There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper

[Virulent]

Stephanie Louise Kwolek (invented Kevlar)

As an irrelevant personal anecdote, Berendt, the man credited as co-inventor of Kevlar disagrees that Kwolek was in any way useful, for what it's worth. I won't disagree with your list point-by-point though, and I don't, either - some of those women are geniuses... some though are just mundane tinkerers, like Ron Popeil.

Is she saying that these women were just obsessive?

Paglia doesn't deny that there are female geniuses or serial killers, she's said that she considers it self-evident that there are. In what might be a joke, she's claimed in an interview that her writing proves there are female geniuses. She just thinks they are markedly less common than male geniuses, and this is because men are driven to obsession by women.

I'd like to point out that Wolfgang (Mozart) himself felt his sister's abilities when it came to music were equal to his. I think she could be considered the female Mozart, don't you? lol.

That's pretty funny (or at least, it appeals to my sense of humor) . I would say though that genius is an appellation applied retroactively by society in thanks for services rendered. I think Maria Mozart obviously doesn't fit that category, as everyone knows her primarily as "Mozart's sister". I'm a great fan of Mozart's music, and I had to go look her name up.

I don't know that you can say all serial killers are actually geniuses.

I agree; but I think some of them were, particularly the most infamous ones.

[claire]

I would say though that genius is an appellation applied retroactively by society in thanks for services rendered. I think Maria Mozart obviously doesn't fit that category, as everyone knows her primarily as "Mozart's sister". I'm a great fan of Mozart's music, and I had to go look her name up.

Again you are making the mistake of assuming equal opportunity. Was she allowed as much access to the piano as her brother? Was it socially acceptable for her to perform her own works? Were "nice" women allowed to perform in public? Was she taken as seriously and given the same kind of encouragement her brother was? I don't know the answer to any of these questions. You can never safely assume that because two children grew up in the same household, they were given the same opportunity, especially when they were of different genders.

[Virulent]

You can never safely assume that because two children grew up in the same household, they were given the same opportunity, especially when they were of different genders.

Correct. Neither can you assume that someone not well-known for her musical accomplishments is a musical genius.

Is your argument that because we have an incomplete data set, we should prefer your thesis? Or that no conclusion is possible? I'm not sure I follow. Either line of reasoning is of course equally applicable to almost any argument, whether its in astronomy or anthropology.

[claire]

Correct. Neither can you assume that someone not well-known for her musical accomplishments is a musical genius.

Is your argument that because we have an incomplete data set, we should prefer your thesis? Or that no conclusion is possible? I'm not sure I follow. Either line of reasoning is of course equally applicable to almost any argument, whether its in astronomy or anthropology.

My knowledge of history led me to believe that if she was acknowledged at all for her ability, it was highly likely she was very very good at what she did. However, I did not have access to the facts.

Elizabeth does have the facts though, which bear out the conclusions I had drawn.

I do agree with Claire, however, because she was, in all likelihood, not allowed as much access to a piano, she was forced to stop playing to be married... and the second her brother showed any sort of exceptional apptitude, he was the only one their father booked on tours. In the beginning, she was just as famous as he was... their father just chose to use her as "side dish" to Wolfgang's compositions. If she had lived 250 years later, I think it is very possible that she could have been considered just as much of a genius as her brother.

Virulent, your conclusions also do not follow logically. Neither can you assume that someone not well-known for her musical accomplishments is a not a musical genius.

[MissElizabeth87]

That's pretty funny (or at least, it appeals to my sense of humor) . I would say though that genius is an appellation applied retroactively by society in thanks for services rendered. I think Maria Mozart obviously doesn't fit that category, as everyone knows her primarily as "Mozart's sister". I'm a great fan of Mozart's music, and I had to go look her name up.

I am also a big fan of Mozart and did not have to look her name up... but then again... as I am a particularly nerdy human being, I tend to enjoy biographies of famous people I admire. I referred to her as "Mozart's sister" because I wanted people to know who I was talking about. It was supposed to be kind of funny though.

I do agree with Claire, however, because she was, in all likelihood, not allowed as much access to a piano, she was forced to stop playing to be married... and the second her brother showed any sort of exceptional apptitude, he was the only one their father booked on tours. In the beginning, she was just as famous as he was... their father just chose to use her as "side dish" to Wolfgang's compositions. If she had lived 250 years later, I think it is very possible that she could have been considered just as much of a genius as her brother.

I very very much disagree with your notion of the women I named being "tinkerers", Virulent. With the exception of the woman who is told to have invented Kevlar (honestly of COURSE the man says she wasn't helpful. why would he want to share credit, especially since she is the one usually credited with the invention anyway), by your own definition of genius as being given for services rendered, why are these inventions less important than any other? Honestly, the inventions I named -antibiotics, petroleum refining methods, pollution reducing items, Madam Curie's findings, human stem cell researchers? That's not important? I truly do not understand why those are less important contributions than Mozart's music.