John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Ultimate Friday Questions

Ultimate Friday questions …..of life, the universe and everything.

Most are never solved.

A few–from time to time–can be approximated. We get a handle on them. But no more. That’s about the best we can hope for.

As we get older and wisdom replaces impatience and impertinence, we can even celebrate those moments when we merely approximate the ultimate truth of some timeless conundrum.

Recently, I had a momentary insight, a breakthrough, if you will on one such timeless question that had forever remained and enigmatic and unsolvable riddle to me.

You’ll recognize it instantly. As well as be reminded of the mind-numbing circles the question has put your mind through over the years.

“How much wood does a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

My answer?

First, in the short run,  it no longer matters because with the internet flattening our global economy there are now wood chucks on the other side of the world—hungry, talented and tireless wood chucks—who will do three times the work at a fraction of the pay. Making the American woodchuck more of a drain on our economy who will have to develop more diverse, creative and less routinized talents–just to survive.

The real question is what “value adds” and “intangible values” the American woodchuck can bring to his work in the future to even remain relevant. And as much as I don’t like even going there, we have to face the fact that most wood based products will soon be replaced by superior digital substitutes.

But now I’m over-thinking it.

I’m not saying this is “the answer.” I’m only saying it’s a approximate of “an answer.” But it’s something and will free our mind up to ponder other–even deeper–questions