To the extent that we are mirrored, encouraged and acknowledged for our achievements and our creative pursuits, we are unified within ourselves. To the degree that we are perceived through a distorted mirror, we are torn asunder and may search for approval at a cost to our real self and creativity.

Upon the announcement of the 2016 MacArthur Fellows, let's examine the language we use to celebrate their brilliance.

Meet the 2016 MacArthur Fellows leading America into the future.

What then, is the universal signature of genius? Rather than trying to define it through the narrow band of human uniqueness, it might be better to think of genius as a concept existing independently of humanity.