If I could offer only one piece of evidence for the ultimate
stupidity of the human race, this would be it. This, or one of the many things just like it.
I walk into the store, and as I pass by, I look at the board.
I stop. I stare.
found: one slightly damaged happy meal toy — call 555-5412 to claim
wanted: lid for beige tupperware crockpot — 555-2304
will work in gardens, weekends or weekdays — 555-2850
I think to myself, as I continue my shopping, that these people cannot possibly be serious. Can they? Of course, they are, and that absolutely puzzles me. How do these people survive? This is not like saying something stupid, I mean, I do that myself all the time. It just happens, too quickly to be stopped. But this? This is completely different. These people paid to place those ads. What were they thinking?
As I round the freezer racks, my thoughts come back at me like a boomerang. What about some of the 'idiotic' things I have done? Who was it who took apart his watch to reverse the buttons? Was it a stupid person who tried overpowering a crystal diode? I had thought about these things beforehand, and they had all seemed like good ideas. Yet I am sure some outside observer would look at me and laugh at my idiocy. Was there something different in this?
Yes, I decided, I am most definitely different from them. Somehow. Maybe I should just try not to think about it. And so I continued, oblivious to the possibility lying in that line of thought.
Had I taken it further, perhaps I would have recognized the true potential behind some of the simpler ideas. Too late now, many opportunities already missed. I can only pick up with the wisdom that I have now, and strive to expand it as far as it will go.