Horizon Program due to Air Tonight

by simon on Feb. 17, 2010, under General

Horizon I expect that most of you have read an earlier post, where Stuart Conquest and I were plugged up to an EEG machine for Horizon.

Well the program is due to air tonight. I have no idea if they will show any footage of us, as the main part of the program is based on ‘genius’ and neither Stuart nor I can fall into that category!

Anyway this is how the BBC are advertising the program:

What Makes a Genius?

Watch:

Next on:

Today, 21:00 on BBC Two (except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue))

Synopsis

Episode image for What Makes a Genius?

Could you have come up with Einstein’s theory of relativity? If not – why not?

This is what Marcus du Sautoy, professor of mathematics, wants to explore. Marcus readily admits that he is no genius, but wants to know if geniuses are just an extreme version of himself – or whether their brains are fundamentally different.

Marcus meets some remarkable individuals – Tommy, an obsessive artist who uses his whole house as his canvas; Derek: blind, autistic, and a pianist with apparently prodigious gifts; Claire who is also blind, but whose brain has learnt to see using sound.

Marcus is shown how babies have remarkable abilities which most of us lose as teenagers. He meets a neuroscientist who claims he has evidence of innate ability, a scientist who’s identified a gene for learning, and Dr. Paulus, who has discovered how to sharpen the brain… by electrically turbo-charging it.

Even if there is no chess involved it should be a fascinating program.

As you can see from the cool head gear, I am kind of hoping that I wont be on the program! The head gear could be the butt of jokes for a while to come….

Jonathan Bryant
Feb. 18, 2010

Wot no Williams?

simon
Feb. 18, 2010

I am afaird not! I am a bit dissapointed with that, I was expecting to see myself playing a game against Stewart. I guess that is TV for you.
Maybe Horizon did not want my face scaring the general puplic.

All in all a bit of a let down, I thought that the program was reasonably interesting. Anyone else see it, have any thoughts on it?

Jonathan Bryant
Feb. 18, 2010

I thought it was an interesting programme … but my inner chess pedant (not that inner to be honest) thought it was ironic that programme about genius managed to set a chess board up the wrong way around. My other gripe was that it kept on going about is it genes OR is it environment without allowing for the incredibly obvious option that it’s both.

Generally though I thought it was a pretty good programme considering it was just an hour long and had to explain things in such a way that they would make sense to people who didn’t know anything to start with (i.e. people like me).

bibs
Feb. 18, 2010

Tragic mate if you weren’t on the telly. More gingers required on the box.

Read something interesting in the Guardian a while back btw about anti-ginge as the last remaining ‘acceptable’ form of discrimination. May interest you.

The article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/nov/06/theleastseriousbigotry

Links worth a read:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/ceriradford/100019861/ginger-jokes-tesco-should-stand-by-its-christmas-card/

http://www.zimbio.com/Gingerism+-+redhead+discrimination

catch you fora beer when I am next in Blighty,

see ya,
Simon B

simona
Feb. 18, 2010

This fella’s Ginger and pretty good at what he does!

Maybe a Ginger GM series on famous Gingers, after you’ve exhausted notorious chess players!?

bibs
Feb. 18, 2010

Oddly enough, I’d actually thought about that before Si A. Would be some diverting whimsy.

Start with Tori Amos, onto David Caruso then…?

But please no Mick bloody Hucknall.

Perhaps then famous Simons in history, ourselves excluded.

Simon Templar….

Dave Smith
Feb. 18, 2010

Hi Si,
isn’t Smyslov a ginger? (at least in his pre grey days)

simon
Feb. 19, 2010

Hey Bibs! Havent heard from you for a while, hope your doing well mate. Japan ok?
This ginger thing is an interesting issue, I will start a new post on it in a while.
Not sure about Smyslov Dave, anyone else know?
I was hoping to be the strongest gingergm out there but there is Potkin for a start. A Russian 2600+ player.
And that snowboarder Si, quality video!

simon
Feb. 19, 2010

I think your right about the genes/environment debate. You cleary need a mixture of both.

Extreme chess examples of genes and environment?
Well I guess to back up the environment argument would be the Polgar sister, but we will never know if their genes were programmed to let them become GMs or not.
On the side of genes, I would say that Morphy was a natural chess genius. At a time when computers and even books on the game were pretty much impossible to find. Bring back the good old days!

Jonathan Bryant
Feb. 19, 2010

Tori Amos a ginger? Surely not.

Talking about genes and environment … is there perhaps something about Judit and yourself turning out to be the strongest in a chess playing family? Both the youngest and therefore – perhaps – both getting the most benefit of the environment?

n=2 is never a good sample size but it’s perhaps worth a thought.

simona
Feb. 19, 2010

We need to sign up Potkin (and Judit)! Maybe there’s a similar discussion already taking place at http://www.gingergm.ru (remind me to register that domain).

I can’t find any reference to Smyslov being a ginger – all photos of him before he went grey are black and white! Maybe one of our older readers can comment?

As for no Williams on TV, could it be because they wanted to illustrate the ‘typical’ GM brain activity pattern? Simon W’s results perhaps weren’t typical for a strong chess player, so Stuart’s were more appropriate. I am speculating of course!

simona
Feb. 19, 2010

…and as for famous Simons, I’m struggling:

Simon Cowell
Simon Le Bon
Simon Callow
Um, Paul Simon

This is depressing :(

admin
Feb. 19, 2010

By the way, the BBC iPlayer link for the programme is:
Horizon – What Makes a Genius?

Not sure how long it’s available and it might only be so in the UK, but it’s there.

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