How Greatness Emerges From Social Media: Jim Ost at TEDxLehighU
The speaker argues that scientific greatness does not stem from individual genius but emerges through social networks, illustrated by the need for well-connected individuals to legitimize discoveries, as seen with Einstein. The core mechanism involves becoming highly connected—being in the "20%" who achieve the "80%" of influence—which allows for the transmission and reception of crucial information. The strategy requires building intentional, small, deep relationships rather than attempting broad connections.
## Speakers & Context
- Researcher specializing in social networks, specifically within the worlds of science and medicine.
- Focuses on identifying the mechanism by which medical researchers achieve prominence, admiration, and influence.
## Theses & Positions
- Greatness is not inherent genius (like Einstein's) but is achieved through social networks.
- Intelligence levels (measured by IQ) are not the primary determinant of success compared to network position.
- Scientific breakthroughs are often random accidents, requiring dedicated "search parties" until a stumble upon truth occurs.
- Credit for discoveries often flows to "eminent scientists" or community leaders, obscuring the true effort.
- The key to rising to success is becoming "well-connected and well positioned" within a social network.
- Building success requires implementing a structured "social network strategy," prioritizing intentions over immediate profit.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Social Network:** A system visualized by nodes (people/dots) and links (relationships/lines).
- **Bell Curve Distribution (Gaussian):** Reflects the distribution of intelligence, showing that people are not vastly different from average.
- **Pareto Distribution (80/20 Rule or Power Law Distribution):** Describes the distribution of wealth and performance, where 20% of the population possesses 80% of the wealth, and 20% of authors write 80% of publications.
- **Power Law Distribution (in networks):** Describes that a minority of people (20%) possess the vast majority (80%) of the connections (links) in a network.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **The mechanism of greatness:** Emerges from social networks rather than isolated genius.
- **Scientific Discovery Process:** Scientists act as "search parties" looking for elusive truth until a random occurrence stumbles upon it.
- **Attribution of Credit:** Scientific credit often goes to eminent figures or institutions, not always to the actual discoverers (e.g., Einstein regarding relativity).
- **Information Flow via Network:** Well-connected individuals can *transmit* new ideas to others, causing exponential spread; they also *receive* powerful information from the network, guiding their research.
- **Social Network Strategy Steps:**
1. **Intentions:** Must be focused on building the relationship itself, not making money.
2. **Identify Right People:** Focus on small numbers of individuals for strong relationships, unlike thinking about platforms like Facebook.
3. **Learn About Individuals:** Understand what motivates them and how mutual benefit can be established.
4. **Behave:** Overly nice behavior is insufficient; constant adaptation during interaction is required.
## Named Entities
- **Albert Einstein:** Used as the initial archetype of genius, but his success was partly due to being socially gifted.
- **Henri Pankare:** Mentioned as a French scientist and mathematician who some believe discovered relativity before Einstein.
## Numbers & Data
- **IQ 200:** Cited as the IQ of a current "smartest man in America" who works as a bouncer.
- **80/20:** 20% of the population possessing 80% of the wealth.
- **80/20 (Science):** 20% of scientific authors writing 80% of publications.
- **Publication output:** Average scientist writes **1 to 5** publications; top scientists write **hundreds or maybe even as many as a thousand**.
- **Network links:** 20% of people possess 80% of the links to everybody else in the network.
- **Discovery Timeframe (Einstein):** Took **35 years** for theories to gain acceptance after initial publication.
## Examples & Cases
- **Einstein's genius:** Originally thought to be solely innate intelligence, but was also shown to require social gifting.
- **The Smart Bouncer:** An individual described as the "smartest man in America" with an IQ of 200, who is currently a bouncer but desires an academic career due to lacking social skills appreciated by academia.
- **Theory of Relativity:** Initially proposed by Einstein in **1905** and immediately ridiculed; later required decades of battle to gain acceptance.
- **Social Network Visualization:** Diagrams comprised of nodes (people/dots) and links (relationships/lines).
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Social Network Diagrams:** Visualizations using nodes and links.
## References Cited
- **Isaac Azimov:** Made an observation that many scientists have cited regarding scientific discoveries being random occurrences.
- **Robert Merton:** Famous sociologist who noted that "the eminent scientists often get the credit."
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Genius vs. Social Skill:** Intelligence alone (like Einstein's) is insufficient; social gifting is required.
- **Individual Effort vs. Network Effect:** Working alone in a lab ("I'll just file myself away...") is insufficient; external engagement is necessary.
- **Networking Goal:** Building connections for mutual benefit (science discovery) vs. building connections solely to make money (billionaire status).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The idea that genius can be reproduced by studying the brain is considered "folly" and untrue.
- The speaker acknowledges that many people *think* they are just building relationships, but fail to make an *active effort*.
- The speaker admits that over-niceness is not a successful strategy for building strong relationships.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Implementing a "social network strategy" is necessary for success and exponential growth in influence.
- The strategy must start with the intention of *building the relationship*, not leveraging it for money.
- The process requires identifying small, key individuals, deeply understanding them, and consciously managing interactions.
## Implications & Consequences
- Success and influence are tied to being a key node in the network (high degree centrality).
- Being well-connected allows an individual to both *transmit* and *receive* high-value information critical for solving complex problems.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"it's pretty surprising and pretty fascinating what's really happening, the mechanism that causes these individuals to rise to greatness."*
- *"I don't think this is folly."*
- *"Einstein was not only a genius but he was socially gifted as well."*
- *"This is a signature of network activity at place."*
- *"I really look at these scientific communities almost as search parties."*
- *"it's the eminent scientists that often get the credit."*
- *"this is where I think the greatness comes from that makes it worth it that we give um uh the credit to some some of these scientists like Einstein."*
- *"The network links distribute according to what distribution? the power law distribution."*
- *"You can only build so many really strong relationships."*
- *"I advocate to people to implement a social network strategy."*
- *"You need the intentions of trying to build the relationship."*
- *"He knew that he and other very successful people know that people do not do great things alone."*