The Answer To Everything
Subconscious Fat on How to Answer Important Questions
“Is this where you tell us you’re a supreme being?” Asks Mr. Skeptical.
I roll my eyes in response.
He continues. “Are you going to start a new cult now?”
I take a sip of water from my cup, forcing myself not to answer, knowing it’s a trap.
Mr. Skeptical gets up, waving his arms around. “I mean, you have the answer to everything, so…”
I pretend my lips are stitched together.
Mr. Skeptical leans in closer, pointing an accusing finger at me. His eyes are bulging his jaw tense. “So, you’re going to tell me that one plus one isn’t two. That you have a better answer?”
I can’t help myself; I’m about to explode. “Yes, I am.”
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
“One plus one doesn’t always equal two. If you stick two pieces of chewed gum together, it’ll become one big piece. One load of laundry plus another doesn’t equal two loads but only a bigger one.”
Mr. Skeptical’s eyes went from bulging to small. His jaw is now slack. He mutters, “Yeah, but…you’re saying you have the answer to everything?”
“I do.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
“The answer to everything is: it depends. The context must always be communicated. And with the context, it’s rarely completely known. There are always too many variables and too many possibilities. My saying I have the answer to everything has nothing to do with my ego.”
“Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”
“All I’m saying is that we should be careful with bold statements because there’re always exceptions. It’s a theory I have, nothing to do with ego.”
Mr. Skeptical crosses his arms. “Hmmmph.”
“Take a question like, can a human jump 20 feet up?”
“I’d say no.”
“But you see, I didn’t give you the full context. On the moon or a smaller asteroid, a human could jump 20 feet up.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
Writing about gravity reminds me of who invented the idea of gravity: Sir Isaac Newton. His discovery of gravity for many years seemed immutable. However, Albert Einstein came around, claiming that Newton’s laws of gravity and motion fail when in a different context. Newton’s laws of gravity work for situations with very low gravity and low speed, while Einstein’s equations work for the rest of the universe.
“I’ve heard of these different ideas, but give us something closer to home, something we deal with daily.”
“The dumb idea of counting calories to lose weight.”
“But all my life, I’ve heard that you lose weight if you eat fewer calories per day.”
“The tricky thing is that there’s some truth to that. Nevertheless, if you eat 500 calories of red meat compared to 500 calories of doughnuts, what do you think will make you gain more weight?”
Mr. Skeptical unfolds his arms and shrugs his shoulders. “I guess the doughnuts.”
“Of course. Meat is nutrient-dense with protein to help build muscle. Doughnuts have wheat, which wreaks havoc on the body. And so many other factors like hormones and exercise make counting calories a dumb idea.”
“So, you saying counting calories is always foolish.”
“No, I’m not. Again, the answer is ‘it depends.’ There are cases when, for example, you must be a certain weight to qualify for a wrestling or boxing match. In those cases, counting daily calories would be smart.”
Mr. Skeptical leans back and folds his arms again. “Give us an example where you thought you had the answer to something but later realized ‘it depends.’”
I sigh. Here he goes, trying to get personal. “For me, religion would be a good example. In the past, I’ve been Christian. But I kept viewing religion as hypocritical and ludicrous, so I’ve become agnostic.
I add, “Nevertheless, religion can be helpful, giving one a sense of community and belonging. I’ve decided to look for that sense of community elsewhere. Yet, is religion good for some people? Of course, I’d answer ‘it depends’. I’d argue religion was more helpful in the past and much less so today.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
My point is to remember that the answer to many questions will often or always be ‘it depends.’ There are always exceptions. There are always too many variables that can come into play, creating Subconscious Fat.
I often go back to the wise words of Socrates.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
I believe I’m congruent with Socrates’ philosophy by being aware and answering ‘it depends’ to most questions. However, I have a bold statement that I’ll reveal for the next post of Subconscious Fat. I’m excited about it.
Mr. Skeptical perks up. “Oh, really do tell.”
“No. That’s for next week.”
“You’re going to keep us hanging, waiting?”
“Yes, for I must do more research and thinking.”
“Oh boy. I can’t wait.”
Is he being sarcastic? I can’t tell. He likely can’t wait to try and punch holes in my future bold statement. Idiot.
P.S. For those of you who live in the Miami area, I’ll be hosting a Miami Carnivore Event with the Meat Up Meet-Up group on Friday, Oct 20th at 6pm. Link here for more info.