₦airaland Forum

Elliotwiz1: we read to understand, but i'm not sure you read that post to understand.... After his death, it was discovered that the size and shape of his brain was different from that of other humans, so i told a story of the size of his head when he was born, i don't know if You're getting my point.

Okay, but still, saying that the size and shape of his brain is different from an average human is wrong. We all have the same number of brain cells, shapes and sizes.
What you are supposed to say is that his intelligent quotient (IQ) is higher compare to an average human.

I don't know if you will get me better now.

Elliotwiz: I just read your essay now. But some sentences caught my attention. I beg to differ these:

You made mention that Geniuses do no need the best tutor to be the best. Pls, pls and pls, this is HIGHLY erroneous.

Secondly, you said we can't attribute the specialty of a genius to hardwork. This is also misleading. Why did you think Thomas Edison said,"Genius is one percent inspiration, 99% perspiration."

And another funny part, you said the size of Albert Einstein's head indicated he was a genius. If this is right, that means everybody with a big head is a genius or what?

Anyway, you're trying to confuse the reader. Job well done!

Samtolly4JESUS: I reallY commend the points on Oma4u, Oluwatola and Aliciakeys...... We can't be more than convinced that Geniuses are ultimately made.....

Thanks.

[quote author=SEYI_KP]When you know your weakness it can't overcome you. i also know that my problem is the placement of tenses, but i still thank myself to have take the bull by the horn, by coming to public forum to express my weakness, if i'm fortunate to be among the winners i will praise God, if i'm not i will still do the same, my greatest joy is to have been bold, not figdety, many are out there that as the same problem, they are not bold enough to come-up with something,is a thing of honour to have been among the participants. i thank you sir for your good observation GOD BLESS YOU.[/quote]Well said, Seyi.

Samtolly4JESUS: Practically, I'll agree with the Spirituality point.

I so much agree with the spirituality point. That's why I refered to Solomon's genius which was deposited into him in the dream. The same goes for Noah. Also Ben Carson, if you read Gifted Hands, it was obvious God was involved in his success. When he was torn between going to military school or medical school.

In fact, as I wrote in the essay God is the one who uses the hands or minds of people who are ready to work hard in shaping the world.

Tgirl4real: Lol @ OAM4U, datz d spirit. I will put all ur stress into consideration.

Alright thanks.
*smiling*

[quote author=T.ice]wow....really 4ny a mission b4 d success...anyways u're really detremined sha #love dat[/quote]Thanks.
I believe that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. And also whatever you find your hands doing, do it with your might. You never can tell.

Although I against the motion that genius are born, not made, but in actual fact, I want everyone to know that men are made and men are born. Anyone can be a genius either by making or by birth. The parental influence is environment. Shikena!

I thank God I made it. I almost fell down running to cafe against the time frame. My laptop keypad is malfunctioning, so I had to type with phone note pad and sent it to PC. I was about proof reading it when that fvcking phcn or nepa took d light, before I finished editing, the battery was down. And you know, editing is even more stressful than writing itself. And unfortunately again, as I got to the nearest cafe. I no know were dat guy go, na so i meet d place locked, and it was about 15 mins to go. Shap! Shap! I took bike to another place, then pick race enter d cafe. I even forgot to give the biker money. Na God say mak d guy no dash me slap. As i entered d cafe I no even proof read again. I jst copied and pasted it.

I never believed I could take this serious like this. Anyways, I'm happy to be part of this.

Thanks to fynestboy.

Abeg fynestboy, come here chap! Chap! Wetin hapen? I'm unable to post on the debate thread. Abeg do somtin na!

Please I have finished writing the essay, but there's no light. Phone is off and so laptop. In case I couldn't meet up by 5, you will kindly give me some more time till I submit.

Thanks.

[quote author=Fynestboi][/quote]Where is my name?

Ayaf reserve ooo. What will happen to my number?

