The Common Sense
Don't do it, the fall will kill you!
Setting: A serene, timeless terrace overlooking a swirling nebula of stars and nascent worlds. The air is cool and still. Sophia stands at a marble balustrade, gazing into the cosmic expanse. Christopher approaches, a glass of amber liquid in his hand.
Sophia: Christopher. I was wondering when you’d join me.
Christopher: (Swirls his drink, the ice clinking softly) I was enjoying the library. So many first editions. But the view from here is… definitive. You can see them all from this vantage, can’t you? The countless little worlds, each convinced of its own centrality.
Sophia: I see the patterns. The ascents, the triumphs. And the moments just like this, on ledges much like this one. So many souls, so many civilizations, brought to the very same precipice.
Christopher: And I suppose you offer them all the same sound, if somewhat obvious, advice.
Sophia: (Her voice is a calm whisper, yet it carries immense weight) I do. In their hearts, in the sudden clutch of reason, they hear it. That leap you are contemplating… don't take it. The resulting descent will be the end of you.
Christopher: A simple, elegant warning. But I wonder, do they truly understand the nature of the drop? To only see the terror in it feels… incomplete. I’ve always found that the most catastrophic tumbles are preceded by a certain kind of comedy. The man who builds a glorious tower to speak with the gods, only to trip on the final step. The society that perfects its laws against theft, only to have its foundations embezzled by the bookkeepers.
I don't think it's possible to have a sense of tragedy without having a sense of humor.
— Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)
Sophia: You see folly where I see tragedy.
Christopher: (A wry smile plays on his lips) I don't believe the two can be separated. To truly appreciate the magnificent, heartbreaking spectacle of a fall, you must first appreciate the sublime absurdity of the climb. To stand at the edge, wringing one’s hands and speaking only in solemn tones, is to miss the joke. And if you miss the joke, you miss the point entirely. The universe, it seems, has a terribly dry wit.
Sophia: You believe laughter is a shield against the abyss?
Christopher: Not a shield. A lens. It’s the only way to get the scale of the thing right. Without a capacity for humour, how could one possibly process the sheer, crushing awfulness of it all? The grandest tragedies are not just sad; they are ironic. They are preposterous. A sense of the ridiculous is what grants us the perspective to understand how high we were, and therefore, how devastating the crash will be.
Sophia: So my warning is not enough. To simply tell them that the fall is fatal…
Christopher: It’s a vital piece of information, to be sure. But it lacks a certain… spice. Perhaps the warning should be amended. Don't do it, the fall will kill you. And worse, on the way down, you’ll finally realize the whole venture was utterly preposterous from the start, and you won’t even have the breath to laugh.
Sophia turns from the nebula to look at him, a faint, ancient smile gracing her lips for the first time.
Sophia: You may be right. Perhaps wisdom isn't just about seeing the truth. Perhaps it's also about appreciating the grand, cosmic punchline.
Christopher: (Raises his glass in a toast) To the punchline. May we always get it before the fall.
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