The Fools

I like fools. Yes, those who are considered fools, those considered mad.

 But what is madness, really?
If my Sunday night is reserved for going to bars and yours for going to church, to you, I am crazy, just as you are to me.

Those who go to church might think:

• Why do these people harm themselves willingly, destroying their health? They know about the hangover the next day but don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Besides, they are far from God, and if they don’t accept Him in time, they will go to hell.

Those who go to bars might think:

• How do these people waste their time believing in Judgment Day? How can they hold such rigid beliefs, thinking that regardless of their actions, attending church on Sundays will lead them to heaven?

Those who go to church may see the hedonism of the bars as senseless, while those who drink may judge the blind faith of those who pray.

This is a mild analogy with subtle references since when we talk about madness, we are actually talking about different ways of thinking. People tend to be rigid, prejudiced, and radical when their ways of thinking—especially those deeply ingrained—are challenged.

The truth is, if we take this to a broader perspective, we will see that society is guided by certain thought patterns shared and accepted by the majority.

Who created these patterns?
I don’t know, but it was probably someone who realized that spreading them generated power. Ironically, those who invented these patterns were people who understood the counterpoints and the power of internal belief in external factors and society.
In other words, they didn’t think like the majority but found purpose in making the majority think the same way.

Thought, word, action. Is there anything more powerful than this?
How do you make an entire society behave within determined standards to achieve order and control?
It’s simple. If you have a group of five friends, and all of you enjoy roller skating except one, it’s likely that the one who doesn’t skate will start skating, or the group will eventually exclude the one who doesn’t want to join in.

Humans are slaves to their sense of belonging.

That’s why I like the ‘fools,’ the timeless ones. I like those who don’t fit in because they’ve somehow rejected belonging—or better yet, they’ve tried to show the ‘sane’ that detachment from belonging could be the key to human evolution.

It’s true that humans have value.
A species without claws or sharp teeth, without the size of a bear or the agility of a jaguar, yet we’ve managed to control all other species. Yes, we have our worth.

But if we were to go extinct, the planet Earth wouldn’t miss us; in fact, we’d be doing it a favor.
Try to eradicate bacteria, cockroaches, ants, or bees, and see if we can survive here.

We aren’t very faithful to the food chain. While we argue over polarizing topics like veganism, we overlook the master key to life’s door: balance.

On one hand, we play at grouping animals and feeding them hormones while selecting the microorganisms that will kill us in the future. On the other hand, we extinguish biodiversity, impoverish our soil, and destabilize ecosystems that could collapse at any moment.

We don’t even respect our own species. We still wage wars over pieces of land or religious diversity. Once again, it’s the clash of rigid mindsets unwilling to dissolve, understand, or unify.
Yet, we still believe we are the most evolved species on the planet.

Be the kind of skeptic who seeks questions, not answers. Only then will you find, even if temporarily, the satisfaction of answering them.

Why do I say this?
How many models does the atom have?
The first model was nothing more than a solid iron ball—this was the truth of its time. Then, we discovered there was something inside; it was more like a "plum pudding."

Wait, that’s not it. Now we have positive and negative charges.
No, no, no—the electrons orbit the nucleus in circular layers; there’s nothing solid or pudding-like.

Ah, you’re all outdated—it’s not layers, it’s actually an electronic cloud spinning around the nucleus.

Well, these are several answers obtained with the resources of their respective eras. These answers satisfied the first question for a period of time: What is the atom?
The fact is, we’ll keep asking that question continuously, and the answer D is only possible because someone first found answer A.

Therefore, there are no absolute answers.
Many who were criticized and judged as mad, charlatans, pseudoscientists, or antipsychiatrists were those who needed to die first to have their work recognized.

Were they crazy or simply bearers of ideas ahead of their time?

The most impressive thing is that humanity now uses their art, writings, research, and ideas, even though these people had to die to be acknowledged. Yet, when history repeats itself, we fail to value the answer A, which is fundamental to B, C, D…

Humans still prefer to medicate and judge those outside the norms. This way, they won’t disrupt the comfort zone, won’t cause social chaos, and will be easier to domesticate. Besides, the pharmaceutical industry is grateful since money seems to be this world’s driving force.

Thus, those in power who understand the impact of thought on action work hard to reinforce the ideas that suit them best.

The manipulated, trapped in their sense of belonging, never ask why diversity is an innate and fundamental factor. Instead, they pursue standardization.

In truth, they don’t ask questions; they cling to temporary answers.

Humans study bacteria to learn how they can help us or how we can defend ourselves against them, but they fail to learn how bacteria value diversity and defend their species when threatened, switching from asexual to sexual reproduction to recombine their genetic material and produce stronger individuals to combat the threat.

Humans still don’t understand the importance of differences—on any level or aspect. Patterns, please us more.

That’s why I prefer the fools. They can be pseudofools, too—that’s okay. They don’t need to make sense; they don’t need to follow a metric of madness, which would also be imposed by some other person who considers themselves sane.

I prefer the fools because they are the ones who, by rejecting the norm, create the answers that lead to the next question. And perhaps, by embracing ‘madness,’ we can finally break free from the illusion of normality that imprisons us.

At least they are not slaves to categories—except for this category called madness, where we throw everything we don’t yet know or understand.

Still, even if some people don’t fit as a species, I like to believe in humans.
However, I will never stop asking questions and will never be satisfied with just the answer A.

