Einstein came up with the special theory of relativity, for instance. Nobody has come up with another as far as I know. And would the special theory of relativity be so special if there were a whole bunch of theories knocking around looking for caring homes?

I have a penchant for buying music. I tend towards strange compilations and discs in grubby boxes that come cheap at second hand stores. Although I can sometimes afford newer CDs that you buy in franchised music stores, I prefer my treasures a bit more obscure and like a good steak, somewhat rare. The strange compilations and rejects always have something too outré for general tastes.

If you are the same, you will probably have come across an artist with the unlikely name of Bo Diddley. You will probably also have an appreciation for his twanging rhythm and nasal voice. The lyrics will also have caught you. Bo Diddley, also known as ‘The Originator’ had his heyday in the second half of the 1950s. Although still alive, he is not so well-known today, although he richly deserves enduring fame. There are a number of definitions of genius. The standard cliché is that it is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent hard work. I have heard this phrase used too often. The other definition involves an IQ measure. Other than that there are a bunch of examples.

The common archetype for genius is Einstein, his tongue and his hair. Stephen Hawkins is another. John Nash is a third, thanks to the movie “A Beautiful Mind’. Don’t get your hopes up if you have an imaginary friend though. Like the other two, John Nash earned his status in the field of numbers. It is interesting that genius is associated with manipulation of numbers. Even though Einstein and Hawkins are linked to the realm of theoretical physics, their ability to calculate in order to arrive at new truths is what has set them apart. Perhaps it is a reflection of how inaccessible numbers are to everyone else. For my part, I have difficulty understanding a bank statement, let alone a schoolbook equation involving gravitational force. On the other hand, it takes a genius to understand bank service fees. Perhaps someday, someone will come up with the theory of quantum accounting. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

But genius is not just about numbers. As I see it, the one thing that characterizes moments of genius is that they are not easily reproduced. Einstein came up with the special theory of relativity, for instance. Nobody has come up with another as far as I know. And would the special theory of relativity be so special if there were a whole bunch of theories knocking around looking for caring homes? Many have tried though.
It’s the same with Bo Diddley. Many have tried to emulate his unique sound. None managed to sound exactly like him. Today, you can find hundreds of references to his name and it is high fashion to lift snatches of lyrics from his songs.

What he achieved was a successful fusion between a type of music called ‘skiffle’ and the blues. Skiffle was low-rent jazz in which people who could not afford trumpets and saxophones used their voices instead. It became a very popular style of music from the tenements of large American cities to the shacks of deep rural America, and spread onwards to Europe and further afield. The blues? Well, we all know what that is. Bo Diddley illustrates another point about genius. Although the insight may be unique, remarkable and awe-inspiring, genius builds on existing fields of knowledge. Einstein and Hawkins combined the use of numbers and physics to arrive at their insights. Nash used mathematics. Diddley built upon skiffle and the blues.

It would be nice to say that there is a possibility that something entirely new could be created, but we are bounded by our realities, and everything develops out of what we know. We assess and come to understand that which is new in terms of what we know. Apparently there is nothing new under the sun. So how should we name Bo Diddley’s unique contribution to the sum of what we know and what we are? What did ‘The Originator’ originate? And why did the group Guns and Roses pay homage to him by naming themselves from one of his lyrics? Bo Diddley’s unique contribution already has a name. It’s known as ‘Rock and Roll’.