On the Evolution of Dr. Dolittle

Have you ever thought about what has become of the good old Dr. Dolittle? I mean how many kids and young adults today still know the original story rather than the watered down version from the 1998 movie with Eddie Murphy? Not very many, I find. And that is too bad, because I would go as far as to say that this newer version in it's message is not only shallow, but potentially harmful. My point is this: it stifles ambition by perpetuating the nefarious myth that genius is something your born with – or (most of us) not.

Remember the Doctor from the book or the 1967 movie with Rex Harrison? He actually made an effort to learn the languages of animals – hundreds of different languages, in fact – because he prefers their company to that of his fellow humans and wants to understand them better to be more able to treat them right.

And what about the Doctor from 1998? He just magically has the ability to understand and communicate with all animals, but resents this gift and the animals, since he just wants to be normal and accepted by his fellow humans. He eventually learns to appreciate his special gift (sort of), but not before it is validated by other humans and helps him earn their praise.

So while the Doctor from 1967 used to illustrate how genius is forged through concentrated work and effort in the direction of one's natural inclination, the newer version perpetuates the myth that genius is something you have to be born into – and not work for to achieve. Not only that, but it also makes the point that it is actually a burden you have to bear, because it's not considered cool by your peers. I mean, what the hell?!

This just goes to illustrate the widespread desire in today's society to not only be effortlessly special, but most importantly to have this validated through praise. Where would we be had Socrates or da Vinci or Einstein or Tesla or any great mind in history worked under this assumption?

I would even suspect that this frame of mind and its close relatives are largely responsible for the impression (or maybe reality?) that people are getting dumber. Faith in your own abilities is a huge part of the learning process. If you take that away and substitute it with messages like the born-to-genius-myth or the math-is-so-hard-myth and stuff like that, you'll have yourself a nice self-fulfilling prophecy.