It was intended to apply to oneself, but seems just as true when appreciating the genius of others. No need to diminish von Neumann, etc., AND doing so just diminishes your own credibility.
I for one would ask him what we could do to make it easier for him to listen to the voice of god(s) rather than say "well akshually..."
I'm not sure there's much you can do to help someone at this level, other than perhaps take away outside distractions.
It's not remotely clear how Ramanujan's mind worked, or whether he really knew himself. He seems to have been a lot more highly functioning than an idiot savant, but still operating at a level that is hard to comprehend. Was this an expression of humility or devotion by Ramanujan, or was he just expressing his own lack of understanding of how his mind worked?
The other version in the West is he moves to rural Montana and sends bombs through the mail.
There might be a middle ground between the two?
I think that if you tried you could imagine a world where Ramanujans are both supported and respected with nice lives, while also contributing to the future of the species rather than helping dig our own grave.
> The other version in the West is he moves to rural Montana and sends bombs through the mail.
Why in the world would those be the only two options?? What a profoundly strange thing to say.
That brilliant geniuses have chosen corporate America and to not go into academia is yours and mine and the world's loss, but a defining feature of the Western world is that they get to make that choice for themselves.
