Reflect, genuflect, same question, same answer, same day, different day, repeat. Is today Groundhog Day? “It is what drives men mad, being methodical,” G. K. Chesterton said, or was that yesterday? The noted physicist to whom this quote is attributed conveys the observation that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” If these gentlemen are correct, I can presume myself to be mad, for apparently, what drives men mad is doing the same thing over and over again . . . methodically. “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule,” so says Friedrich Nietzsche. I want to add universities to his list. It is of note that Nietzsche spent the last ten years of his life in an asylum after seeing a man beat his horse. If there is a thin line between genius and insanity, then I believe I am either the flogged horse or crossing the thin line. The question lies in which direction to travel. Does one go from right to left or from left to right? Perhaps it is up and down, or backward or forward? There must be a method in this madness.
What more can be written that has not already been expressed? The morning sun is rising once again, and the coffee cup is now dry. The method of today’s madness exists in the routine of another day. With effort, I shall work to break free of repetitiveness and find different results. I shall move with the work: up, down, left, right, forward, and back. I shall ask the man to quit flogging me, or I shall ask for the number of the asylum. Amen.
Reflect, genuflect, same question, same answer, same day, different day, repeat. Is today Groundhog Day? “It is what drives men mad, being methodical,” G. K. Chesterton said, or was that yesterday? The noted physicist to whom this quote is attributed conveys the observation that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” If these gentlemen are correct, I can presume myself to be mad, for apparently, what drives men mad is doing the same thing over and over again . . . methodically. “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule,” so says Friedrich Nietzsche. I want to add universities to his list. It is of note that Nietzsche spent the last ten years of his life in an asylum after seeing a man beat his horse. If there is a thin line between genius and insanity, then I believe I am either the flogged horse or crossing the thin line. The question lies in which direction to travel. Does one go from right to left or from left to right? Perhaps it is up and down, or backward or forward? There must be a method in this madness.
What more can be written that has not already been expressed? The morning sun is rising once again, and the coffee cup is now dry. The method of today’s madness exists in the routine of another day. With effort, I shall work to break free of repetitiveness and find different results. I shall move with the work: up, down, left, right, forward, and back. I shall ask the man to quit flogging me, or I shall ask for the number of the asylum. Amen.
Instructional Engineering - A Journey of Discovery 