[djames]

Surely this is deniable. Perhaps this isn't the best example, but Wiles was able to build upon seemingly useless tools created by those with high-but-not-genius-IQ caliber mathematicians. Maybe the strides that take us to a strikingly higher level in our collective mathematical knowledge can only be taken by the truly elite (i.e. super high IQ and passionately motivated), but even these elite don't reinvent tools that others have spent their lifetimes constructing. Maybe you consider these intermediate steps to greatness trivial though, not sure.