Scenius or Genius?

Scenius or Genius ?

What can we learn from the scientific scenes that shaped our modern World.



NIA, 2024.

The Essence of Community in Driving Innovation

When we think of groundbreaking innovations and the brilliant figures behind them, the image of a solitary genius often comes to mind. However, history has repeatedly shown us that the most profound advancements arise not from isolated individuals, but from the collective intelligence of vibrant, collaborative communities.

Brian Eno, the musician and visionary, first coined the term “scenius” during a captivating interview at the Sydney Luminous Festival:

“I was an art student and, like all art students, I was encouraged to believe that there were a few great figures like Picasso and Kandinsky, Rembrandt and Giotto and so on who sort-of appeared out of nowhere and produced artistic revolution.

As I looked at art more and more, I discovered that that wasn’t really a true picture.

What really happened was that there was sometimes very fertile scenes involving lots and lots of people – some of them artists, some of them collectors, some of them curators, thinkers, theorists, people who were fashionable and knew what the hip things were – all sorts of people who created a kind of ecology of talent. And out of that ecology arose some wonderful work.

So I came up with this word ‘scenius’ – and scenius is the intelligence of a whole… operation or group of people. And I think that’s a more useful way to think about culture actually.”

There was a scenius.

Scenius was The Athens of 5th century BC for Plato, Pericles and Socrates, the Florence of the Medici for Michelangelo and Da Vinci , it was the London of the 60s rock era for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Bagdad of the golden islamic ages for Al Khawarizmi and Avicena, and Paris of the 20s for the art mouvement of Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.

Take the example of Florence in the 15th century, the city was indeed an attractor of individual talent, lots of wealth, and a passion for merging art and science. Under the rule of the Medici family, who were bankers and took pride in adorning the city with grandiose Statues and Oeuvres d’Arts, Florence became the mecca of the Avant Garde thinkers, and nurtured the eccentric scene that emerged to cover the sphere of europe, pushed the Renaissance era and with it Brunelleschi’s dome, Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, and Michelangelo’s David.

Silicon Valley: A Modern-Day Scenius.

In the contemporary world, Silicon Valley stands as a testament to the power of scenius. The region is synonymous with technological innovation, but its success cannot be attributed to a handful of tech moguls alone. The ecosystem of startups, investors, universities, and corporations all contribute to a culture of innovation. For instance, the development of the personal computer involved contributions from numerous individuals and organizations—Apple, Intel, Xerox PARC, and many others. The open exchange of ideas and resources in Silicon Valley has been the bedrock upon which countless technological advancements have been built.

Wisdom, and madness of the crowd.

Without investment in robust structures and ecosystems, you may have your Galileo, but you also have the sclerosis and dogma of the Church institution. Build the community, shape the scene, and the rest will follow in natural fashion. It’s the synergy generated by bringing together diverse minds and disciplines that can lead to breakthroughs that no single individual could achieve alone.


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