“If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.”
Last night I had a little confrontation and needless to say I was more than aggravated in the aftermath. Didn’t quite want to lay it on my friends, so I did what I normally do, I drove. As long as I have been driving, a good long drive always tends to set my mind straight. Maybe its because it allows me to think, or that is allows me to stop thinking for a bit and simply run on instinct.
I ended up tromping around the Rockaway Town Square for a new pair of Levi’s and saw a painting of Einstein with that specific quote. Got me thinking… How many people really do that, in a literal sense… They get an idea, a theory, and change the facts instead of correcting the theory?
I get plenty of ideas, every day. I tend to pride myself that most of my ideas are based in fact, in reality. I find it weak to dedicate a single brain cell on convincing others of something which is inherently flawed.
People are like a complex game of Sudoku, myself included. Sudoku is a puzzle where you have a 9×9 box where no single row can have the same number twice, and no 3×3 square in the matrix can have the same number twice. Many times I’ve spent some time on one of these puzzles only to realize that early on I got it wrong. One number was out of place, and although I have seemingly completed the puzzle, I really haven’t. I’ve misunderstood the entire thing and my theory, my solution, is wrong.
Now could I change the facts? Sure, I could just rub out the ink in the puzzle and alter the original to fit my view of how I want it to be. In reality, the best path to take is to use a pencil and be prepared to use the eraser repeatedly. Some people learn from mistakes, others are schooled by them.
Most people fail to understand me. I don’t mind, it makes those who do stand out that much more. Maybe it’s my fate to be misunderstood by the masses, it doesn’ t bother me in the least. That being said, I will never change the facts when there is more to be gained by correcting the theory.
Maybe some folks would have better luck if they made the attempt to correct their theories about me.