Logic by Bonnie Le Hamilton

“We are resolved to be logical.”

Who do you think of when you hear that line? Spock? Well it isn’t a quote from Star Trek, it’s a quote from Caligula. “Logic” is a word Spock used a lot, but not that exact quote. How do I know this? Simple. I read about it in a book titled, “I Am Not Spock” by none other than Leonard Nimoy. At one point I had that section of his book memorized which included that line, for a dramatic reading, let alone that I have three seasons of the original series of Star Trek on DVD, so I do know what I’m talking about.

And why am I bringing that up now? Because of Konnie’s post last week about being logical. You see it felt weird to have the twin who has always gotten the jokes, and laughed a lot at not only my inability to get the jokes but at me whenever I tried to explain why a joke didn’t make sense – why it wasn’t logical.

Yeah, you got it, I’m the logical twin. Always have been. Getting me to laugh is like pulling teeth to the point that I have one friend who would crow for weeks every time he managed to get me to laugh just once. I generally don’t get jokes, but I’m also the first one to say they go right over my head.

Actually, I was once heard to say, “They go right over my head and land on Konnie.” You see, I’m just a wee bit taller than her. 😊

But as for the riddle Konnie mentioned last week, well I heard that one years ago, and from the first time I heard it, I knew the best action would be to let his friend take the old lady to the hospital in his car while he sat and chatted with the girl. I know that’s the logical action, but I never considered that to be “thinking outside the box”. Or that such thinking was logical.  

Growing up, thinking outside the box made you eccentric and even idiotic, but certainly not logical. Thinking outside the box is what “strange ducks” did. As a teen the eccentric characters were the “Flower Children” advanced to middle age, but not grown up.

And when did eccentric become logical?

Not that I’m saying Konnie is wrong. I personally see writing as thinking “outside” the box, as well as being logical. It has to be, because while we write fiction, we also have to make it believable, or in other words logical.

If B is going to happen in the story, then there has to be a logical reason for A to respond that way, or it won’t be believable. Everything we do as writers hinges on logic, even if what we are writing only exists outside the bounds of reality.

I consider contemplating “What if” to be a logical thing to do, even if its outside the box. I actually once read of a truck driver who did some “What if” thinking and come up with plans he’d execute if a certain scenario happened.

One of the events he contemplated was an earthquake while he was driving over a bridge or overpass, sending him sailing over the edge, and what he would do if it happened. Well, it did happen and he didn’t need to think, just react in the manner he’d always told himself he’d respond, and it saved his life.

Thinking outside the box is logical and even smart. Right now, I’m not sure why it was ever considered otherwise.

Happy writing everyone!