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I think it can be both. The few who stand out do so mostly or entirely because they are separated from mass mentality. Maybe a Chicken and egg sort of thing. And then the quote about the difference between genius and insanity comes to mind.

This is the Jungian concept individuation.

Can you recommend any brilliant exceptions that come to mind? Especially in journalism.

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Ed Witten is uncharacteristically brilliant and yet he (in my opinion) fell prey to the “masses” of physicists who clung to String theory despite its inability to yield results. Imo, that’s a counter example to your point. Thinking differently than other people and outside the masses doesn’t make one smart, take any non Ted Kasinski serial killer

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