Genius

Loosely used, the term refers to the highest level of intellectual or creative functioning or to a person possessing such capabilities. Although there have been several efforts at giving an explicit definition (e.g., at one  time an IQ of 140 or over was used), such attempts provide only illusory objectivity. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there does not appear to be a clear set of attributes that defines genius; all behaviors, including the intellectual and creative, are subject to a variety of "noncognitive" factors, such as motivation, temperament, emotion, and the demand characteristics of the environment, and people who display "genius" in one setting do not necessarily display it in others. Furthermore, the common language has played such havoc with the term that its usefulness is now suspect even in the most technical context.