Musician and producer Brian Eno brought fame and a definition to the term scenius. It is meant to counter the idea of the lone genius myth. A myth that the world greatest minds accomplished their feats solo. Yes, Steve Jobs was a brilliant man, but collaboration with others was essential for its success. Pixar in the book Creativity Inc. passionately describes the basis of their success on successful collaboration in the Braintrust. Einstein was able to built upon succeses of others by analysing and assigning patents at the Swiss patent office.
The essence of scenius as coined by Eno is that great ideas are birthed by a group of creative individuals. They form an ecology/ecosystem of talent. Scenius is not about taking away credit for the individual accomplishments, it acknowledges that good work isn't created in a vacuum. Creativity simply is a collaboration of connected minds.
Alec Gentry notes about scenius:
Being a valuable part of a scenius is not necessarily about how smart or talented you are, but about what you have to contribute — the ideas you share, the quality of the connections you make, and the conversations you start.
Source
Further notes on scenius - Austin Kleon
The 'lone genius' myth: Why even great minds collaborate - BBC Worklife
The Scenius Edition - by Noah Brier - Why is this interesting?CommentShareCommentShare
What Is The “Scenius”?. Because genius alone isn’t enough! | by Alex Gentry