Essay comment: Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.

Hi,
This is a general paper essay which I've written for my fav teacher. Hope I can get more comments! The critical the better. Thank you so much!

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Adversity reveals genius, Prosperity conceals it. What are your views?

Genius is usually known as a person who possesses rare, extraordinary and inspiring capabilities in many areas and various fields. However, in the modern world of today, we redefine genius in a new, different way, giving it a complete makeover. Genius should have a talent, a talent for generating novel and positive solutions to problems, whether self-inflicted or not; Genius should have the ability to inspire, to motivate others with their works, despite the challenges; Genius should have the strength, the perseverance to overcome adversities that come in their ways. Those who have them, with help or without, should be named as geniuses of today.


When presented with a challenge, our first human instinct would be to come up with a solution to solve this problem. Hence, it can be seen that adversity can provide a situation, revealing genius. In our complex world, the conflicts across countries and borders reveal dedicated leaders, who stood up for their countries, to maintain peace and harmony. Shouldn't great leaders like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Kofi Annan and Wangari Maathai be known as geniuses? In scientific areas, without the problems, the adversities, it would not be possible for the scientists, in spite of many challenges, to come up with solutions. Marie Curie, despite the stereotyping of being a woman, had created the theory of radioactivity to aid in the scientific developments, and Gabriel Lippmann after many failing attempts, eventually created the first ever coloured photograph, useful in many applications.

Credited to adversity, the geniuses' inventions have also been proven to be helpful in many aspects, some can be what we will be depending on in the future, and others can save lives. It is due to global warming that we have alternative sources of energy like solar energy, global water crisis that we have atmospheric water generator, a water source for countries which experience frequent and severe drought, and air pollution that we have catalytic converter to remove harmful pollutant from ambient air.

Genius is also illustrated through actions, actions that can help people and inspire them. They have the strength and the will to overcome all sort of difficulties which hinder their path. Nick Vujicic is an example of a man whom we call genius; he is a professional motivator who aims to provide guidance, and a man without arms and legs. It is because of his physical disability which compels him to become what he is today - a man whom is respected by all.

Sometimes, support can be given to aid individuals and be in a form of money. Prosperity of a firm or a country plays an important role of a "helping hand" to reveal the genius within. Without funds, the development of camcorder by Sony Corporation, Internet by Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Digital Video Disc (DVD) by Consortium of International Electronics Companies would not be possible. Without financial aids from the government, the development of Palm islands and underwater hotel in Dubai would not have happened.

Like a coin with two flipped sides, adversity can kill genius too. One, under the threat of adversity, may lose the will power to fight on and choose to give in. The strength of stress experienced from adversity may be too strong for a genius to overpower it. Hans Fischer, a recipient of the German Nobel prize for chemistry, committed suicide after his institute and work were destroyed during World War II, and Ben Johnson, a Canadian Olympic sprinter, used steroid to enhance his performance to win in the race had his reputation and career destroyed when the lie was discovered.

Prosperity, similar to adversity, can conceal genius. It can be the source of all hopes as well as the root of evils. Prosperity breeds greed, and it is this greed which may obstruct the route of revealing geniuses. This can be seen from the corruption practices of education system in Central Asia, like India and Turkmenistan, only those who can afford the high fees of the universities enrollment can be admitted to the choice of their programmes.

In conclusion, though adversity and prosperity may bring about negative consequences, I believe that they eventually reveal genius. Both have different role to play, but with the same goal in mind. Adversity poses difficult questions for us to discover a solution; it stretches our creativity and imagination by giving us huge thinking space; it tests our strength and perseverance in the journey to search for an answer. Prosperity, on the other hand, is a tool to help us reveal the genius; it bestow us the power to allow us to decide how we are going to use it. Only those who are strong enough to withstand these tests, these challenges, and know how to use the tool to guide them effectively, can they be emerged as geniuses.


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