We could not be where we are today if great minds like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton didn’t exist. These individuals helped create who and what we are today. Without their help our world would be a far more primitive one. These incredible people are said to have a gift, which few could only dream of. But what if these individuals decided in not using this gift. Then where would we be today? In the film “Good Will Hunting” Will Hunting is blessed with having this gift, but isn’t convinced if he should use it. Will kept his gift to himself.
He wasn’t what society sees as a typical mathematical intellect, being well dressed, law biding, unathletic, and antisocial. Instead he played sports, fought a lot, used foul language, and drank excessively. He acted this way because it was the way he grew up and he didn’t want to be treated differently because of his gift. When a Hartford professor sees Will’s capabilities he can only think of the possibilities a great mind like Will’s could create. Will, on the other hand would rather work a labor-oriented job for the rest of his life.
He believes his job as, a janitor or demolition laborer, are just as noble as any other. The truth is Will isn’t psychologically stable and therefore he doesn’t know what he really wants. His whole life he lived in different foster homes and was abused excessively by different people. This abuse leads him to live a life where he pushes people away because he’s scared of getting hurt. When Skylar, his girlfriend, asks him to move with her to California he automatically acts in his defense mode of pushing her away.
He convinces himself that if they did go away together she would eventually leave him for a more economically stable guy that her mother would approve of. His psychologist (Robin Williams) realizes the psychological problem Will faces and understands that this problem must be dealt with before Will can decide what he really wants. The Hartford professor sees this only as a waste of intelligence that should be used. The Professor’s idea of the matter is that how intelligent an individual is compared to the accomplishments made by that individual determines the success of the individual.
Will’s psychologist only sees success as a matter of truly finding what an individual wants. At the end of the movie Will makes a break through and realizes who he is. His first goal is to find Skylar and be with her. Then from there he can decide what he wants to do. Will does find success in the end because he realizes he wants to be with Skylar the love of his life. In the film Will is compared to the amazing mathematician Ramanujan. Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 and died April 26, 1920.
At the age of 15 Ramanujan came across a book entitled A Synopsis of Elementary results in Pure and Applied Mathematics by George Shoobridge Carr. After reading and verifying the results in the book he developed his own theories and ideas. He lived in poor conditions and moved from school to school until he was no longer allowed. Ramanujan wasn’t considered a mathematical genius yet because of his lack of schooling and his poor grades in subjects other then math.
It wasn’t until the support from Ramanchandra Rao that helped Ramanujan get into some schools and eventually be accepted as a math genius. What puzzled many is how Ramanujan understood things quickly on his own without ever being formally taught them. He made great contributions to many different areas of mathematics. Will is similar to Ramanujan in many ways. Both Will and Ramanujan lived in poor conditions and read books on their own to develop the foundation needed for higher-level education. Both Will and Ramanujan had a gift, which could not be explained.
What would this world be today if Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton never existed. No one knows for sure. Maybe someone else would come up with the ideas the two developed or maybe we would still be wondering why an apple falls off a tree. The truth is an individual should be left to do what he or she wants to regardless of the talents he or she has. If Will decides to use his gift to enhance our world then that is great maybe better things will come, but he should be left with the choice to do what he wants.
