Editing Greatness (section)

=== ''Configurations of Cultural Growth'' – Kroeber (1944) ===
[[Alfred Kroeber]]'s ''Configurations of Cultural Growth'' (1944) looked at many of the same historic greats as did Galton and Cox, but from a completely different orientation.  As a cultural anthropologist, Kroeber maintained that, in Simonton's words, "culture takes primacy over the individual in any account of human (behavior), and that historic geniuses are no exception..."<ref>Simonton, 1994, pp. 375–66</ref>

To prove his thesis, Kroeber collected "long lists of notable figures from several nationalities and historic eras", and then grouped them within a field and a shared cultural context, e.g., "Configuration for American Literature". Then within these groupings he listed his notables in "strict chronological order", identifying the most eminent figures by using capital letters for their surnames (e.g. EMERSON, LONGFELLOW, POE, WHITMAN, etc. in above configuration).<ref>Simonton, 1994, pp. 376-77</ref>

Kroeber found that genius never appeared in isolation, but rather, in Simonton's words, that "one genius cluster(ed) with others of greater and lesser fame in adjacent generations".  He also found that there were historical "crests"  and "troughs" in every field.<ref>Simonton, 1994, p. 376</ref>  These fluctuations in the appearance of genius were much too rapid to be explained by the simple mechanism of genetic inheritance along family lines.<ref>Simonton, 1994, p. 376. In Simonton's words, "the traits available in a population gene pool cannot fluctuate wildly in any short period..."  If genius were simply due to "inherited ability", it would "be spread (much) more evenly from generation to generation".</ref>

Kroeber argued, in Simonton's words, that his  "configurations" were due to "emulations":  "Geniuses cluster in history because the key figures of one generation emulate those in the immediately preceding generations... (until) it attains a high point of perfection that stymies further growth".  At this point the "tradition degenerates into empty imitation, as most creative minds move on to greener pastures".<ref>Simonton, 1994, pp, 376-78</ref>

Recent research is consistent with these explanations;<ref>Simonton, 1994, pp. 378-–82; Martindale, C. 1990. ''The Clockwork Muse: The Predictability of Artistic Change''. New York: Basic Books, pp. 69, 70, 73</ref>  but many aspects of the developmental process from birth to the attainment of greatness remain unaccounted for by Kroeber's anthropological approach.<ref>Eysenck, 1995, op cit, re central role of personality as trait; Dorris, 2009, op cit, re interactivity of genetics with interpersonal and socio-cultural factors over course of development</ref>