Comments | gate_house: YoG #24: Genius Lost

bironic in gate_house

YoG #24: Genius Lost

Feb 13, 2008 19:47

What happens when our geniuses lose their genius? What's House without his incomparable ability to intuit what's causing his patients' illnesses and his friends' behavior? What's McKay without his eleventh-hour ability to save the day with physics and technology? What are either of them without their brilliance, their scorn, their quick wit, their ( Read more... )

discussion, rec

Comments 5

pwcorgigirl February 14 2008, 01:36:09 UTC

perspi's SG:A story A World Called Catastrophe would be a worthy candidate for inclusion in this discussion.

One does not usually think of John as a genius, but he is very much a physical person, one for whom motion equals action equals who he is. In her story, he loses much of that, but his friends come together to give him back as much life as they possibly can. It's an incredibly moving and ultimately very uplifting story.

nightdog_barks February 14 2008, 01:50:16 UTC

In cat_latin's strange and beautiful SG:A/Sandman crossover Tripping Mirrors, a mad Rodney hasn't lost his genius, but he is trapped in some lost mental world so far from this one that he is reduced to a seemingly childlike state.

And you're right -- there have to be more stories on the "lost genius" theme out there, but I'm having a hard time finding any.

ETA: Ah, found the one I was really trying to think of -- Salt, by mrshamill. A Flowers for Algernon-type story, with Rodney as Charlie.

bironic February 14 2008, 03:11:01 UTC

Oh, splendid, thank you. Am adding to my reading list.

perspi February 15 2008, 01:02:08 UTC

Oh, yes, Salt is fantastic.

deelaundry February 14 2008, 04:04:02 UTC

It's an intriguing question, for sure. The other one I can think of is the end of The Contract by diysheep, in which House retreats into his shell after an extended trauma.

One of the follow-ups to that (slightly AU to The Contract, work in progress), Pencils, is an intriguing take on the question. House still has his mind, but he's lost his mobility, his sight, and his hearing and also suffers from severe anxiety attacks. How can House come back from that? His genius is intact -- how can he express it? How can he convince people to let him use it?