Create.

Leonardo, The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right (detail), 1513

From Discovering Da Vinci ...

While a polymath is someone who knows a lot about a lot of things, a  Prodigious Genius is someone who contributes something new and original or revolutionary to many different fields. Anyone could potentially learn what others have already taught - and memorize it. A prodigious Genius might not even know about those fields, there may not even be those subjects to study - they create them.

The main thing that separates a Prodigious Genius from other geniuses is their creativity and imagination. They don't just think outside of the box - they turn boxes into spheres.

There have probably been quite a few potential prodigious geniuses throughout history - the problem is that even fewer get the chance to reach this potential. With most of the world being illiterate and uneducated and having no access to any knowledge outside of family stories - it's only been a very select few that were given the opportunity and had the innate mental capacity to achieve such intellectual heights. Even if someone had - we would never know about them unless they left something behind for us to find.

So who else could be considered in these elite ranks? Einstein? Shakespeare? The Pyramid Designers? Steve Jobs? No, not even Einstein. A prodigious Genius is someone who is universally creative and revolutionary and isn't specific to only one field, or even a couple subjects. They are people who are capable of revolutionary ideas in almost everything they attempt. Einstein was in-arguably a genius, but his focus and range was limited to mostly physics. Leonardo's focus was such that he could focus on one subject - take it to its greatest heights - and then focus on the next thing and do the same- and repeat this.

e-Leo has Leonardo's notebooks.