Splitting hairs

"Man is a mystery, they say", said Tom slowly and thoughtfully, looking at the blue sky through the window of his study room. His friend Tim looked at him. Like Tom, Tim too was getting bored. Tim decided to continue the conversation to escape getting bored, but he was not sure the conversation would be less boring.

"So?" Tim asked, staring at the wall opposite his chair. This question was a big encouragement for Tom in his struggle against boredom. His gaze was fixed on a single small white cloud in the bright sky.

"As per the human nature, if it is a mystery then it has to be solved", he said turning his head towards his friend. Tim shrugged his shoulders, his face still without any expression.

"They say," continued Tom speaking at a slow pace, "the person who said it wanted to solve this mystery".

"Which mystery?" asked Tim. Tom looked at him trying to understand the question. He thought he was speaking about only one mystery so there was no scope for ambiguity so Tim should not have asked the question. "You mean the mystery of human nature?" continued Tim.

Tom didn't want to sound rude or irritated so he stopped himself from saying "obviously". Instead he said "Yes, that's what I meant".

"What prevented him?" asked Tim looking at the cloud through the window.

Tom thought for a moment. "Time, maybe" he said following Tim's gaze. The cloud had got smaller, he noticed. "You see, there can be many parts or layers of a mystery", he continued, feeling pleased at his own success in finding an answer quickly, "so, a person might only unravel a portion of a mystery".

"Ok", said Tim, "what part did he solve? What answer did he get?" Tim always wanted to be precise.

Tom knew Tim liked to be precise, so he wondered why Tim did not ask the name of the person who considered Man as a mystery. "Probably, 'what' is more important than 'who' for Tim", he guessed.

"Well, it is hard to say," said Tom rubbing his chin, "he did not state anything explicitly, but he wrote about characters who faced tough situations. Readers found their reactions very convincing, so we can say that he succeeded in his endeavor to a large extent".

"So", said Tim staring at the ceiling, "he considered Man as a mystery because according to him it was not possible to guess how man would react in a given situation. Right?"

"Well... Yes, that's what I think", said Tom but he was not confident.

"He wrote about characters," continued Tim with his eyes closed, "so I can label him as a writer. Now, we have a writer who thinks it is hard if not impossible to predict how any man would behave in a given situation, and he goes on to describe him in such a way that people found his reactions, well as you say, convincing".

Tom felt a bit confused. He chose to remain silent. Some dark clouds had started gathering in the sky.

Tim rubbed his palms over his ears and without opening his eyes he continued, "If it is hard to say how a man would react in a given situation, then what makes you feel convinced that he reacted according to his nature? It is your ignorance of his nature that makes him a mystery, right?"

Tom had to say something. So he said "a man is a mystery when you first interact with him. As you observe his actions and hear his thoughts on various events, you go on knowing him better and better. This is unraveling the mystery step by step".

"Hah," Tim opened his eyes and gave a broad smile. "Now you are talking about knowing individuals, not about man in general. Secondly, what you said about knowing a man is true about anything. For example you see an object and by visual impression you come to know that it is a small sized ball. You touch it and you know whether it is hard or soft. You pick it up and you know whether it is light or heavy. You come to know about various aspects of the object through observation and experimentation. This is true for any object, place, animal, animal species and so on. Everything is a mystery".

Tom felt exasperated. "I guess the writer meant something else when he called man a mystery".

"A writer has to make himself clear and should not leave his readers in confusion", said Tim with a wink.

Tom looked into the book lying open in front of him. He adjusted his reading glasses and said, "The writer spoke about the mystery of 'man in general'. He thinks that the time spent in unraveling this mystery is well spent".

Tim nodded. "I am still not sure what your writer means by the word 'mystery'. Anyway I agree that the best way to spend time is to do what you like to do. I mean, it seems it is true by definition doesn't it? What else does he say?"

Again Tom bent over the book on the table in front of him. He placed his index finger on the next line and read it. "He says he is studying the mystery because he wants to be a human being".

"Is he not a human being already?" asked Tim with a little laugh.

"Maybe, he means to say 'an enlightened human being' when he uses the word human being." Tom tried to make an attempt at understanding what was written in the book.

"That's possible", remarked Tim, “by the term 'human being' some people mean 'a compassionate person', some mean 'a civilized man', and some mean 'a highly educated and intelligent man'. Here they have their own definitions of civilization and intelligence."

"We can suppose he means to say that by understanding human nature, he will become a perfect human being". Again Tom tried to make a guess.

"I think", said Tim thoughtfully, “different individuals have different natures and there is no single human nature. Still, if I am wrong and there is one then I would say the person who understands human nature completely becomes a super human! After all a human being is a human being spontaneously just as a dog is a dog spontaneously and not because it understands what it means to be a dog, or, just as a stone is a stone spontaneously".

"Isn't it possible that we have not understood what he meant?" asked Tom. "Maybe we are taking his words too literally".

"That's possible. Probably he spoke in some context that we don't know about" said Tim throwing back his shoulders, and getting up to leave. "I must read everything he wrote and said. Is the name of the writer given in the book or should I search the internet?”