Dear reader , I ’ d like to take the column inches that have been so graciously offered to me by the awesomely badass ladies that produce this fine publication and talk to you about the creative spark - the muse , the inexplicable voice that whispers strange and wonderful suggestions in our ears . If you ’ re familiar with the literary effluent that I have in the past inflicted on an otherwise unsuspecting public , then you ’ ll be aware that creativity is something of a passion of mine . You might even call it my raison d ’ etre . Thankfully … you haven ’ t .
In this article I ’ d like to approach creativity from a slightly different angle than usual , and demonstrate how sometimes the craziest notions can give rise to something wonderful . But first ... a little magic .
Yes , I said magic , don ’ t give me that look . A cognitive conundrum that will tax your “ little grey cells ” as Hercule Poirot might say . Are you ready ? Here it is :
1 + 1 = 3
No that ’ s not a typo , and just to prove it , I ’ ll do it again :
1 + 1 = 3
“ Now see here ,” I hear you exclaim in that endearingly italicized way that you have , “ I may not know much , but I know that one plus one does not equal three !”
Indeed dear reader , while normally I would not have the temerity to heap such obvious hogwash on you , in this instance I must beg your indulgence and ask a simple question :
What if it did ?
Like you , I was taught in school that one plus one equaled two . ( One of the few lessons I didn ’ t sleep through , it must be noted .)
As a child , that mathematical certainty remained as solid and reassuring as the stars in the sky and the fact that broccoli was the work of Satan . ( I ’ m still not 100 % sure about cauliflower either .) I didn ’ t doubt its validity any more than I doubted the sunrise , or that Wile E . Coyote ’ s brilliant and cunning plan ( aided and abetted by the venerable ACME as it was ) would once again fail to procure a fresh Road Runner for his evening meal .
Despite this solid mathematical foundation , I always felt that something was awry , as if there was a fundamental truth I was missing . It would take many years , and many broken math teachers , before I discovered the answer .
According to mathematics , when you add one object to another object , you end up with two objects . Seems simple enough right ? Now let ’ s look at it from another perspective . If you have
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