If there’s one type of person we admire, it’s the person who’s able to get things done without even trying. You know that person. He’s the student who aces the final exam “without even studying”. She’s the Instagram model who woke up with perfect hair. And both of them are in great shape by “just eating right”. Statements like these may annoy us. But at the same time, we can’t help admiring or envying people who have things come to them easy. It’s difficult to explain why we feel this way. The philosopher Nietzsche observed that our vanity and self-love promotes the culture of the genius. “For if we think of genius as something magical”, he wrote, “we are not obliged to compare ourselves and find ourselves lacking.” This is why we enjoy watching talent shows and athletic competitions at the highest level. There is a mystique that surrounds these top performers. We marvel at how they are able to do things that no one can. Reality is a little different. But first, a story from the fifteenth century.
