So like, all sources I crossed have said that the origin of the word Genius is some spirit's name in Latin. But multiple sources have additionally said that it also means inborn nature or innate ability from Latin. Don't you guys feel odd about the thought of going beyond that, given that
it's the word?
Let's apply what MM said on a great example of being influence by environmental factors -
little Misha the Chess genius:
It's true that if his family was different, he might have never had picked up on Chess. His environment did steer him in that direction, but the fact that it did only made his innate talent come to bear. If he never picked up Chess, his innate ability would still be there (just obviously deteriorating over age).
Btw, similarly to Helz's topic of
The meaning of Intelligence - here too I believe that there's different types of genius, just like with intelligence. If anything, I'd say types of intelligence can and are affected by the environment. Though I must admit that it's a flimsy thing to say because in discussions about intelligence people also seem to talk about the inherent ability.