When I first started teaching college students, my dean offered this sobering insight:
He smiled and replied, Thats your jobas a professor.
This memory came rushing back as I watched The Professor and the Madman, a powerful film based on the true story behind the Oxford English Dictionary. It portrays the collision of brilliance and madness, obsession and disciplinebetween Professor James Murray and Dr. W.C. Minor, a man imprisoned in an asylum who contributed thousands of entries.
The film is a testament to the unlikely sources of intellectual contributionand to the transformative power of inclusion in scholarly endeavors. Sometimes, those society labels as unreachable or mad may carry the deepest insights. And perhaps, as educators, our job isnt merely to classifybut to listen, invite, and be surprised by where the light breaks through.
???? The Professor and the Madman (2019)
???? Watch herehttps://youtu.be/O2FwnaxSTnk?si=vhK58IkYbI_7ZkoB
The best dont need your teaching. The worst, you cant teach. Only the middleyou can help them move from F to E, C, B, and maybe even to A.I asked, How do you tell the difference among the three groups?
He smiled and replied, Thats your jobas a professor.
This memory came rushing back as I watched The Professor and the Madman, a powerful film based on the true story behind the Oxford English Dictionary. It portrays the collision of brilliance and madness, obsession and disciplinebetween Professor James Murray and Dr. W.C. Minor, a man imprisoned in an asylum who contributed thousands of entries.
The film is a testament to the unlikely sources of intellectual contributionand to the transformative power of inclusion in scholarly endeavors. Sometimes, those society labels as unreachable or mad may carry the deepest insights. And perhaps, as educators, our job isnt merely to classifybut to listen, invite, and be surprised by where the light breaks through.
???? The Professor and the Madman (2019)
???? Watch herehttps://youtu.be/O2FwnaxSTnk?si=vhK58IkYbI_7ZkoB
1)
verify the fact: James Murray did not get a formal education, but self-taught his knowledge.
ChatGPT said:
Yes, that is correct: James Murray did not receive a formal university education and was largely self-taught, especially in linguistics and philology.
Verified Facts about James Murray:
-
Full name: Sir James Augustus Henry Murray
-
Born: February 7, 1837, in Denholm, Scotland
-
Education:
-
Left school at age 14 due to financial hardship
-
Could not afford to attend university, despite early brilliance
-
Became a self-taught polymath, mastering dozens of languages, including Old English, Gothic, and Sanskrit
-
Worked as a bank clerk and later as a teacher and headmaster
-
Left school at age 14 due to financial hardship
-
Achievement: In 1879, at age 42, he was appointed as the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (then known as A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles), a monumental task that he led until his death in 1915.
Notable Recognition:
-
Despite lacking formal credentials, Murray was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University and was knighted in 1908 for his scholarly contributions.
2) verify the fact: W.C. Minor did not get a formal education, but self-taught his knowledge. what year was?
ChatGPT said:
W.C. Minor did receive formal education and was not entirely self-taught. In fact, he graduated with a medical degree from Yale University in 1863, during the American Civil War.
Would you like a quote from The Surgeon of Crowthorne (the biography by Simon Winchester, on which The Professor and the Madman is based) to cite this?
Key Facts:
-
Name: Dr. William Chester Minor
-
Born: June 22, 1834, in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka)
-
Education:
-
Attended formal schooling in the U.S.
-
Earned a medical degree from Yale (M.D.) in 1863, specializing in comparative anatomy
-
Attended formal schooling in the U.S.
-
Military Service: Served as a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War
-
Later Life: After developing severe mental illness (now believed to be paranoid schizophrenia), he was institutionalized in England. From Broadmoor Asylum, he became one of the most prolific contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary project under James Murray.
Would you like a quote from The Surgeon of Crowthorne (the biography by Simon Winchester, on which The Professor and the Madman is based) to cite this?
**
The Professor and the Madman
Free with ads
TV-MA
Based on the best-selling novel, THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN tells the true tale of madness, genius, and obsession that led two remarkable men to leave their imprint on history with the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Show less
2019
Running time
2:04:42
Audio
English
Subtitle (auto)
English
