BRACK: There are so many things I don’t understand

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  It’s a season for lists and I’ve been keeping a list of things that I just don’t understand — and probably never will.  Yes, it’s a different way to start off a new year, but if I accept I never will understand these things, then maybe I won’t worry about them and life will become even better.

So, without lots of fanfare, here is a hodge-podge of 11 kinds of mush that do uncurl in my brain:

Anime.  What’s the point?  What’s the attraction of animated creatures with too-big eyes who yell and scream on quest after incomprehensible quest?

Physics.  For years, I have tried to understand physics.  I have bought books to make it simple. But other than understanding Newton “got” gravity after being hit on the head by an apple, the inner-workings of physics and how it can change my life are incomprehensible.  And it will probably stay that way. Oddly enough, I understand calculus, which can be mind-numbing. I don’t, however, understand why most high school students — or adults — ever need to know it.

Lies.  I fail to comprehend how good people who go to church and lead moral lives can tolerate a president who lies thousands of times a year.  

Texts.  I don’t understand why teen-agers with cell phones burn up thousands of texts a month instead of using the device as a telephone (and making calls to interact with their peers).

Bad drivers.  People who tailgate on our streets and highways deserve a special place in hell, as do drivers who piddle along the highways, oblivious to the flow of traffic.  Don’t tailgaters realize if the vehicle a few feet ahead of them slams on brakes at 50 miles an hour that there’s going to be an accident? More people need to re-read the driver’s license manual.

Cauliflower.  As best as I can tell, there’s no reason for this vegetable.  Why does it exist?

Economic interest.  I fail to understand how low- and middle-income can vote for candidates who do not represent their economic interests.

Strategy.  How can you move forward in life or business (or government, for that matter) if you are shooting from the hip and making it up as you go along?  I don’t understand why too many people have no plan. (See recent column on S.C. needing priorities.)

Volunteerism.  Too many people don’t engage in their communities.  They’re missing out on a big part of life by being social couch potatoes, which leads to …

Television.  I don’t understand the luring appeal of spending countless hours passively in front of a television.  Sure, I “get” the periodic value of televised entertainment, but wasting several hours a day in front of the idiot box doesn’t make any sense.

Punctuation.  Fervent admiration and use of the Oxford comma still makes no sense (it seems like a needless extra mark).  And who came up with the rule that two spaces are no longer needed after a period?  Ever hear of the need for white space to make it easier to read stuff?

What is on your “I don’t understand” list?

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