The Michelangelo Effect

 In the year 1475, when Michelangelo was born, there were around four hundred million people in the world. If you consider him to be a rare once in a lifetime individual of skill or import, then the chances of another similar figure being recognized would amount to one in four hundred million. You may substitute any famous individual from history in his place and my thought experiment will run the same. 

Let's start with the assumption that good old Mikey was one in three hundred million. A once in a lifetime find for the human race. His art was so sublime that no other person in his lifetime could have competed. Again, substitute whoever you want in his place. 

Now take into account the modern world population. There are twenty times the number of people in this world than there were back in his day. That means that there are twenty people with the exceptional skill, artistry, or insight to rival Michelangelo in this world today. Repeat this process for each individual of import you may recognize. Darwin, Da Vinci, Solomon. There are so many people in the world right now that multitudes of exceptional people in all fields and in all walks of life, all forms of science and art, equivalent to the best of the renaissance or ancient history, must be alive today. Why do we not recognize them?

One voice that says something exceptional is, in itself, an exception. But once there are many who say it, once there are many who can reproduce that feat, it becomes ordinary, even if it rivals that of the famous dead celebrities. There are workshops in Italy that still produce marble statues to the quality of the old masters. There are gems of every kind hidden in our world, blanketed by a niche that almost none of us understand, or buried underneath a layer of obscurity that only comes with our world's enormous culture. People with the skills of the old masters are alive today and practicing their craft. New masterpieces are being created every day. 

Just remember that, with a big enough population, there will come a large absolute number of outstanding individuals. Believe that we are living in a time where masters walk, where we pass by a legend without even looking in their direction.