“We can only know that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.”
I have two very specific thoughts on this passage:
The first is that it was written during the last month of my deadline, while I was battling a vicious case of viral pneumonia. It hit me like a tidal wave one day while I was sitting at my desk and within an hour I was on the couch. I didn’t get up for month. Every word I wrote for the next four weeks was drafted in a fever dream. And yet, those passages ended up being some of my favorite in the entire book, this one included.
The second is that I write these words, today, amidst the coronavirus epidemic. My family has been trapped inside for two weeks thanks to school closings, self-quarantining, and an un-seasonable amount of rain. And yes, I realize that captivity and social distancing are very different things, but the emotional toll is similar. Our circadian rhythms are out of whack. We don’t know what day of the week it is. We’re scared. We’re bored. We’re on edge. We spend a lot time thinking about our next meal. It is so strange how life can imitate art.
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