Everything Must Belong Somewhere
Leave the novelist in his daydream tomb.
Leave the scientist in her Rubik’s cube.
Let the true genius in the padded room remain.
– Conor Oberst
Posted: November 24th, 2007 under Thoughts.
Comments
Comment from Jed
Time 2007/11/26 at 10:34 am
Well, I guess I’ll be nice and expound on my one-word answer…
It is impossible to know the actual intended meaning of this song/poem. As with any work of art, I think the real question is what does it mean to you?
Although I can’t really put into words all the nuances of what it means to me, your second idea comes pretty close. The “geniuses” of today lock themselves into a nice little box (“Rubik’s cube,” “tomb,” etc.) of socially-acceptable thought. Then they label the freethinkers (“true geniuses”) as insane and lock them up (not necessarily in a physical way… rejection and mockery can be just as confining as an actual “padded cell”).
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2007/11/25 at 10:06 pm
Umm… is this ‘poem’ saying all true genius’ should be locked up, or saying that the insane are the only true genius’?