74. I strongly agree that rule-breakers are the most memorable people. By departing
% p: ^( _$ H) z# ^; Cfrom the status quo, iconoclasts call attention to themselves, some providing
2 @' W/ q! R5 V# x9 H. dconspicuous mirrors for society, others serving as our primary catalysts for progress.* ~4 Q9 t( S1 E+ j
In politics, for example, rule-breakers Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King
: }6 q' B4 }' v6 T! j$ T; l. L2 Ssecured prominent places in history by challenging the status quo through civil
# G7 _3 q. V4 U+ Udisobedience. Renegades such as Ghengus Khan, Stalin, and Hussein, broke all the : J+ Z7 d: L: Y; j0 {0 x4 i8 O! i/ G
human-rights "rules," thereby leaving indelible marks in the historical record. And
! C! N4 H+ Q6 x" ], Pfuture generations will probably remember Nixon and Kennedy more clearly than
3 T& }9 p, n1 t, y# ^. ^Carter or Reagan, by way of their rule-breaking activities—specifically, Nixon's , L0 @: c0 w: C! K. }4 c) y- S, t; g
Watergate debacle and Kennedy's extra-marital trysts.1 k Y: b* x( K% e
In the arts, mavericks such as Dali, Picasso, and Warhol, who break established - m* [; y! q+ G1 y" O
rules of composition, ultimately emerge as the greatest artists, while the names of artists + y' c2 d2 h1 b
with superior technical skills are relegated to the footnotes of art-history textbooks. Our 2 ?" g' s7 G0 a8 r. k+ {/ V6 W7 J
most influential popular musicians are the flagrant rule breakers—for example, be-bop
) F' l4 K0 Z8 r3 s* Mmusicians such as Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk, who broke all the harmonic " D+ V0 {- m+ b( Q n
rules, and folk musician-poet Bob Dylan, who broke the rules for lyrics.0 [. L- k- j4 }% }6 H
In the sciences, innovation and progress can only result from challenging
% f2 s- J1 I" Y, L: O G. B; {conventional theories—i.e., by breaking rules. Newton and Einstein, for example, both ( l; S" p2 _; D! }, f
refused to blindly accept what were perceived at their time as certain "rules" of physics. * j% Q# n9 _) E3 o, q' H& X" a$ F
As a result, both men redefined those rules, and both men emerged as two of the most
1 l3 W b, H/ @0 d$ tmemorable figures in the field of physics.9 `6 w& @6 p' z" r& _
In conclusion, it appears that the deepest positive and negative impressions appear
; L, ~/ c* o, d& Pon either side of the same iconoclastic coin. Those who leave the most memorable 5 M7 B0 f; c3 t8 c. L. U; r. d
imprints in history do so by challenging norms, traditions, cherished values, and the
% D3 T& S9 B- s" G( |general status quo—that is, by breaking the rules. |