Actually from `Flowers For Algernon`,we can infer that intelligence may be a bad thing, and it is not always a blessing to be smart. For example, Charlie Gordon became smart but he was not happy at all. That is because he was so much smarter than ordinary people, this gives him a feeling that he was unable to fit in. In fact, when his IQ was still 68, he was very simple minded and thought positively, not knowing about what people really think of him, this gave him his motivation.
When he became smarter, he found out many ugly truths which made him sadder every passing day, like when he found out that people where taking him as a hopeless retard. This made him very upset and ashamed.
Knowledge may not always be good as sometimes you will find out about things that was better kept in the dark.
Take the modern world now for example, if mankind did not have the knowledge to make weapons or to use them, wars will not have broken out, all the bloodshed could have been avoided. One example is the making of nuclear and atomic bombs. Yes, they are very destructive and their only use is to strike fear in every body's hearts.
So, the question is why does mankind has a thirst for knowledge? Everybody desires knowledge to fill their curious minds, everyone wants to outshine one another by helping mankind with creative inventions that can be made only because of the one thing where the information comes from, knowledge. Everyone wants to be called a genius and not be mocked by others for being an `idiot`.
My conclusion is knowing everything is not good, knowing nothing is also not good, knowledge is indeed a very complicated thing.
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Shawn:
ReplyDelete"...this gives him a feeling that he was unable to fit in."
Are you sure it was Charlie? To me, I would say that because Charlie had an IQ of 200++, the other people marginalized him. THAT actually made him feel that he was unable to fit in. Or actually, the people themselves made him unable to fit in.
"...he became smarter, he found out many ugly truths which made him sasdder every passing day..."
You are writing this in a perspective of a mentally retarded person. Actually if a normal person is smart, mst likely he would more likely be respected an admired by many, rather than hated by the few who only have themselves in their eyes, and those who don't feel good being inferior to others.
-The HM