I've always liked Connections: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_series). What is so great about this show is that James Burke is able to point out how new and amazing ideas come about by connecting a few, seemingly unrelated, concepts to make a new idea.
In my opinion, the ability for someone to take a few observations about the world around them and turn it into something new and amazing is what makes them brilliant.
We are now at a point in history where a lot of people are able to take in a lot of different ideas leading to a lot of new discoveries (one of the reasons why I think new technology is now being created at an almost exponential rate).
You seem to be implying that a particular problem can't be solved because brilliant people in the past have not solved it yet. In my opinion, problems aren't solved yet because someone has not "connected the dots" yet.
In my opinion, the ability for someone to take a few observations about the world around them and turn it into something new and amazing is what makes them brilliant.
We are now at a point in history where a lot of people are able to take in a lot of different ideas leading to a lot of new discoveries (one of the reasons why I think new technology is now being created at an almost exponential rate).
You seem to be implying that a particular problem can't be solved because brilliant people in the past have not solved it yet. In my opinion, problems aren't solved yet because someone has not "connected the dots" yet.