I don’t have a single religious bone in my body.
Until very recently I thought my tibia was voicing some objection, but even
that seems to be on board the secular wagon. Occasionally, however, I do notice
some supernatural discrepancies in life. My childhood recollections generally
reappear within several days of their initial emergence. If slap bands happen
to come up in general conversation I would hear about them again during the
subsequent week. I told my friend Max about the strange reoccurrence and asked
his opinion. He apparently experienced a similar situation; his replication
generally concerned uncommon words and b-grad celebrities but the concept was
the same. His explanation, however, was quite different – in a more logical and
unquestionable way. “The human brain is forced to ignore a huge portion of the
content it absorbs in order to function in the world we have created,” he said.
“Our minds would explode if they tried to organise all the information they
took in.” It was an interesting idea. “When was the last time you heard someone
say the word ‘Constantinople?’” he asked. I told him that I hadn’t heard it in
years. “I guarantee you’ll hear it within the next week,” he asserted. The
following morning They Might be Giants came on the radio with their
song ‘Istanbul’. I heard the word ‘Constantinople’ 18 times in three and a half
minutes.