Destiny of genius
As a historical side note, August 19 is the 83rd anniversary of Otwock Ghetto liquidation. My area had a large Jewish population before the War. Now, back to the main blog post.
Countless people throughout history have noticed there are, essentially, two paths for geniuses: greatness or destruction, at times self-destruction. It’s as if God, blessing a person with the gift of genius, also curses them. When you read the biographies of so many geniuses, all sorts of unfortunate incidents abound.
From getting murdered, tortured to suicides. Sure, these things can happen to anyone, but the percentage of geniuses who meet their demise in, shall we say, less than peaceful circumstances is really high. That’s what geniuses have in common with psychopaths and sociopaths who usually meet their ends much earlier than the so-called average population.
Is it destiny or just the innate curiosity of geniuses making them more prone to testing the limits, and, at times – risking death? Only Hashem knows the answer to that question
I know the trend today is for people to use the word – genius – a lot. Way too much, but it is what it is. Too many people want to feel special, when their mind isn’t special at all, and they ought to be called out on their genius-mind claims. Genius is a powerful word, not to be used every five seconds.
In this scene, Sheldon’s imagining alternate reality scenarios where he says goodbye to his dead father – something he never had the chance to do. Sheldon’s father wasn’t nearly as smart as his son, but he provided guidance in the vagaries of fate and the two shared a bond. Not always making that clear, Sheldon’s dad was proud of his genius son.
His sister scolds Cooper for talking about alternate realities, not realizing, and not knowing, Sheldon is suffering in his own way. She has misinterpreted his talk about alternate realities as a sign of inappropriate timing and arrogance (we’re talking about our dad’s funeral and you’re talking parallel universe nonsense).
Nothing is free in this world – and for big blessings one must pay a great price at some point. Perhaps the destiny of genius – be it triumph or tragedy, perhaps both – is the price genius minds pay for their world-changing ideas? Maybe geniuses are closer to God, as their mind somewhat mirrors God’s mind? In an infinitely simplified way, of course, but still. A risky statement, but there’s logic to it. Who knows, maybe God is a fan of geniuses but, at the same time, gives them one more cross to bear? The cross of destiny. There’s much more to genius than getting great grades. Even pop-culture knows that, but some people still believe geniuses are these cartoon characters. How do you measure genius? What if someone’s a genius but is paralyzed? Then no one would know. So many questions and intriguing dilemmas.
Only those who lost one or both of their parents unexpectedly and suddenly can fully relate to Sheldon’s pain and replaying the last conversation, often trivial and at times contentious, with his father. As a child, it was particularly difficult for him, but it’s hard at any age. People talk about a test of faith. Well, that’ qualifies. Rosary-clutching isn’t enough. A real baptism by fire is needed. People who preach about sacrifice, about salvation, damnation, and so much more – don’t sound credible to me, unless they’ve had their own baptism by fire. You can’t relate and save those who stray from the path if you’re a goody-two-shoes cartoon character with no dark side experiences. Dare I say, God would probably agree.
