Talent

They say that the words "talent" and "genius" are now compromised. It seems that this courtesy and piety around the words implies a form of a pout about a traded off value. Talent and genius are precious, indeed.

The word “talent” originates in “talentum”, a Grecian weight, a currency which contained sixty minae or half a hundredweight. The Medieval Latin and common Romance languages continued to use the word “talent” meaning a monetary sum, money. The word “talent” indicates a form of wealth, a currency for exchange: a common denominator of transactions. There is a general confusion about exchange value and Marx alleges it in the following terms:

“It is not true that on an exchange of commodities we give value for value, on the contrary, each of the two contracting parties in every case, gives less for a greater value. If we really exchanged equal values, neither party could make a profit... We wish to part with a useless thing, in order to get one that we need; we want to give less for more.”

As any wealth, talent and genius produces a form of possession anxiety. According to market rules, one may be thrifty (trying to withhold talent, i.e. procrastinate), others may be spending talent on little trinkets or it can go to waste, but best of all is to invest. In any case, one can't keep the wallet to oneself forever.

So what do people who stand at the cashier desks of talent do? Of course they wish to part with something less wanted for something more desirable. Thus, Flemish children and women lacemakers were losing their eyesight for showing off ruff collars, Beethoven lost his hearing for others to listen to his music, Nietzsche lost his mind for others to think, etc. They served a higher purpose: a virtuous transaction of raising stakes and giving less for more. So what is a compromised virtuosity? The resentment and bitterness of someone who was fooled at the fleamarket.