Monday, January 29, 2007

you're older than you've ever been and now you're even older, but at least the world is smaller and the people are prettier

My Starbucks cup is The Way I See It #186:
The world is smaller than you think, and the people on it are more beautiful than you think.
--Bertram van Munster
Setting aside the whole matter of the surname "van Munster," do you think van Munster intends this to apply to him as well, even after having had this insight? If I read the cup and believe van Munster, does it still apply to me? Is the world still smaller and people more beautiful than what I think? If I believe so, then does it then still apply? What about now? Now? Now? I can keep on going until I think the world is as small as the head of a pin, upon which everyone is ineffably beautiful angels dancing on top. I'm nothing if not tenacious, especially where infinite regresses are involved.

Anyway, it seems like the coffee-cup world-size people-beauty analogue of Hofstadter's Law, that projects always take longer than you think, even once you take into account Hofstadter's Law. And my own corollary, that projects always take longer than you think, even after you take into account that you've taken into account Hofstadter's law and my corollary.

(Note: Yes, I go to Starbucks, although I don't drink coffee. For those who are anti-Starbucks, I used to be quite assertively anti-anti-Starbucks. Then I learned they were singlehandedly responsible for the sale of over one million copies of the latest Mitch Albom book. Now I'm just non-anti-Starbucks.)

5 comments:

Lucy said...

I bought a copy of the latest Mitch Albom book... It was for a semi-friend with atrocious taste (she liked it), but I'm still kind of ashamed.

jeremy said...

Lucy: If you keep buying his books, even if as gifts for semi-friends with atrocious taste, it will only encourage him to write more.

Anonymous said...

I'm still trying to figure out how Mitch Albom sales lessened your anti-Starbucks position (even granting that "HIt Somebody (The Hockey Song)" is brilliant).

jeremy said...

Ken: No, I went from being anti-anti-Starbucks, that is, against those who were against Starbucks, to now just being not against Starbucks. I despise Mitch Albom.

nina said...

Wow, I'm always surprised how people have such strong feelings about such, well, commonplace things.