Self-selected Genius

The MacArthur Awards were dominated by people from California and the Eastern Seaboard. Of the 23 winners, there were only two from the central time zone, only one other from a state that does not touch an ocean, and one person based outside the U.S. (an Australian). I think good ideas tend to come from the fringes, and it’s odd to me that the narrative of the MacArthur Award skews geographically the way it does. I wish this slide show in the Daily Beast were less of a press kit and said something more about this year’s award winners and what they mean for the country’s creative flow.