I wonder how the phrase 'the train of thought' would have originated. Humans have been capable of complex thought process ever since they evolved into homosapiens hundreds of thousands of years ago. They have since invented the fire, the wheel and have learned to use instruments to survive off the earth. While thought has been the very essence of human evolution and the tool for humans to become the dominant species on earth, there occurred no need to name it or describe it until the arrival of the train in the early nineteenth century. Maybe they wanted to name it after something moving fast? Then, why not light, the fastest in the universe? That should have been logical considering that thought is the only thing with humane/ biological origins which is as fast as light? Oh wait...Am I right? Is light faster than thought?
When faced with confusing questions like these I try to ask myself another question 'What would Elon Musk do?' It has less to do with me considering Elon to be a personal idol and more to do with what I have read about how he thinks. He thinks like a child asking hundreds of questions about everything new. He approaches any problem from first principles. "Won't you give me a minute, Romrir!? Let me step into the shoes of Elon here".
Oh, you must be wondering who Romrir is? Let me introduce my friend, Romrir, the eponymous sidekick who this blog is named after. How did I meet him? Well, it was in Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg in Germany. I was visiting the first concentration camp built by the Nazis. It was a gloomy morning in early October of 2014 . The chilly winds from the North Sea carried with them a light drizzle, reminding that autumn had set in. I was inside the large chamber in the far right corner of the triangular camp, where the male prisoners used to live. It was filled with hundreds of cramped wooden structures over one another, which were actually beds for the prisoners. The chamber also had preserved specimens of old uniforms of the prisoners, made by Hugo Boss.
My boss recently got a Hugo Boss suit. I suggested Ted Baker. But then, he had the final say, like a boss. Wonder if Jewish people today actually use products of Hugo Boss. Why shouldn't they? Memory fades and people forget. On a philosophical note, Hugo Boss was simply doing his job, like a true Karma Yogi as described in the Gita. Just doing his work. 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work makes you free) as etched in the iron gates of the Sachsenhausen camp. Speaking about the Gita, Krishna was a master strategist and a cognitive psychologist of the highest order. He understood the mind's need for justification and causality and could just feed the right food for thought.
Speaking about thought again reminds me of the question I was pondering about initially. What is thought made of? Such digression from the point only Salman Rushdie could rival. Such disorder like the universe after the Big Bang. So typical of my friend Romrir! So distractful that sometimes I wonder why I have him as a sidekick. Let me not digress further. Thought is nothing but neuro-electrical impulses criss-crossing through the brain. So as a form of an electromagnetic wave, it should be as fast as light. Not faster. Not sure if I am right. Well, I can't become Elon Musk, just because I try to use his principles.
I now remember how I met Romrir. It was in a broken mirror inside the old prison chamber of the concentration camp. Sometimes I wonder if it is me or Romrir, who is making my train of thought go wild like a rollercoaster. He hasn't helped me answer my first question about why thought was compared to a moving train. Romrir, my sidekick, is certainly not even close to how good a sidekick Dr. Watson was to Sherlock. I can hear Romrir retorting sarcastically, suppressing a giggle, that I am not even as close to Sherlock as he is to Watson.
Is it just a coincidence that Romrir is an anagram of Mirror? Maybe.
