CXCVIII: The Solitaire Mystery

Lately I've been re-re-reading one of my favourite books, The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. It's a fictional story about a boy and his father who set off from Norway to find his mother in Athens. On the way, he is given a tiny book by a stranger that tells an unbelievable tale involving the creation of something from nothing. I haven't properly summarized the plot because a) I never properly summarize and b) I don't want to give away too much since I highly recommend giving it a read. The Norwegian author is a former philosophy professor and has written a number of books (in addition to this one) that I hold in high esteem: Sophie's World and Maya. But this is one takes the cake.

Each time I read this book, I am filled with the wonder of being alive. Not in a "praise the Lord" kind of way, but more along the lines of "I can't believe the Earth and all its inhabitants came to be". How often do you take a moment (or several) to ponder about your existence? Or the existence of a higher being?

A Russian astronaut and a Russian brain surgeon were once discussing religion. The brain surgeon was a Christian but the astronaut was not. The astronaut said, 'I've been out in space many times but I've never seen God or angels.' And the brain surgeon said, 'And I've operated on many clever brains but I've never seen a single thought.

Another loved quotation: "Life is one huge lottery where only the winning tickets are visible." Think about the odds of you being alive today. How many of your ancestors had to withstand plagues, wars, accidents, and unpleasant conditions to survive? If any of your ancestors had perished prematurely, you would not be alive today.

The best thing about this book is that it makes philosophy fun and coaxes these new thoughts out of you in a non-threatening way, while entertaining you all the while. It's like The Magic School Bus version of Plato's Republic. Except not really. Don't get me started on all the branches of philosophy--Sophie's World can do that.