JUST FOOLIN’ AROUND
WITH THE PARADOX OF FOOLISHNESS
did you know: They
took “gullible” out of the dictionary?
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| This fun, date-appropriate image is actually the logo for the very bright people who created the Twelfth International Workshop on Foundations of Object-Oriented Languages in 2005 |
And that’s about the level of April Fool’s Day joking I like
to engage in.
Plain old trickery or hidden-camera pranks that make someone
look ridiculous have never seemed entertaining to me.
The trouble is: The
complicated and open-to-debate “history” of April Fool’s Day would indicate that,
at least in some ways, my view is the exception, not the rule.
On the other hand:
The 21st Century world of broadcast and digital tech and social
media – the very same one by which this TGIM comes to you today – seems
enamored with the April 1 opportunity to appear (and actually quite often be)
clever for a world-wide audience.
So the TGIM Dilemma on this
April-1-falls-on-Monday is –
Is there a Takeaway
or two or three in this paradox of foolishness?
After that big setup, you gotta know I think there is.
I’ve noticed that not a few lessons in my life are
accompanied by a feeling of foolishness. We all know such moments.
- On a small scale you ask where the Men's Room is, only to find you are standing in front of it.
- On a grander scale perhaps you misunderstand or misremember critical factual information and boldly and intractably argue its rightness in an important public forum.
Feel foolish – or
worse?
You bet. When, in
my know-it-all smugness, one of life's mysteries, small or great, is uncovered
for me, I invariably feel embarrassed although I’ve gained new knowledge. The truth was so obvious I feel painfully
foolish not having seen it before. Surely everyone else knew this and has
observed my willful ignorance with some humor, if not distain.
But hold on a minute.
We routinely risk appearing foolish when we reveal our authentic selves.
We take this risk when we try
something new
… when we say the thing no one else
is saying
… when we expose our vulnerability,
perhaps by anger or indignation or tears, in public.
We take these risks any time we commit ourselves to an idea
or ideal or dream we are convinced of.
Appearing foolish is
difficult for us in our “humanness.” When we say, even just to ourselves,
we feel foolish, this usually carries a negative connotation. We mean that we
feel embarrassed by our ignorance, our naiveté, that we were caught in a deed
or using words not designed for a critical audience.
Truth is: We work
hard to appear competent and attractive to the world. Many of our behaviors
serve to polish our personas of perfection. Where competence is valued so
highly, it can be hard to play with conviction but sometimes be revealed as the
fool.
APRIL FOOL’S TAKEAWAY
#1: Don’t give up your foolish ways.
In many of Shakespeare's plays, the Fool is actually really
smart – and the only person who tells it like it is.
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| Facsimile of the first page of As You Like It from the First Folio, published in 1623 |
"The
more pity, that fools may not speak wisely
what wise men do foolishly.”
Touchstone, the court fool,
makes that complaint
to the Duke’s daughter Rosalind
after she instructs
him to stop talking
In As You Like It, Act 1 Scene 2
It is because the Fool exists somewhat outside the bounds of
societal norms and expectations that he (or she) is so powerful.
Occasionally this character may be a simple, uneducated, or
witless commoner or peasant. But, precisely because this version of foolishness
does not have the guile to hide behind a polished persona, he has the ability
to speak the truth in a way that a character of more noble standing cannot.
The Fool can also take on a critical role closer to the
privileged nobility; say, of the Court Jester. That gives the character the
opportunity to speak aloud the unspeakable in the presence of the king. And, in
part because he is a clown, he can/may not be taken seriously (although he is
often insightful) and is less susceptible to punishment.
“That, of course, is
the great secret of the successful fool – that he is no fool at all.” Isaac Asimov, no fool he, posited that in his Guide to Shakespeare.
APRIL FOOL’S TAKEAWAY
#2: If it’s inevitable that we’re to appear foolish, it would be wise to
play a Shakespearean Fool.
The Shakespearean Fool is more than just a funny and brutally
honest guy.
►He's also loyal –
a trait that, in our foolishness, we should all embody if we want to
effectively speak truth to power.
►The Shakespearean-level
Fool is also a risk-taker. But not in a calculated way. There is
selflessness, an ego-less-ness with which this archetype counsels the mighty with
awareness of, but little regard for, personal peril. And so in that way playing
the Fool can be –
►An act of personal
sacrifice for the group. This is the person who is foolish enough to put
himself at the center of a perhaps tense situation, to express the shared
ignorance, to seem incompetent so that the group as a whole can feel, and
perhaps be, stronger.
In a similar vein, the Fool we can emulate may be the person
who risks being –
►Outgoing and
friendly in a new situation so that others can feel welcome, wanted and
included. In the extreme he may even be willing to be the butt of a joke so
that everyone can have a chance to laugh together.
►Being successfully foolish
also allows learning to happen. We often hear “There are no stupid
questions.” But we seldom act as if that was a given. Recognizing that human
failing, a clever Fool may take the lead and ask aloud what others are holding
back.
It does not really matter if the inquiry stems from the
Fool’s ignorance or a sense of the need to get further clarification for the
benefit of others. The point is, although foolish on the face of it, the act of
questioning and receiving additional insight has advanced many further down the
path of growth and knowledge than they might have attained had not the foolish
question been asked.
Finally, although in the beginning of this TGIM
message I slammed a good deal of it –
►Look at all the
creativity that blossoms in the springtime of April Fool’s Day. Why do we
stifle that in the “normal” process of getting through the other 364 days of
the year?
It may take great
courage to stand by the aspects of your true self that might come across as
foolish in the context of your daily routine or buttoned-down business community
or the correctness demanded by your social circle.
But remember: When you come to those aspects of your life that make
you individual … distinctive … memorable … that set you apart from all others, this
is that place where you are creating something truly new, truly unique with
your own life.
“We're fools whether we dance or not,
so we might as well dance.”
~Japanese Proverb
APRIL FOOL’S TAKEAWAY
#3: Cherish this novelty, this
innovative process in yourself. Encourage and enable it for others. Work
to make a safe place for the Fool to live in; the Fool in each of us, and the
Foolish Others whose behavior can show us a previously unseen part of who we
are together.
No foolin’.
Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
