--- title: People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work description: A study found that whether we use a lightbulb moment or seed metaphor determines how we value a genius—and is divided by gender canonical: https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/ author: Nate Hopper article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-20T19:49:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:12:59.846Z article:section: Ideas og:title: People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work For It og:description: How we describe inventors influences what we think of them og:url: https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt902ebae24c0be046/6988aaf12dce0149099eb1de/lightbulb-seed-genius-study-research-men-women-inventors.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Energy efficient lightbulb growing from plant roots in soil, close-up og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work For It twitter:description: How we describe inventors influences what we think of them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt902ebae24c0be046/6988aaf12dce0149099eb1de/lightbulb-seed-genius-study-research-men-women-inventors.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work For It  by [Nate Hopper](https://time.com/author/nate-hopper/)  ## Nate Hopper Oct 20, 2016 7:49 PM UTC  \-- \--Tim Robberts—Getty Images  by [Nate Hopper](https://time.com/author/nate-hopper/)  ## Nate Hopper Oct 20, 2016 7:49 PM UTC We love us our geniuses. And we really, really love us the kind of genius who experiences an epiphany of almost divine origin—like being struck by [lightning](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2012113%5F2011976,00.html) or [a falling apple](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,36508,00.html). This framing places the origins of innovation in a character trait, instead of depicting it as the result of effort and endurance. Geniuses are blessed heroes. The rest of us are incapable. All of that, according to a [recent study](http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/09/01/1948550616667611.abstract) by Kristen Elmore of Cornell University and Myra Luna-Lucero of Columbia University, is wrapped up in how we most often describe genius in everyday life—as flashes or strikes, or as a lightbulb turning on. When compared to a different metaphor that implies long-term work—that “the seed of an idea” then “took root” and “has borne fruit”—the researchers found that the lightbulb metaphor led people to believe an idea was, they write, “more exceptional.” We feel that a lightbulb genius is a better genius. But the lightbulb metaphor only did this when associated with men, the researchers found. “A woman is seen as less of a genius when her idea is described as a lightbulb,” says Elmore. The seed analogy, though? That improved the perception of women’s work. The authors write that, “For a female inventor, the seed (vs. lightbulb) metaphor increased perceptions of her genius, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for a male inventor.” In essence: Men are struck by genius, while women must work for it. (Additionally, men who work for long periods toward a creative pursuit—which could be the real heroic act of Franklin and Newton in a full telling of their successes—may earn less credit for what they discover. Though Elmore explains that her findings regarding female inventors were stronger than those about male ones.) How we talk about genius, then, can unintentionally, subliminally discourage certain qualities. Like rigor. And resolve. Especially for women—who could have the same finding as a man but, if their genius is described as most of us do, could still be valued less. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/"},"headline":"People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work For It","datePublished":"2016-10-20T19:49:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:12:59.846Z","description":"How we describe inventors influences what we think of them—and what they did","url":"https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/","keywords":["Words","society","Science"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt902ebae24c0be046/6988aaf12dce0149099eb1de/lightbulb-seed-genius-study-research-men-women-inventors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nate Hopper","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nate-hopper/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt902ebae24c0be046/6988aaf12dce0149099eb1de/lightbulb-seed-genius-study-research-men-women-inventors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Energy efficient lightbulb growing from plant roots in soil, close-up","caption":"Energy efficient lightbulb growing from plant roots in soil, close-up","creditText":"Tim Robberts—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/words/","name":"Words"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4531965/men-women-genius/","name":"People Expect Men to Be Struck By Genius—And Women to Work For It"}}]}] ```