Myth Busters Analysis

Just like the Puritans advocated for hard work, self discipline, and self improvement, the Enlightenment thinkers valued the same ideals. However, the motivations between the two groups are what differed: Puritans were motivated to improve themselves because they thought it would please God and get them into heaven whereas Enlightenment thinkers believed individual improvement would lead to social progress. Even though the Enlightenment occurred in the US over two hundred years ago, it’s still very easy to identify elements of the movement in our current culture and society. The ideas of self improvement, self discipline, hard work, curiosity, exploration, and progress are what Jamie Hyneman, of the television show Myth Busters, advocates

He reveals to the audience that “what [he] really [takes] joy and pride in – what means the most to [him] about [his] career – is not the wanton destruction and television fame, it’s the passion for exploration, the curiosity, the hunger for knowledge that [they] demonstrate on the show.” Later in the speech Hyneman tells the graduates “that the best way to move ahead is to focus on asking the right questions along the way” and that “a lot of people just aren’t so persistent about asking such questions – and find themselves someplace they never wanted to be [while] others can’t wait to see what is around the next corner, on the top of the next hill.” Here, Hyneman is using details to explain to the audience that he thinks he’s successful because he fosters curiosity and exploration. Hyneman could have vaguely referenced self-improvement, but instead he equates self- improvement and advancement with being curious and wanting to explore, details that are central to his argument about “moving

The last few lines are especially inspirational because Hyneman tells the audience to “be diligent and be methodical – these traits will all help you progress in the grand adventures you will all face. But to make the adventures all worthwhile, to make your successes truly rewarding [he asks them] to be kind in everything [they do] without fail and above all.” The closing lines appeal to the audience’s emotions because here, this very successful, entertaining, and wealthy engineer isn’t saying that success comes only through diligence but rather through a combination of diligence and kindness and one can’t help but feel motivated to not just work harder but also to become a better human being as a result of hearing Hyneman’s