Genius

What is it that makes some people stand out from the crowd? Why are some people so much cleverer, so much more original and so remarkable in their achievements? No doubt, your genes and your education, your upbringing and your environment, have something to do with it.

If your father and your mother were both doctors, there is a reasonable chance that, if you follow in their footsteps, you will become a very good doctor.  If everyone in your family writes books, you may well feel that it's the done thing to follow suit and you might be brilliant.

But there are a few people who manage to rise to extraordinary levels of accomplishment and who defy categorisation.  Take Leonardo da Vinci. Everyone is agreed, he was outstanding.  Well, there is another Leonardo on the scene and, in case you have not heard of him, his name is Thomas Heatherwick and he is a designer.

He is the designer of the Olympic Cauldron, that magical  circle of torches, which we saw at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. He is the designer of the new Routemaster bus. He has created roll-up bridges, amazing buildings, stunning handbags and much, much more.

He is all of 42 and, for the rest of this month, you can go to an exhibition of his designs at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

I don't get paid for writing about him but he is just amazing.