Vildosola

Eugenio Vildosola

Mr. McMurtry

APLC Red 2

December 11 2013

The Limiting Factor

To have a heart does not mean one speaks heartfelt sentiments; likewise, to study

from books does not make one a successful, intelligent scholar. Many people have ideas

as to what a true scholar would look like, however, Emerson’s opinion, as dictated in his

speech “Self-Reliance”, has always been held in great respect. The true self-reliant,

independent scholar does not allow others to force their own thought processes on him,

nor does he allow them to detain knowledge from him.

Successful scholars have a unique and independent mindset, setting them apart

from the rest of society and virtually excluding them from being considered “normal”.

These great thinkers do not fit in with everyone else, and that is for the better. Their

different thoughts are what make them great. Emerson had a likewise point of view when

he wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood” (Self Reliance). All the great minds of our

time have been considered weird, none of whom fit the description better than Albert

Einstein. One look atthe scientists’ hair, and you can see why the stereotypical ‘mad

scientist’ is based off of Einstein. History, however, is not the only place where one can

see this theory in practice. Of all my childhood friends, Don Nguyen, one of my best

friends, was considered the weirdest by the many people that attended my 6th grade

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classroom in Stella Maris Academy. It was clear that the child had a small degree of

Autism, although it was not enough to seriously impair the kid. Needless to say, the child

stood out. Many people thought that he could do nothing correctly, let alone excel at

anything. No matter what people said, I knew Don closely, and I knew that Don was

independent and an avid scholar of Greek mythology. Everyone else thought that Don

would amount to nothing. Don proved them wrong. One day, he brought in some of his

drawings and paintings for the class to see. These were beautiful renditions of Greek

mythological stories, ranging from Odysseus to Hercules, from Zeus to Hades. These

paintings looked like they were done by 40 year old expertpainters, and yet, Don had

painting them. Don, like a true scholar, didn’t let other people tell him how to think or

how to do things. He knew what he wanted to do, and he did what he wanted to do. He

studied Greek mythology and painting, and even though he was ridiculed along the way,

he accomplished his goal, and proved himself a true scholar.

The other keystone in building a temple for a self-reliant scholar is the greatest

stone of them all: not letting others dictate what you can or cannot study. Being self-

reliant means that you need to be able to take care of yourself, and that means that you

have to be able to find your own sources and fountains of knowledge without other

people showing you where they are. This opinion is summed up when Emerson writes,

“Man does not stand in awe of man, nor is his genius admonished to stay at home, to put

itself in communication with the internal ocean, but it goes abroad to beg a cup of water

of the urns of other men. We must go alone” (Self-Reliance). Emerson speaks of the

nature of the genius of man, that we do not use our genius, but seek out the knowledge of

others to use as our own. A true scholar thinks for himself. A true scholar lets no one tell

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him what he can or cannot read, what he can or cannot study, what he can or cannot

believe. This can be seen clearly in the history of the Nazi regime during the early 1900s.

They took knowledge and books and studies, and set them all to the torch. They did this

so that no real scholars could learn from them, so that no real scholar could learn enough

to think for himself and challenge what they stated to be an inherent truth. The Nazis said

that the Jews were an inferior race, and therefore were a plight on the whole of Germany.

They blamed the Jews for the troubles of Germany, and as the Nazis grew stronger, they

imprisoned or killed whomever spoke against them, because those people were the true

self-reliant, independent scholars that Emerson had depicted. They did not allow

Germany to take their studies and books away from them; they did not allow Germany to

tell them how to think. They fought and spoke for what they believed in, and fought for

the knowledge lost in the fires of the 3rd Reich. The true scholars showed their true

virtues then.

Some say that being told to think for yourself nullifies the independent thought

process, but this is not the case. If someone is told to think for one’s self, how is one not

to do so? They cannot think as others do, nor can they ask for help. Even though they are

told what to do, this leads to thought processes that are solely their own, and no one

else’s. The end remains the same, even if the means are slightly different. You can tell

someone to think for themselves, but what they think of after that is beyond your control,

beyond your power. Put into the words of another man who thought for himself, “There

are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”

(Hamlet).

The paradox of thinking for yourself, yet being told to think for yourself is one

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that many scholars have pondered over the years, but the answer is simple. Be true to

yourself. When people are true to themselves, the world gets the gift of a genius the likes

of Walt Disney, Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander Graham Bell. These three great men

have one thing in common; they were never limited by the thoughts of other men.

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Works Cited

1. Emerson, Ralph. “Self-Reliance”. www.emersoncentral.com. Essays: First Series:

Essay II. 1841. Web. December 10 2013.

2. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. www.online-literature.com. Act 1 Scene 5. Written

1599-1602. Web. December 10 2013.

http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/6/

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