It is with great trepidation that I take issue with a genius, particularly one with unruly hair, piercing eyes and equations that I will never understand. I have tried and have bounced on a trampoline to test the geometric bending of the fabric of space and time but all I achieved was very sore leg muscles.
Yet I am not planning to tangle with ideas about space/time continuums (or even continua) but with his saying:
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
There is a school of thought that claims he did not state this but I will argue with anyone who did: I am in that cantankerous mood.
Surely we all do this daily and we cannot all be mad. If the car does not start first time, we try the ignition again and again and again and ... Only after that do we call the emergency services. If my dishwasher fails to get going, I do not phone the engineer until I have pressed all the buttons several times - although I might give it a gentle kick and utter a few expletives in order to vary the procedure. Perhaps that means it doesn't count?
Even on a more emotional level, people go on from a marriage that hasn't worked and try the whole sorry mess again. Multiple times in some famous - or infamous - cases. They may be unwise, unduly romantic and self-deceived but they are sane.
So dear Albert, or whoever, please do not class ordinary people as bonkers - and you might just comb your hair. Several times even if you always get the same result.
No comments:
Post a Comment