The Pondering Absurdist

… in an uninhabited forest, does it make any sound? We could go a step further and ask if Schrödinger’s cat is both alive and dead in the box, but that’s a topic for another blog.

As a single, pondering guy walking around the inside of my home alone, I’m often left with only the thoughts in my head to keep me company. Sure, I have cats, but they are often in another room occupied with one of their toys, or imagining themselves hunting the squirrel or bird or lizard they happen to be looking at outside the window. For this particular blog, we’ll just imagine that I don’t have three cats to keep me company.

I often find myself reacting audibly to a specific type of sensory input. If I bang my toes lightly on something as I (clumsily) get out of the shower, I’ll often say “ow,” or “ouch” out loud. Most of the time it didn’t really hurt, it was more of a little shock to the system, a sensory input that I hit something rather than actual pain. The pondering in question though, is why did I vocalize it instead of just reacting to it in my head and moving on? The same thing happens if I’m out in the garage working and (again, clumsily) hit my thumb with a hammer and cause real pain. I usually say something out loud, but I most likely don’t limit my outburst to a meager “ow.” It’s usually a string of profanity that I shouldn’t put down in writing here. Again, though… I would be alone working in the garage. There is nobody there to hear my outburst, so why do I make the noise? I’m sure that I’m not the only one who does this either. I’m assuming that most of humanity would vocalize some sort of outburst if they caused themselves pain, even when they’re alone. Now I start to wonder if deaf people vocalize their physical pain.

Am I alone in doing this, or does everyone do it? Why do we do it?

PA