Photo by Andrew George on Unsplash Crazy or genius? Are all talented people geniuses? How do you measure talent? Many of history’s most celebrated creative geniuses were mentally ill, is there truly a subtle line between madness and genius? Come and join our discussion on this topic! Lead-in. ● Are madness and genius related? ● Can you name any famous people who were mad and genius at the same time? Speaking Upper-intermediate / Advanced Check the vocabulary box. 1. epoch – a long period of time, especially in which there are new advances and great change 2. prodigy – someone with a very great ability that usually shows itself when that person is a young child 3. innately – connected with a quality or ability that you were born with, not one you have learned 4. to be absorbed in something – to have one’s attention totally occupied 5. to bring out the genius in somebody – to develop a genius mindset in somebody 6. to have a genius for something – to be very good at something He has a genius for failure – What do you think it means? What do you have a genius for? 7. to keep one’s mind at peak performance – to keep yourself extremely productive Speaking Upper-intermediate / Advanced Discuss the following questions. 1. Is there a difference between talent and genius? 2. Is it hard to be a genius person? Why? Why not? 3. Can madness be the source of inspiration? Why? Why not? 4. It is said that Vincent van Gogh had bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression). Share your opinion on how it affected his creativity. 5. Who was Galileo Galilei? Why did people think that he was mad? 6. Is it the same to be ‘not like the others’ and to be mad? 7. In your opinion, who is the greatest genius in history? 8. Share your point of view, is it a rule of life that genius people often think and create things that are out of their epoch? Why does it happen? 9. Have you ever become so absorbed in your interest, you forgot everything else? Let’s debate! 1. How can you identify a genius? What are the signs? 2. “The only difference between genius and insanity is that genius has its limits.” Albert Einstein. Do you agree? 3. Are geniuses born or developed? 4. How to bring up a genius? 5. Gifted kids are happier than others. Do you agree? Speaking Upper-intermediate / Advanced Let’s play! Below are some strange habits of geniuses. Can you match all the people and their weird habits? How do you think those habits were helping them? 1. Beethoven 2. Tesla 3. Benjamin Franklin 4. Balzak (a French novelist) 5. Igor Stravinsky (a composer and pianist) A. Did headstands (stood on his head for 15 minutes) to ‘clear up’ the brain B. Stood naked at his open window, taking ‘air baths’ every morning C. Liked to pour a bucket of water on himself to spark creativity D. Did toe exercises (100 times per foot) to boost his brain cells E. Drank 50 cups of coffee daily Homework. Follow the LINK and learn the words. Feedback time! 1. Can you give examples of useful words and phrases you’ve learned today? 2. Which ideas of your peers were new / surprising / interesting / wise? 3. What was challenging? Speaking Upper-intermediate / Advanced Answer Key Let’s play! 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. E 5. A Speaking Upper-intermediate / Advanced
