GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文七七

　　77. I strongly agree that true genius is the ability to see beyond conventional modes of

　　thinking and to suggest new and better ones. This definition properly sets genius apart

　　from lesser instances of critical acumen, inventiveness or creativity. Under this

　　definition, a true genius must successfully challenge the assumptions underlying a

　　current paradigm, and supplant the old paradigm with a new, better, and more

　　fruitful one.

　　This two-pronged standard for true genius is aptly illustrated by examining the

　　scientific contribution of the 15th-century astronomer Copernicus. Prior to Copernicus,

　　our view of the universe was governed by the Ptolemaic paradigm of a geocentric

　　universe, according to which our earth was in a fixed position at the center of the

　　universe, with other heavenly bodies revolving around it. Copernicus challenged this

　　paradigm and its key assumptions by introducing a distinction between real motion and

　　motion that is merely apparent, in doing so, he satisfied the first requirement of a true

　　genius.

　　Had Copernicus managed to show only that the old view and its assumptions were

　　problematic, we would not consider him a genius today. Copernicus went on, however,

　　to develop a new paradigm; he claimed that the earth is rotating while hurtling rapidly

　　through space, and that other heavenly bodies only appear to revolve around the earth.

　　Moreover, he reasoned that his view about the earths real motion could explain the

　　apparent motion of the sun, stars and other planets around the earth. It turned out he was

　　right; and his theories helped facilitate Galileos empirical observations, Keplers laws

　　of planetary motion, and Newtons gravitational principle.

　　To sum up, I find the proposed definition of true genius incisive and accurate; and

　　the example of Copernicus aptly points up the two required elements of true genius

　　required by the definition.