Keep in mind, I do have differences of opinion, but I’m presenting it because the professor brings up interesting discussion points.

For instance, I’d posit that there are just as many female genius/madness types as there are men, but they’ve been relegated to obscurity in most cases. Culture and society ushers women into the background and usually punishes them for their genius/madness while men are rewarded. Who is to know how many women, and POC as well, have been forgotten by history due to these biases? And who is to say a genius does not in fact, become mad by the very action of being suppressed by social and cultural systems and norms? Madness then seems a very sane reaction to a genius dealing with an ocean of masses who are, in essence, of lower intelligence than the person they seek to control and relegate, usually because their genius is so overwhelming and frightening, and a threat to their status quo.