Contestant No. 8
Geniuses re born, not made
(Against)

May I crave your indulgence to permit me to say a big thank you to the organizers, the impeccable judges, CEO of Nairaland - Seun Osewa, and almighty God, for this opportunity to air my notion contrary against the popular saying that, “Geniuses are born, not made." I will begin by explaining what or who a genius is, starting from the ancient ones and narrowing it down to the modern geniuses. The etymology of genius dates back to the Roman times and is used to represent a tutelary spirit of a person, place or institution. It had quite a different meaning from the Latin word "ingenium" meaning both natural disposition and innate ability, which genius was coined from. Oxford English Dictionary defined genius as an exceptional natural ability. Another definition of Cambridge dictionary goes thus, “Genius is a very great and rare natural ability or skill." "A genius is someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight." As defined by Wikipedia. A German philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche described a genius," someone who has completely lost his way in the forest, but strive with uncommon energy to get out of it in whatever direction; sometimes discover a new unknown way."
Throughout the history of mankind, there have been individuals whose minds and hands have shaped the world. They are called geniuses. Yet who are these creative luminaries? Where do they come from? Were they born? Lack of answers to these puzzles leave most people spellbound, and hence concluded they were born. We all, whether white, black, yellow, coloured, educated, illiterate, bond or free, have equal opportunities to either succeed or fail in life. Everyone born into this world has the same starting point. I am optimistic that in the long run as you follow me through, I should be able to make you agree with my point of view that geniuses were never born, rather they were made.


In the first place, what is the source or the spirit behind these geniuses? The genius of all geniuses, the ultimate source, soul and spirit of all geniuses is almighty God. He laid the earth's foundation; He marked of its dimension, set its doors and bars in place. Or who knows where the light and darkness reside? It was Him who set the path of dispersion for lightning. He cuts the channel for the torrents of rains. Is there any earthly genius who has achieved these feats? But the journey to the existence of geniuses on earth began with Adam's intelligence that enabled him name all the animals God created. The traits of his genius was passed onto us all, and left no one in exemption. The pyramid of Egypt for Pharaoh's tomb that led to the study of geometry as pyramid was the first solid shape in geometry, or was Noah born a genius when he built an ark that led to the study of architecture and structural engineering? No! He was made a genius by God's instructions when he said, "This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top, put door in the sides of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks." Another is when God asked Moses to build the tabernacle; He specifically requested that the work should be done by experts. "And the Lord said to Moses, see I have called by name Bezalel....... And I have filled him with the Spirit if God, in wisdom and ability, in understanding, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship." It was also confirmed when the unapproved Tower of Babel was being built," The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building, he said, 'if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."
I will love us to read again the last sentence," Nothing shall be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. What is the source of imagination? It's the mind! Does everyone have one? If it is yes, then everyone is born a genius, and hence whatever anyone has imagined to do, it shall not be restrained from him or her.
The first outstanding poet, king of ancient Israel, Solomon, who not only appeared as the wisest of sages, but also as one gifted with the power to control the sports of the invisible world. He is frequently noted in history and literature as the builder of the Temple and the writer of Biblical poetry. He kept the United Kingdom largely intact, strengthened its fortifications, and made alliances with Tyre and several other nations surrounding Israel. The fact that he was a genius could not be denied by anyone. Was he born a genius? The answer is pellucid to us all. He was made a genius when the spirit of God breathed wisdom into him in the dream and he worked hard to nurture this. He stated in his book of Ecclesiastes, "I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven."


In fact, I would like to state categorically at this juncture a lot reasons that necessitated my joining this race. However, before I embark, whether you are a Christian, Muslim, or whatever, God has deposited into you the potentials to nurture in step to becoming a genius. A careful look at some of the qualities of known geniuses of all age reveals that it is possible for anyone to be a genius. Albert Einstein corroborated this when he said, “there is a genius in all of us." It has been seen that a high IQ does not, in anyway, prove that one must become an accomplished genius. Marylyn Vos Savant holds the record of the highest IQ score with 228, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. But she does not have to her credit any great accomplishment that one may use such a score to predict. The superiority of environmental influence to intelligent quotients cannot be underrated. Indications go as follow:
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 - 1519), Florentine artist, one of the great masters of the High Renaissance, celebrated as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His environment influenced his profound love of knowledge and research. Leonardo was born in the small town of Vinci, in Tuscany near Florence. He was the son of a wealthy Florentine, where Leonardo was given the best education that Florence, major intellectual and artistic centre of Italy, could offer. He rapidly advanced socially and intellectually. About 1466 he was apprenticed as a studio boy to Andrea Del Verrocchio, the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his day, where he was introduced to many activities, from the painting of altar pices and panel pictures to the creation of large sculptural projects in marble bronze. In 1478 He became an independent master. He executed large paints such as The Adoration of the Magi, Baptism of Christ, The Virgin of the rocks, the Last Supper, etc.
Petrarch (1304 - 1374), Italian Poet and humanist, who is considered the first modern poet. His perfection of the sonnet form later influenced the Great Playwright, Dramatist, and Poet William Shakespeare, who wrote 154 Sonnets, 38 Plays. No wonder Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen any farther, it is by standing on the shoulder of the giants who have gone before me."

