Cradles of eminence
by Victor Goertzel · first published 1962
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Psychological study of childhood backgrounds of 400 famous persons of the 20th century, by a past president of the National Association for Gifted Children.
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…of time spent alone (usually before age 30). Later in life you need to open yourself up and communicate regularly, but this is more an extra bonus than the core of innovation. Check out the 1962 book “Cradles of Eminence” Cradles of Eminence: Childhoods of More Than 700 Famous Men and Women https://www.amazon.com/dp/091070757X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Bpig...
on “Myth of the genius solitary scientist is dangerous” ↗…like that exist. But we do not necessarily want to be like them. That said, the characteristics that in one person lead to repeated failure can in another lead to success. My mother had a book called Cradles of Eminence which was basically a retrospective study of what kind of childhood lead to great fame later in life. One of their many interesting findings is that the fathers of many eminent people tend to be failure-prone.…
on “By endurance we conquer” ↗Not Nobel laureates, but people have tried this. I once was looking for the early education of famous scientists and found the book Cradles of Eminence [1], which compares the childhoods of several hundred famous people. One thing I noticed was that more than a few were seriously sick in childhood and had to be homeschooled. This includes Edward Morley,…
on “Nobel Prize in Physics 2026: Francis Halzen” ↗