I like fools. Yes, those who are considered fools, those considered mad.

 But what is madness, really?
If my Sunday night is reserved for going to bars and yours for going to church, to you, I am crazy, just as you are to me.

Those who go to church might think:

• Why do these people harm themselves willingly, destroying their health? They know about the hangover the next day but don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Besides, they are far from God, and if they don’t accept Him in time, they will go to hell.

Those who go to bars might think:

• How do these people waste their time believing in Judgment Day? How can they hold such rigid beliefs, thinking that regardless of their actions, attending church on Sundays will lead them to heaven?

Those who go to church may see the hedonism of the bars as senseless, while those who drink may judge the blind faith of those who pray.

This is a mild analogy with subtle references since when we talk about madness, we are actually talking about different ways of thinking. People tend to be rigid, prejudiced, and radical when their ways of thinking—especially those deeply ingrained—are challenged.

The truth is, if we take this to a broader perspective, we will see that society is guided by certain thought patterns shared and accepted by the majority.

Who created these patterns?
I don’t know, but it was probably someone who realized that spreading them generated power. Ironically, those who invented these patterns were people who understood the counterpoints and the power of internal belief in external factors and society.
In other words, they didn’t think like the majority but found purpose in making the majority think the same way.

Thought, word, action. Is there anything more powerful than this?
How do you make an entire society behave within determined standards to achieve order and control?
It’s simple. If you have a group of five friends, and all of you enjoy roller skating except one, it’s likely that the one who doesn’t skate will start skating, or the group will eventually exclude the one who doesn’t want to join in.

Humans are slaves to their sense of belonging.

That’s why I like the ‘fools,’ the timeless ones. I like those who don’t fit in because they’ve somehow rejected belonging—or better yet, they’ve tried to show the ‘sane’ that detachment from belonging could be the key to human evolution.

It’s true that humans have value.
A species without claws or sharp teeth, without the size of a bear or the agility of a jaguar, yet we’ve managed to control all other species. Yes, we have our worth.

But if we were to go extinct, the planet Earth wouldn’t miss us; in fact, we’d be doing it a favor.
Try to eradicate bacteria, cockroaches, ants, or bees, and see if we can survive here.

We aren’t very faithful to the food chain. While we argue over polarizing topics like veganism, we overlook the master key to life’s door: balance.

On one hand, we play at grouping animals and feeding them hormones while selecting the microorganisms that will kill us in the future. On the other hand, we extinguish biodiversity, impoverish our soil, and destabilize ecosystems that could collapse at any moment.

We don’t even respect our own species. We still wage wars over pieces of land or religious diversity. Once again, it’s the clash of rigid mindsets unwilling to dissolve, understand, or unify.
Yet, we still believe we are the most evolved species on the planet.

Be the kind of skeptic who seeks questions, not answers. Only then will you find, even if temporarily, the satisfaction of answering them.

Why do I say this?
How many models does the atom have?
The first model was nothing more than a solid iron ball—this was the truth of its time. Then, we discovered there was something inside; it was more like a "plum pudding."

Wait, that’s not it. Now we have positive and negative charges.
No, no, no—the electrons orbit the nucleus in circular layers; there’s nothing solid or pudding-like.

Ah, you’re all outdated—it’s not layers, it’s actually an electronic cloud spinning around the nucleus.

Well, these are several answers obtained with the resources of their respective eras. These answers satisfied the first question for a period of time: What is the atom?
The fact is, we’ll keep asking that question continuously, and the answer D is only possible because someone first found answer A.

Therefore, there are no absolute answers.
Many who were criticized and judged as mad, charlatans, pseudoscientists, or antipsychiatrists were those who needed to die first to have their work recognized.

Were they crazy or simply bearers of ideas ahead of their time?

The most impressive thing is that humanity now uses their art, writings, research, and ideas, even though these people had to die to be acknowledged. Yet, when history repeats itself, we fail to value the answer A, which is fundamental to B, C, D…

Humans still prefer to medicate and judge those outside the norms. This way, they won’t disrupt the comfort zone, won’t cause social chaos, and will be easier to domesticate. Besides, the pharmaceutical industry is grateful since money seems to be this world’s driving force.

Thus, those in power who understand the impact of thought on action work hard to reinforce the ideas that suit them best.

The manipulated, trapped in their sense of belonging, never ask why diversity is an innate and fundamental factor. Instead, they pursue standardization.

In truth, they don’t ask questions; they cling to temporary answers.

Humans study bacteria to learn how they can help us or how we can defend ourselves against them, but they fail to learn how bacteria value diversity and defend their species when threatened, switching from asexual to sexual reproduction to recombine their genetic material and produce stronger individuals to combat the threat.

Humans still don’t understand the importance of differences—on any level or aspect. Patterns, please us more.

That’s why I prefer the fools. They can be pseudofools, too—that’s okay. They don’t need to make sense; they don’t need to follow a metric of madness, which would also be imposed by some other person who considers themselves sane.

I prefer the fools because they are the ones who, by rejecting the norm, create the answers that lead to the next question. And perhaps, by embracing ‘madness,’ we can finally break free from the illusion of normality that imprisons us.

At least they are not slaves to categories—except for this category called madness, where we throw everything we don’t yet know or understand.

Still, even if some people don’t fit as a species, I like to believe in humans.
However, I will never stop asking questions and will never be satisfied with just the answer A.