"You say they were either geniuses of conception or miracle workers," said Father Zinctus.
Genius, in the popular conception, is inextricably tied up with precocity — doing something truly creative, we're inclined to think, requires the freshness and exuberance and energy of youth.
Lucas' genius extended beyond the conception of the story to engaging a composer for the film who could underscore the power of the storytelling and myth-making.
Prince very definitely embodied that classical conception of genius: He was a relentlessly enigmatic, almost solipsistic figure who crafted widely-acknowledged masterpieces, particularly his slate of classic albums including 1979's Prince, 1980's Dirty Mind, 1981's Controversy, 1982's 1999, 1984's Purple Rain, and 1988's Sign o' the Times.
But as Segel's exuberantly horrible dancing at the end of the film practically blares in neon, this awkwardness represents Segel's conception of a Genius Who Was Just Too Pure And Holy For This World.
In describing her heroine, Wollstonecraft drew on the emerging 18th-century conception of the genius, a word that was slowly changing meaning from "a peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character or spirit" to "extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity".
And that hatred is at the heart of this huge intellectual conception of absolutely Shakespearean genius".
As witnesses such as Vice President-elect Garret Hobart came in to see the good-humored proceedings, Hanna told Davenport, "I admire your genius and execution, but damn your conception".
The title character, with his keen intellect, is based on Balzac's conception of himself: a visionary genius who fails to achieve his true potential because of less talented individuals with more social power.
What set Hitler apart from most authoritarian figures in history was his conception of himself as an artist-genius who used politics as his métier.
