but considered it their honor to pay themselves for the pedagogical expenses of their protégés. Sixteenth, subscribing to an informal educational system of
expert itinerant teachers
, called “sophists,” who provided both an excellent education, and a model of excellence in learning, and were amply rewarded for their professional services. And seventeenth, placing a priority on
public service and philanthropy
, as contrasted to personal accumulation of wealth at the expense of the common good. For example, the wealthy were expected to pay a large part of the cost of large public projects. (Makedon,
“
In Search of Excellence
.”)

    
“Agonism implies a deep respect and concern for the other
”:
Chambers, “Language and Politics: Agonistic Discourse in the
West Wing
.”

    
Dutch historian Johan Huizinga suggests that without the agonistic spirit, human beings would simply be incapable of rising above mediocrity
.

Alexander Makedon writes:

Johan Huizinga formalized the cultural impact of play activities in his book
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture
. The terms “Homo Ludens” in Latin mean “Man the Player.” His choice of words for a title contrasts with the traditional view of modern humans as “homo sapiens,” or man the thinker, perhaps to underline the priority that Huizinga assigned to the play element in the genesis of civilization. According to Huizinga, great “cultural” achievements are based on the agonistic or competitive spirit, without which humans would be at best “mediocre.” As people compete for first place, they simultaneously force themselves to improve their skills, thus in the end reaching a higher plateau of educational achievement. Just as an impending athletic event forces athletes to prepare by intensifying their
training, so are people striving to win [sic] finally achieve excellence. This is even more true when a whole culture adopts the agonistic or “competitive” spirit, instead of merely a few institutions within that culture. (Makedon,
“
In Search of Excellence
”
; Huizinga,
Homo Ludens
.)

    
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Correggio were all open-eyed adversaries
:
Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
.

    
As soon as Florence began to build a new colossal
duomo
:
Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, p. 7.

    
In fact, the Italian Renaissance actually began with a specific contest, according to Rutgers art historian Rona Goffen
.

“The Renaissance was an inherently rivalrous age that began with a competition,” writes Rutgers historian Rona Goffen. “Rivalry was institutionalized.” (Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, p. 4.)

    
The contest winner, Lorenzo Ghiberti
:
Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, pp. 4–7

    
combattitori
.

My favorite word in this book—maybe my favorite word ever.

    
commissioned Leonardo and Michelangelo to work literally side by side
:
Anuar, “Leonardo vs. Michelangelo.”

    
“Artists have always borrowed from each other,” writes Goffen
.
“What is different about the sixteenth century is that the great masters … often knew each other’s major patrons; and they knew each other, sometimes as friends and colleagues, sometimes as enemies—but always as rivals”: Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, p. 26.

Also: “The intentions to surpass one’s rivals, past and present, distinguishes the Renaissance from earlier periods.” (Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, p. 3.)

    
At the time of its inception, though, Michelangelo was convinced that his commission from Pope Julius II
:
Goffen,
Renaissance Rivals
, pp. 215–16.

    
In 2006, economists Uri Gneezy, Kenneth L
.
Leonard, and John A. List compared competitive instincts in two very different societies: Maasai in Tanzania and
Khasi in India. Among the patriarchal Maasai, men choose to compete at twice the rate of women. But among the Khasi, which is rooted in a matrilineal culture where women inherit property and children are named from the mother’s side of the family, women choose to compete much more often than men.

Gneezy, Leonard, and List write:

We observe some interesting data patterns. For example, Maasai men opt to compete at roughly twice the rate as Maasai women, evidence that is consistent with data from Western societies that use different tasks. Yet, this data pattern is reversed amongst the Khasi, where women choose the competitive environment considerably more often than Khasi men. We interpret these results as providing initial insights into the determinants of the observed gender differences. Viewed through the lens of our modeling framework, our results have import within the policy community. For example, policymakers often are searching for efficient means to reduce the gender gap. If the difference in reaction to competition is based primarily on nature, then some might advocate, for example, reducing the competitiveness of the education system and labor markets in order to provide women with more chances to succeed. If the difference is based on nurture, or an interaction between nature and nurture, on the other hand, the public policy might be targeting the socialization and education at early ages as well as later in life to eliminate this asymmetric treatment of men and women with respect to competitiveness. (Gneezy, Leonard, and List, “Gender Differences in Competition: The Role of Socialization.”)

    
If short-term tasks can be made relevant to long-term goals, researchers have found, then even LAMs will dive in and relish the challenge
:
Tauer and Harackiewicz, “Winning isn’t everything,”; Durik and Harackiewicz, “Achievement goals and intrinsic motivation,” pp. 378–85.