MAY 23, 2019 – Every so often I play a kind of amusing thought experiment that also sharpens the powers of observation. It goes like this . . .
I decide on a person from some age a long time ago. Sometimes it’s a relative—a great, great grandparent, for example; or a famous person about whom I know a few things and would be able to relate to on some level—George Washington or Felix Mendelssohn; or I go “really deep” and imagine some character from way back when—a peasant from northern France in 1369, say, just for kicks. With each person I assume that either s/he speaks English (George and Felix!) or we have at our disposal a sophisticated, real-time translation device.
Next comes the really fun part. I greet the person and invite him/her to accompany me through my day. At every turn, I imagine the questions that would be blitzing me—“What’s this?” “What’s that?” “What are you doing now?” “What are those people doing over there?” “Why?”
In almost any modern environment, it doesn’t take long before you’re not only blowing the mind of your imaginary companion, but you’re pressing yourself to question things, people, thoughts, assumptions, like never before. “How is that 40-story building crane erected, and what keeps it from tipping over?” “Why at rush hour is nearly every car carrying only one person, when they all seem to be headed in the same direction?” “How do all those rows of food appear in the gigantic grocery store?” “How does it get wrappd up in all this packaging?” “How in the world did those people appear on that TV screen, and what on earth are they talking about?”
To take it to the next level, imagine yourself trying to explain what’s transpired in the world since your imaginary visitor was last upright. This war and that conflict; the disappearance of certain empires that were around during the visitor’s lifetime; the appearance of countries, great powers since; inventions and discoveries; advances in science and technology; six manned missions to the moon but not one in nearly half a century; the modern view(s) of human rights; the role of religion in modern society; and of course, you can’t pass up trying to explain social media and your own addiction to Twitter and Instagram—after you’ve given your companion a demonstration.
To have more fun, contemplate what the time traveler would think upon hearing, watching one commercial jet after another fly directly overhead in or out of your city’s “LaGuardia” and noticing that neither you nor anyone else walking the street seems to notice. “Huh? What? Oh, those,” you’d say.
Apart from providing free amusement, this suggested mind game can help you see things more clearly and bring the world about you into a more interesting perspective.
The 10.0 version of my mind experiment involves switching out your great, great grandmother, “George” or “Felix” for an alien from another galaxy. The alien lands in your backyard and asks, “So, what’s up?”
© 2019 Eric Nilsson
