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7 Rules for Life From History’s Most Underrated Geniuses
They will change your approach to life.
History has a habit of celebrating the same names. Einstein. Newton. Leonardo da Vinci. Aristotle. Of course, they deserve their reputations. But some of the most interesting lessons for living, thinking and achieving your great things come from people whose names you probably don’t know. I didn’t know many of the brilliant minds in this essay before my research. Now, I know. Take Mary Anning, for example. In 1811, at 12, she came across something extraordinary in Lyme Regis, England. Her brother Joseph had discovered a huge fossilised skull in the cliffs. Mary spent months carefully excavating the rest of the skeleton. The discovery would go on to be recognised as one of the first major fossils. It belonged to an extinct marine reptile that lived millions of years before humans. But Mary wasn’t a professor. She didn’t have a prestigious scientific education. She came from a poor family. She had to sell fossils to help support them. She taught herself geology and anatomy, made important discoveries, and became a trusted expert among some of the leading scientists of her time.
There was just one problem.
Many of the men who benefited from her discoveries received the recognition she didn’t. Women were not even allowed to join the…
