Life is more than a cartoon, or even a musical genius

Believing it puts people off to catalog the achievements of prodigies like Robert Gupta, the twenty year old violinist who recently joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, I thought it relevant to emphasize that like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, (post 1/30/08), Gupta is a philosophical person. Yes, Gupta took a biology degree from Marist College in New York with an interest in neurobiology at age seventeen, and a Master's Degree in music from Yale University at age nineteen, but like Jabbar, who couldn't help being a great athlete in addition to standing seven feet two inches tall, Gupta couldn't help being born with musical genius. Note, geniuses must work hard to fulfill their potential; perhaps it's a philosophical aspect that separates a successful genius from a failed one.
What other quality do the two share besides their natural abilities provided at birth? Each is a reader, each is a philosophical person. Jabbar took a degree in history from UCLA and never stopped reading. He has also written two well-received books with historical themes. Gupta, who turned off cartoons as a youth preferring to watch New York Philharmonic concerts instead, said of himself to Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez,

Music is "exhilaration, joy, complete release." Interestingly, Gupta also believes that immersing himself in science, history, and philosophy makes him a better violinist. "To be an artist, you have to know something outside your instrument," he said. "You have to be a human." (emphasis mine)

In an age of specialization, these philosophical words seem well worth considering, not solely for the individual, but for the culture all individuals together create.


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