Like looking in a mirror
I don’t really watch all that much television – those who know me would probably identify my computer as my techno-drug of choice. Every once in a while, though, I find myself liking certain television series. Rarely do I enjoy shows for the premises or storylines; usually I find myself drawn to characters.
It is hard sometimes to put into words exactly how it is that I relate to some characters. Some strike me as people whom I would like to know. Others strike me as people who remind me of people I like. Some seem to embody the types of personal characteristics I find arrestingly attractive. Yet finding a character that seems to embody my own psyche is quite rare.
Until recently, I would have been hard pressed to name a television (or movie) character whose mind appeared to be wired similarly to my own. I would have had great difficulty, that is, until I watched a show on Fox the other day called ‘House.’
If ever there was someone who could be modeled after my own mind, it would be the character of Dr. Gregory House. His unbridled genius, his utter disdain for convention or tradition, his ardent empirical view, and his pessimistic and cynical nature all make for someone who reminds me of myself. It’s hard not to root for him, and I intimately recognize his genuine bafflement when everyone else around him seems not to be able to see the things which seem so obvious to him.
Today, I learned that the fictional character of Dr. House on the television series was based off of the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes. It all made sense to me.
I’ve never quite understood how most other people understand the world. The vast sea of humanity appears to think about things in one way, and a very small number of people (of which I count myself one) think about the world in a different way. I’m even unsure how to characterize people like me in words. We always seem to be able to understand each other when we meet each other, though, and we are just as united in the fact that other people rarely, if ever, understand us. Perhaps we approach mental problems from another tack, or have the courage and temerity to question the assumptions around which other people base their understandings of the world. Perhaps we have special insight that allows us to penetrate the confusion which hopelessly mires other people’s attempts to solve problems. Perhaps our freedom from convention, authority, or tradition for their own sakes allows us to realize that the solutions to problems were staring us in the face all along, had we only the strength of will to see them there.
Whatever it is that sets us apart, we few must band together. We have always been maligned, misunderstood, and persecuted. More importantly, history has proven that when our views conflicted with those of society at large, we have always been right.
I tip my hat to the man with the cane – a man who speaks for all of us whose minds dare to venture where angels fear to tread.
It is hard sometimes to put into words exactly how it is that I relate to some characters. Some strike me as people whom I would like to know. Others strike me as people who remind me of people I like. Some seem to embody the types of personal characteristics I find arrestingly attractive. Yet finding a character that seems to embody my own psyche is quite rare.
Until recently, I would have been hard pressed to name a television (or movie) character whose mind appeared to be wired similarly to my own. I would have had great difficulty, that is, until I watched a show on Fox the other day called ‘House.’
If ever there was someone who could be modeled after my own mind, it would be the character of Dr. Gregory House. His unbridled genius, his utter disdain for convention or tradition, his ardent empirical view, and his pessimistic and cynical nature all make for someone who reminds me of myself. It’s hard not to root for him, and I intimately recognize his genuine bafflement when everyone else around him seems not to be able to see the things which seem so obvious to him.
Today, I learned that the fictional character of Dr. House on the television series was based off of the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes. It all made sense to me.
I’ve never quite understood how most other people understand the world. The vast sea of humanity appears to think about things in one way, and a very small number of people (of which I count myself one) think about the world in a different way. I’m even unsure how to characterize people like me in words. We always seem to be able to understand each other when we meet each other, though, and we are just as united in the fact that other people rarely, if ever, understand us. Perhaps we approach mental problems from another tack, or have the courage and temerity to question the assumptions around which other people base their understandings of the world. Perhaps we have special insight that allows us to penetrate the confusion which hopelessly mires other people’s attempts to solve problems. Perhaps our freedom from convention, authority, or tradition for their own sakes allows us to realize that the solutions to problems were staring us in the face all along, had we only the strength of will to see them there.
Whatever it is that sets us apart, we few must band together. We have always been maligned, misunderstood, and persecuted. More importantly, history has proven that when our views conflicted with those of society at large, we have always been right.
I tip my hat to the man with the cane – a man who speaks for all of us whose minds dare to venture where angels fear to tread.
posted by The Academian | 1:19 AM
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