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This First-Year Seminar explores how pattern recognition can lead to economic ideas and theories. We begin by looking for patterns in unexpected places. The film Good Will Hunting has much to say about careers versus caring. A film made a half century earlier, On the Waterfront, seems to be about completely different things. Together we investigate the notion that Good Will Hunting may be understood as a remake of On the Waterfront, and consider what this comparison reveals about values, incentives, and decision-making. Adam Smith coined the phrase “invisible hand,” suggesting that individuals, each pursuing their own agenda, nonetheless deliver for society. Smith also wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments. We will read selections from this book and work together to consider Smith’s sense of how one might act as an agent seeking to do good. Wall Street and the world of finance provide the lifeblood for capitalist economies. Despite pervasive uncertainty, decision-makers direct funds toward enterprises they believe will be profitable. We will examine elements of conventional finance theory to understand how Wall Street succeeds, and also look at renegade thinkers, including Hyman Minsky, to consider why financial systems sometimes fail. Finally, we step outside strictly economic framings to ask broader questions about altruism, environmental awareness, job satisfaction, and the role of government. Through short readings, films, and discussion, students will reflect on how economic thinking shapes our understanding of citizenship and life in society.