FEBRUARY 17, 2026|BOOKS & REVIEWS
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis
There is a difference between celebrating someone as a genius and giving them credit for their genius moments. That's the premise of this book from journalist Helen Lewis that unpacks the myth of human genius and what causes some people to be celebrated and others to be overlooked. Beyond the bigger idea of seeking out genius, Helen also writes "you can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate." The idea of tolerating things in the name of genius feels particularly relevant right now. An unusual exploration of the common but also commonly misunderstood myth of the genius.
About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:
Every week I share a new “non-obvious” book selection. Titles featured here may be new or classic books, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great reads that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.
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How It All Started
A Short Backstory Of This Blog
This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.
