Finding a new way to see a matter — a vision which opens up new possibilities of thought and action, and in fact a new orientation to things — then allowing one’s ideas to grow out of these new possibilities — that is how genius invents. Genius sees a different problem, then resolves it in an unexpected way.
Seeing things just like everyone else already sees them and using one’s wits to scavenge for overlooked facts or recombinations — that is how ingenuity innovates. Ingenuity sees the same problem as everyone else and finds new ways to resolve it.
There are definitely degrees of genius and ingenuity. A person can have a very minor genius and learn to see some small thing in a new, slightly more productive way. A person can have a great deal of ingenuity and make enormous strides forward in some field without making the slightest change to how anyone understands anything. The difference is a qualitative one. The word “genius” should be connotatively deflated a little, and denotatively sharpened up a lot, so it can be discussed rationally.
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