The Fundamental Interconnectedness of the Impossible by Breana

The Fundamental Interconnectedness of the Impossible by Breana - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

“‘What was the Sherlock Holmes principle? ‘Once you have discounted the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ I reject that entirely,’ said Dirk sharply. ‘The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks.’

This most memorable of statements from a peculiar character, the centerpiece of my favorite book, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, who sees the world differently. He doesn’t see the world in disconnected pieces, he doesn’t see the world in black-and-white, he doesn’t discount things because they seem unlikely or even impossible. He sees the world wholly as it is and uses his holistic view to solve the mysteries presented to him. This way of looking at things has always fascinated me, because it allows one to realize how connected the world is, how the pieces of history fit together just-so, and how, even though we might think we understand everything in our infinite brilliance (and sometimes arrogant ignorance), we cannot say for certain that something is truly and wholly impossible. When you disregard a possibility in anything, you’re losing a pathway toward an answer. This is true in every aspect of life - whether you’re brainstorming the answer to a chemistry exam and aren’t sure how to approach the problem or whether you’re trying to figure out the next move as a diplomat promoting international relations with a country whose allegiance and friendship have been wavering. Dirk Gently and his charisma, his bravery, his positivity, his creativity, and his unstoppability have influenced me by reminding me that we are all interconnected.

In the book, the paradox of time travel is explained away. You can’t change history by traveling backward in time, because it was going to happen anyway - the pieces of time and space all fitting together like a puzzle. He didn’t let the risk of what might happen stop him from trying to accomplish the task at hand.

Growing up, sometimes I would be afraid just to start something for fear of doing it incorrectly. To me, it was worse to be wrong than it was to not even try. Dirk Gently has inspired me to try: It doesn’t matter if you’re wrong, it doesn’t matter if you fail. Something will work out. Even if you don’t solve that particular problem, through the interconnectedness of all things, you will learn a valuable tool, a valuable approach, something useful. It’s always important to try, even if it seems impossible, because nothing is impossible. In fact, those things that seem impossible might just be the best things to try because they’ve got this integrity which will help those who try to conquer them grow in unimaginable and amazing ways. His stories made me realize that I should have confidence in my abilities and embrace my ability to see things differently. I’ve been told by mentors at internships that I have a different way of looking at things, which fascinated them. Thanks to characters like Dirk Gently, the unconventional problem solvers, I’m inspired to use that talent to solve my own problems and maybe, with the help of an astronomy and engineering education, find some clues about the mysteries of the fundamental principles of space and physics in our universe.