Napoleon Hill also said that," a better definition of a genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to the point where he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought." Another constraint that makes us think Geniuses are born lies in our inability to freely communicate with sources of knowledge in our environment.
Another typical example that shows the influence of the environment over its inhabitants is this; there was one day I was passing by in a street in Lagos. I saw this young boy about five years old. He was shouting in a thick voice, in a Yoruba dialect, “I am Sunday Dagboru! I am Sunday Dagboru!! I can hit anybody with my left hand!!" He was kicking the vacancy with his left hand, and bending his body lower to that side. I was so astonished, seeing about a five-year-old boy acting like a tout. Then, I moved closer to a guy who seemed to be living in that house and asked why the boy was behaving that way, he said he has been watching one Yoruba film, “Sunday Dagboru" where the main actor acted the same as the boy was doing. Then I realized if this young boy could be doing this way, what if he was exposed to something better than can advance humanity, he would also emulate and from there achieve an unimaginable feat. I could see the effect of the environment on him and I wish such a sharp minded boy could be in a better place.


In the same vein, what makes genius special is their long-term commitment. They struggle very hard and they keep on persisting. Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I am so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."
Alexander Animalu, a professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is another genius that can be neglected. The only African Scientist to be nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of superconductivity and Isosuperconductivity; a pioneer of a solar energy In Nigeria. This genius whose theory of high-temperature superconductivity based on the novelty of the pairing mechanism for electrons was taught by Professor Chike Obi, a genius himself who was the first to hold PhD in Mathematics, and also solved 128-year old puzzle.
Nikola Tesla was a renowned Physicist, inventor, and engineer. He has made phenomenal contributions to science and has been classified as the "world's greatest electrical engineer." Nikola engaged in studying many works, memorizing complete books, and supposedly had a photographic memory.

Mark Zuckerberg truly believed in what he was doing, it takes a lot of dedication to become a genius, and not just during working hours. While his friends were out partying, he would stay in his dorm room and work on coding his website until early morning. Not too many would dare to believe that a project they had started in their college dorm room would end up becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Mark Zuckerberg quoted, “I just think people have a lot of fiction. But you know, I mean, the real story of Facebook is just that we have worked so hard for all this time. We just sat at our computers for six years and coded."
Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867), British Physicist and Chemist, best known for his discoveries of electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis. He received little formal education. While apprenticed to a bookbinder in London, he read books on scientific subjects and experimented electricity. In 1812 he attended a series of lecturer given by the British Chemist, Sir Humphrey Davy and forwarded the notes he took at these lectures to Davy, together with a request for employment. Davy employed Faraday as an assistant in his chemical laboratory at the Royal Institution. The research that established Faraday as the foremost experimental scientist of his day was, however in the fields of electricity and magnetism.
Many of our greatest artists and scientist demonstrated brilliance only after horning their craft through thousands of hours of practice and study. John Maxwell said, "Books can take a person all over the world; a library card will take you farther than a driver's license."


