August 22, 2011

Reflection Paper: A Beautiful Mind


A Beautiful Mind is a movie about John Forbes Nash Jr. who is notable for his contributions in Economics and Mathematics. It was evident in the film that he has an outstanding talent and showed it by performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment. In Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, it was distinct that his intelligence is more on a logical-mathematical side for he has the capacity to distinguish numerical or logical patterns, and also the ability to reason out. With a superior intelligence quotient, I can say that Nash is truly a brilliant man.

Despite the fact he is a genius, everything still wasn't perfect -- he's suffering from a mental illness called schizophrenia without his awareness. While he has a beyond average aptitude in logical and mathematical aspects, he had problems with his interpersonal relationships. This affliction slowly eats up his mind, destroying his bond with the people around him. With this illness, he wasn't able to separate the imaginary world from the real world he is living in, with all the hallucinations and nonexistent friends he has. I strongly believe that these delusions are from the feelings and memories he repressed in his subconscious that liberates in the form of imaginary friends and such. Lucky for him that he has a patient and understanding wife, because if it wasn't for her love and support, he wouldn't be able to get through one of the hardest trials in his life. Although she nearly lost her faith, Alicia didn't give up the hope that Nash will someday overcome his disease. This quality of Alicia is something I admired: standing by and staying commited to the person she loves the most.

Granted all the struggles, Nash didn't give up the passion to learn and share his learnings as well. He came out on top of this illness by declining therapy, living a normal life with Alicia and his child, and also by persisting in educating eager young minds.

After watching this film, I am in heaps of awe with the way Nash conquered everything that stood in the way for achieving his dreams. I guess, the learning we can take from his story is that we should see our disabilities not as hindrances; rather, as challenges to make us strive for more. There may be times that we trip a little, we may even fall, but we must stand up and continue walking towards fulfilling our goals.

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