René Descartes revolutionized philosophy, science and mathematics, but did you know he moved to Amsterdam in the early 17th century for the same reason young people continue to go there today? Yes, he went to smoke a lot of weed and get away from his father. And then he became a fanatical supporter of a weird religious sect that didn’t actually exist. Meanwhile, Ada Lovelace – mathematical prodigy and author of the first computer program in the 1840s – was a compulsive gambler. She lost so big she sold the family jewels, and when her mother-in-law bought them back, Lovelace lost them all over again. In fact, she was still in debt when she died. These are just two examples from The Limits of Genius: the Surprising Stupidity of the World’s Greatest Minds, written by science journalist Katie Spalding.
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