Ricardo Lugo

que era un genio, publicó más de 1500 artículos matemáticos, pero era un niño básicamente en todo lo demás.

No sabía cocinar, no sabía manejar dinero, nunca tuvo una casa propia, dependía de amigos para cosas básicas.

Brillante en su campo, pero completamente infantil en la vida práctica.

Without mentioning perhaps more complex cases, but that also apply, like Bobby Fischer, the famous genius of chess, with a pretty self-destructive personal life.

His talent is not translated into personal stability.

As Nietzsche once said, greatness requires concentration, but that concentration for the level of greatness, well, sacrifices other things.

Returning to the story, Mendel has this great memory, comparable, as the narrator says, with the most exceptional memories of history, with Napoleon for the faces, Mesofanti for the languages, Lasker for the chess.

Giuseppe Mesofanti, for those who do not know him, was a hyper polyglot.

The numbers vary according to the source, but even the most prudent attribute that he knew dozens of languages.

But there is another tragedy with which I relate to Mendel, which is that he does not have talent within an institution.

And talent without an institution can be tragic in the world.

Very common, especially nowadays, with the decentralization of knowledge, of the media, the networks, the internet, podcasts like this.

If Mendel had had a seminar, a university, a political party, a cathedral, his brain might impact many more people and reach him more directly.

But Mendel is an old bookseller, an old man from Galicia.

in the south of Poland, southwest Ukrainian, without formal training, without access to that higher world.

So his science is confined

Su academia, su institución, es esa mesa de café.

Por lo mismo, el estilo de vida de Mendel es bastante bohemio, humilde.

Él publica anuncios en la prensa que dice, compro libros, viejo, pago los mejores precios, acudo de inmediato.

Ni siquiera tiene un teléfono.