Ever walked in on a conversation you weren’t a part of, one that you didn’t understand? After listening for a little while, there’s a few things you could do:
- You could continue to listen. If the conversationalists don’t mind the company, you might be able to glean portions of meaning from seemingly unintelligible babble.
- You could attempt to inject yourself by making stuff up, or being obnoxious.
- You could leave.
Three completely commonplace solutions to a completely commonplace problem. Three actions that might even be carried through in succession, for the more annoying of us. Yet, seemingly simple solutions are often ignored, or in some cases, totally, unintentionally forgotten.
Now, take a more subtle approach to this problem, and answer truthfully: What do you do when you fully understand, yet can contribute nothing?
The scientist might recoil– he was supposed to know the answer, yet he has none, and may appear ignorant. The writer values the hidden meaning and present-tense form of story-telling, but is unable to explain why, or even recall a basic grammatical structure to compare. The engineer spends six months understanding the issue, yet can offer neither solution nor an explanation. The friend listens, nods, and speaks, but his words carry no comfort; only loneliness in themselves.
It’s the curse of the remote. You can see in, watch the people mill around, laugh as they make mistakes, cheer as they succeed, pity when they fail. Yet for all of your “shared” experience, you were never really a part of it at all. Merely an observer.
The world hates fakers. People scorn liars. But everyone is scared of being on the outside so much more.
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