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Idiot Savant

post #1 of 10
3/19/08 at 12:22am
Thread Starter 
The title is a name I coined in response to a perfumer or perfume house who's intellect has achieved status through the genius of an aquired fragrance legend only to dissapoint and completely botch the latest offering. An example and not necessarily my opinion would be Jean Claude Ellena. He is undoubtedly one of the brightest perfumers of our time who has masterfully blended unquestionable works of art. However, some feel that his latest offerings are subpar. In your opinon, which perfumer or perfume house would you label an "idiot savant" based on previous remarkable works with unfavorable recent outcomes? Do you feel this house is merely suffering a minor setback or has grown decadent?
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post #2 of 10
3/19/08 at 12:25am
I know this is OT, but yesterday, I was thinking about how i've never seen one of my friends eat properly, so I thought damn he's a manorexic. Now that's a cool term
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post #3 of 10
3/19/08 at 9:36am
Well I guess you can call disappointments whatever you want, but being an Idiot Savant usually does not refer to a person who gets "better" or worse through time.
To me I.S. still has the classic meaning: a genius that has a specialised area of knowledge and yet has a hard time performing every day tasks.

By the way, after the Internet era (specially with the appearance of vBouletin boards) an I.S. is usually a person with a high post count on a specific board. >3000 or something like that. Watch Communities actually have use the Watch Idiot Savant acronym quite frequently.

When talking about perfumers I can only think about the opposite of an I.S.: a person or company good at what they do, but realising mediocre fragrances:
Hummer
Ferrari
Mustang
Jordan (O.K. this one is not that bad, but not that great either)
Carlos Santana
etc...
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post #4 of 10
3/19/08 at 10:05am
Guys, what are Jean Claude Ellena's best creations (i.e., before his decline)?

.
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post #5 of 10
3/19/08 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 
Though subjective, JCE has worked for notable houses and among his works, most have at least one favorite of his creations, otherwise, they would not withstand the test of time. Yes, savants are people who have a gift to do one thing incredibly well such as creating perfume, playing an instrument, etc. I coin "idiot savant" to mean that although a person is a savant at what they do, doen't mean they aren't infallible and cannot make a mistake. So, to reiterate, who do you think is a creative genius when it comes to perfume but the last creation was a flop, an "idiot mistake"? One vote would go to the nose behind Allure Blanche.
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post #6 of 10
3/19/08 at 12:42pm
Isn't an idiot savant someone like rainman, who is an absolute math/memory whiz, but is basically retarded otherwise? (don't jump on me over the use of the word "retarded", please. It's just a fun word to use!)

Are you just applying the "idiot" tag to express the disapproval of the current offerrings?
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post #7 of 10
3/19/08 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

I coin "idiot savant" to mean that although a person is a savant at what they do, doen't mean they aren't infallible and cannot make a mistake.

Isn't that what's called "a human being"?
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post #8 of 10
3/19/08 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

So, to reiterate, who do you think is a creative genius when it comes to perfume but the last creation was a flop, an "idiot mistake"? One vote would go to the nose behind Allure Blanche.

Well, great houses are always prone to disappoint on newer releases, when they come up with fresh/aquatic scents or when they do something different than their 'usual' style. In these sense, we can pretty much include the majority of good houses at some point or another.

Gucci and their Gucci II.
Creed and their millesime line.
Penhaligons with Endymion and Quercus.
YSL with L'Homme and L'Homme summer.
Chanel with their Allure and Chance line.
Bvlgari with their newer releases (do I hear Aqva Marine?)
John Varvatos with its Vintage (although now that the 'disappointment phase' is passing, some people are coming out to like it).
Polo and everything Post-Sport-Release.
D&G Blue Light for Men
Tom Ford and its Black Violet and his homonymous scent.
Some people will say that Fleur du Male is a disappointment, however, I find it to be much better than the original Le Male (It is going to take time, but I am sure some will start to like it eventually)
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post #9 of 10
3/19/08 at 4:11pm
Thread Starter 
To be honest, there is no such thing as an "idiot savant", I just coined it. I agree it is rather harsh sounding but I prefer to view it as creative and descriptive instead of offensive. There is such a term as savant but not necessarily characteristic of rainman. Raiman was definately a savant-like in his ability to done one thing well but displayed more autism due to his personality defects and social ineptness. Autistic people as usualy savants with social/mental disorders. So, I'd say Rainman was autistic.
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post #10 of 10
3/19/08 at 4:19pm
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Main Entry: idiot sa·vant
Pronunciation: \\ˈē-ˌdyō-sä-ˈväⁿ, or same as idiot and savant for respective sing and plural forms\\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural idiots savants \\-ˌdyō-sä-ˈväⁿ(z)\\ or idiot savants \\-ˈväⁿ(z)\\
Etymology: French, literally, learned idiot
Date: 1927
1 : a person affected with a mental disability (as autism or mental retardation) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field (as mathematics or music) —called also savant

2 : a person who is highly knowledgeable about one subject but knows little about anything else
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