It’s a small, puzzling legacy of a time of excess, pastel colors, and best of all, chest hair. To anyone who’s taken an unassisted crack at this cultural icon, sheer frustration, anger, confusion–even fear–will follow, all after hours upon hours of unsuccessful strategies and combinations. However, to those informed, this process becomes significantly simpler (if not still relatively complex in its own right). There’s a pattern to follow–sides to line up first, an order to abide by–which allows for a semi-timely, less-than-maddening attempt to solve this colorful, handheld puzzle. However, in following the “I don’t ask for directions” mantra of ultimate manhood, never will I stoop to the level of a Google-initiated cheat sheet. NO, Google Chrome, I’m NOT feeling lucky. I’ll take my hours of confusion and misery, thank you very much. Of course, in the end–cheat sheet or no–what remains is simply a highly complex, interconnected puzzle that, even when simplified by a preconceived pattern, continues to be a significantly intricate puzzle worthy of more than fleeting moment of your time.
Being a professional writer has taught me one thing–succinct communication is paramount to success. People just won’t pay attention for that long. Face it, if you’re still reading this, you’ve outdone the attention span of most of the general populous. Thanks to the saturation of technology and information, we simply don’t have the time to read a lengthy article or listen to a complex debate. We’d rather avoid the hour-long in depth documentary on some issue of note, preferring the 60 second news summary or, even better, two poorly written paragraphs by questionably anonymous authors on the ever-accurate Wikipedia. Raise your hand if you’ve skimmed the Wikipedia article on Harry Potter instead of reading JK Rowling’s compelling smash-hit series. We’ve created this mechanism of simplistic, abbreviated bits of information, compressing incredibly complex issues ranging from the socio-political and the arts to even sports entertainment. Thirty seconds or less is great, and Twitter’s 140 characters keeps me well informed when you’re partaking of your Captain Crunch-based hangover remedy, but when it comes to the economic impact of new regulations in the commodities market–we might need a little more room. Remember: soundbites are sexy but simultaneously superficial. Issues of merit, of complexity, require just a bit more effort. From 30,000 feet up, a polarizing social bill being debated in congress looks simple enough, but some 1200 odd pages of legislation would beg to differ.
Discourse, INTELLIGENT discourse, is the only answer to the matters of the day. Take a little time, read up on an issue of complexity that sparks your interest. Talk to someone in the know, critically watch a lengthy documentary, maybe spend a little more time with PBS and a little less with Headline News. And in the interim, feel free to let me know if Captain Crunch can conquer that keg stand from last night.
