I’m playing in a pickleball tournament this weekend and I’m in that phase where I think I might win, and I also think I might get my ass handed to me eight times over. It’s like Schrödinger’s thought experiment about the cat in a box. Is the cat alive inside the box, or did it just lose a pickleball tournament and is hiding in shame from the world?
The thought experiment is kind of related to quantum physics, the idea being that the act of looking in the box determines the cat‘s reality (alive or dead). If you open the box and the cat is dead, it’s actually your fault the cat died.
Cats climb into boxes all the time—it’s kind of their thing. If it dies in there, it’s mostly its own fault. Also, you’d probably smell it. Thought experiments don’t always take into account all the practicalities of reality.
I have my own theory that Schrödinger’s cat is built into the fabric of human nature, and is essential to our survival as a species. In particular, we must believe that the cat is alive to give us hope; and we must take actions to keep the cat alive.
Here is what I mean.
The Mickey Picayune Corollary to Schrödinger’s Cat Applied Generally to Human Nature
If you recall the scene in Annie Hall, when the young Woody Allen character won’t do his homework because in five billion years the sun will expand and explode, obliterating earth. “What’s the point?” He asks.
Indeed.
Well, the point is that we are here, now. We have each other to live for: our family, friends, and neighbors. We have our spouses and lovers (and may those two never meet!)
We live for what we have and what we hope for. If you happen to have food, shelter, and safety, you have a decent chance at a life that is quite pleasant. You’re going to have to work to make it pleasant, though.
That intrinsic ability to ignore inevitable doom and work to make things pleasant is what allowed early human beings to deal with their very hostile environment, somehow learning to avoid lions and tigers and bears, along with crocodiles and food scarcity, so that we could eventually enjoy living.
I’m not saying we should ignore all the problems in the world. On the contrary, it’s our job to care for the world and each other, and try to make things a little better for the future. Granted, the climate crisis will demand a lot of us, as the rising oceans and angry hurricanes remind us, but I hope we can make it better.
Being a writer is like assigning yourself homework for the rest of your life, so I’m definitely not worried about when the sun explodes.
The Mickey Picayune Corollary in Practice
Here are a couple of examples to send us all merrily on our way:
- I believe I’m going to have fun at the pickleball tournament on Saturday, and may just win it all; but I’m going to have to show up, play like I’m going to win, and not get discouraged when someone with knee braces and a bad back hits shots way better than I can
- I believe we’re going to save democracy in this next election; but I’m going to do what I can to make that happen, like phone-banking for a candidate who supports democratic institutions
- I believe that the putrid smell in the Amazon box in the dining room is NOT a dead cat, but only some CAT POOP left there by Ja’mie, our domestic short hair; but I’m probably going to be the one who cleans up the mess
Again, I don’t mind taking care of my family, friends, cats, and dogs. They all bring me joy.
Also, when they do dumb or funny stuff, I get to put that into the stories I write!
Meanwhile, at My Writing Desk…
I have a new humor piece I’m schlepping around to the humor publications, and I’m talking myself into revising the current novel while also starting a new one.
I’m convinced that writing a novel is one of the most hopeful things you can ever do (because the reality I’m ignoring is that very few novels gain a wide audience).
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I’ve joined a group promo for Clean Fantasy this week…
https://storyoriginapp.com/to/KduPVKC
Next Picayune
I’m still—still!—loving this class on the craft of writing so I hope y’all love the Picayune just as much. I’ll be back in a couple more weeks with more stories about writing, books, and whatnot. Thanks for reading the Mickey Picayune.
All the best,
Mickey