I'm optimistic today.

I find published lists ("best of", "top 100", etc) to be interesting and pointless. They are generally too bounded by subjectivity to be useful, but they are still interesting as a snapshot of generally-held social opinion.

This list of the Top 100 living geniuses has a neat twist - although it's a top 100, the listees are ranked by a rating system, so there are many "ties". What I find of particular interest is the fields represented by any given rank. For example, look at all the people tied for #43:

boxer
islamicist
businessman
writer
inventor
scientist

Or #58, which includes:

singer
computer scientist
anthropologist
historian
photographer
writer
poet

In the real world, I often get the sense that artistic or cultural objectives play second fiddle in many ways to achievements in the world of business or science. In this one snapshot, however, we see that in this particular swath of "hearts and minds", art, culture, science, business and social studies seem to stand shoulder to shoulder. Each supporting the other, I'd think, and providing a diverse and interesting world of perspective and progress.