Nietzsche said geniuses have developed a distortion

July 13, 2007 1:07 AM

Nietzsche once said something to the effect that all geniuses who excelled in one arena must also possess an equally great deficiency or underdeveloped faculty, either physically, morally or in personality and the like. But I can't find where he said this! Maybe it wasn't Nietzsche?
posted by archae to Religion & Philosophy (1 answer total)

Best answer: Section V.231 of Human, All Too Human has something like this: "It has already been said that mutilation, crippling, or the loss of some important organ, is frequently the cause of the unusual development of another organ, because this one has to fulfill its own and also another function. This explains the source of many a brilliant talent."
posted by ellF at 3:51 AM on July 13, 2007 [1 favorite]