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Constructing the Titanic
Jan. 10th, 2004 01:39 pmPeople who know the story of my life aren't terribly surprised that I harbor something of a persecution complex. It's not that I expect everyone is trying to attack me; instead, my special paranoia is that even my best-laid plans will fail for no discernible reason. They will fail spectacularly, against all odds, and any contingency plans will also not work, even if this failure requires a redefinition of basic physics. I will not be able to learn from these experiences because nobody will be capable of explaining how or why they failed, even the people responsible for foiling them.
As a result, I get really tense whenever I have what I recognize as a good idea. Bad ideas are fine. Bad ideas tend to work for me, actually, and so perhaps I should relabel them "batshit ideas." The good ideas, though. They're nothing but trouble.
Why then, you may ask, do I continue to pursue them instead of running into the nearest bar - I-beam or speakeasy? The answer is that the good ideas are such seductively good ideas, ideas which have every reason to work, and with which everybody else becomes similarly enamored when I ask their advice. Never mind that the ideas have a history of being doomed to inexplicable disaster - there's absolutely no reason they should be.
I am entirely convinced that this one is going to blow up in my face, and my evidence, don't you see, is the lack of evidence. It's incontrivertable! And so I vow: only bad ideas from this day forth. Or is that idea too good to succeed?
As a result, I get really tense whenever I have what I recognize as a good idea. Bad ideas are fine. Bad ideas tend to work for me, actually, and so perhaps I should relabel them "batshit ideas." The good ideas, though. They're nothing but trouble.
Why then, you may ask, do I continue to pursue them instead of running into the nearest bar - I-beam or speakeasy? The answer is that the good ideas are such seductively good ideas, ideas which have every reason to work, and with which everybody else becomes similarly enamored when I ask their advice. Never mind that the ideas have a history of being doomed to inexplicable disaster - there's absolutely no reason they should be.
I am entirely convinced that this one is going to blow up in my face, and my evidence, don't you see, is the lack of evidence. It's incontrivertable! And so I vow: only bad ideas from this day forth. Or is that idea too good to succeed?
