I love my wife, but she is a little weird.  She is fascinated with air vibrations.  She even has a word for it.  She calls it M-U-S-I-C.  Scientists call it mere air vibrations hitting your eardrum.  Of course, she says that’s the reason God made ears, so we could appreciate M-U-S-I-C?

Recently, I attended a M-U-S-I-C festival of some kind.  There were literally thousands of people there.  It seemed more like an outside religious service to worship air vibrations.  Surrounded by true believers, I was clearly out-of-place.  At any moment, I expected someone to scream INFIDEL while pointing at me and inciting the mob to stone me . . . or worse!

The true believers certainly exercised their freedom to dress as outrageous as they wanted, but they were universally friendly and they laughed easily.  Often, they bounced their bodies or dangled their arms to get “in-tune” with these air vibrations?  While I didn’t understand their enthusiasm, I did enjoy their company.

Unfortunately, these air vibrations transfer no information.  There were no numbers, no data points, no new theories, no news reports, nothing that I could see, except swaying to the M-U-S-I-C.  It was not a learning experience, it was a feeling experience, and everyone was obviously feeling very good.  I can see why religions and dictators have long tried to control all this.

My wife points out that I also have my share of weird eccentricities.  For example, the government, at last count, publishes 162 monthly reports on the economy, which I find as fascinating she finds air vibrations.  Is that weird?

A famous thought usually attributed in error to Voltaire is “I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.”   I wonder if he would also defend to the death our right to be weird?