Well, this doesn't so much define it as it narrows it down, but there's a bit from this one Miles Vorkosigan book... ah, here we go.
"You think he's a genius?" "I don't know him quite well enough, yet. But I suspect so, a part of the time." "Can you be a genius part of the time?" "All the geniuses I ever met where so just part of the time. To qualify, you only have to be great once, you know. Once when it matters." (C) Lois McMaster Bujold
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2002-04-12 06:54 pm (UTC)"You think he's a genius?"
"I don't know him quite well enough, yet. But I suspect so, a part of the time."
"Can you be a genius part of the time?"
"All the geniuses I ever met where so just part of the time. To qualify, you only have to be great once, you know. Once when it matters."
(C) Lois McMaster Bujold
Anyway, that stuck with me. It feels... right.