Geniuses are the result of both good genes and good surroundings. Simonton defined in Time Magazine, “Geniuses are those who have the intelligence, enthusiasm, and endurance to acquire the needed expertise in a broadly valued domain of achievement.”
Orville and Wilbur Wright. These two brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After many years of hard work and numerous attempts at creating flying machines, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there, after some scientists have said nothing can stay in the air.
Michael Jordan, most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as a basketball genius was actually cut from his high school basket team. If he was born a basketball genius, he wouldn't have been cut off. Jordan didn't let this setback stop him, he moved forward till he came to limelight.
The Nigerian genius, Wole Soyinka, Nigerian Playwright, poet, novelist, and lecturer, who became the first African writer and the black writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature 1986 is a product of environment. His father’s position enabled him to get electricity and radio at home, while many of his peers never had such. His mother was one of the prominent members of the influential Ransome-Kuti family; his cousins were the musician Fela Kuti, the human rights activist Beko Ransome-Kuti, Politician Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and activist Yemisi Ransome-Kuti. His father was the headmaster of the primary he attended while his uncle, whom he learnt big grammars from, was the principal of the high school he attended. He had had enough books to read in the shelf while he was still at a very tender age. This is another fact that shows how he was influenced by his environment.
The world renowned Neurosurgeon, Professor Ben Carson, who discovered how to implant brain tumor which led him to the successful operations of the Siamese twins narrated how he became a genius overnight. He described his mother, the motive behind his genius, as a person who would not allow the system to dictate her life, when his mother said, "From now on, you boys can watch no more than three programs a week and you boys are going to go to the library and check out books. You're going to read at least two books every week. At the end of each week you'll give me a report on what you've read. He also quoted, “I am a good neurosurgeon. That's not a boast, but a way of acknowledging the innate ability God has given to me. Beginning with determination and using my gifted hands. I went for training and sharpening my skills.” With his mother’s help and hardworking, Ben and his brother who used to have the lowest grade in class moved on to become A world renowned Neurosurgeon and an engineer respectively.

Thomas Edison said it all, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." He realized this when he failed 999 times when he was creating the light bulb, and eventually succeeded in the 1000 times.


In my conclusion, this saying "Geniuses are born, not made." that has made many limit themselves and have so far believed they were not born geniuses, and they can never be one. But in other to be the genius you were created to be, I implore everyone accept my notion and change the popular saying to "Genius are made, not born." this encourage saying would drive a great number of parents to explore their children's potential by all educational and vocational means. And also drive a number of students to look deep within them, and nurture the nature, and eventually bring out the genius in them.

Thanks
Oma.

Bibliography
The Wise Genius by Davies M. Echegwisi
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
Ake: The Years of childhood
Book of all ages.

It's only contestant 1 that has reserved a space. So what about others?

Fynestboi: Any question??

Yes, there is. You know this is argumentative essay and it's more or less like a debate. Are we allowed to include, Panel of Judges, Co-debaters, Audience....etc. Also, are we writing based on pros and cons, or solely on our stand?

Thanks.

Fynestboy: After the best 4s are chosen, Is there going to be second round? If there'd be, what's the interval to the first. And is there going to be another topic?
And also, will the two best from each topic pick with each other?

Thanks....

[quote author=E<R>F]I'm sorry man... That's eh, that day eh, something wonderful happened that affected my life till this present day. Infact i'm just recovering. . .


I'm forgiven ba?[/quote]Something wonderful? You're just recovering? Anyway, I'm happy for you.

Sure, you're forgiven!

quivah: ermmm
Mazi Ome,you be grand pa for here..
Leave the debate for we young bloods.
Please Do us a favour by joining the cheering team thank you and God bless sir!

Na true joor.... Mazi na boss nah! Se u won kon score 99 for here ni.... Anyways no probs, I go tackle my oga this tym around

[quote author=E<R>F]Drink catch me so tey I no see this thread... Thanks Man, though I saw it late...


God Bless...[/quote]Since..... Na nau you just dey c am...

Anyways, you're welcome.

Fynestboi: Illuminatus, infoscope, quivah, OAMU, don salvy re confirm your interest.

This way.

Name.
Topic.
for/against

Fynestboy, take note. It's OMA4U, not OAMU.

Fynestboi: YES

If so, I'm in. I want to oppose this: Geniuses are born, not made.

You said the best four would make it to the final, how?

If I may ask, can I oppose this: Genius are born, not made?
What's the word length?

Fynestboy, why don't you introduce other Mods, so as to find the coordinating easier.

As per the topics, I go with:
8 and 10

I wish every effort to make this happen wouldn't be futile.