A contributor on the forum has pointed out that my fellow residents should have drawn a lesson from my experiments with unwelcome computer sounds. Their ability to handle the stress of repetitious noises is considerably deficient and they really ought to deal with that.
I do try to act responsibly towards others but they will make things difficult for me. I did not intend, exactly, to enliven a group discussion in which I participated, merely to turn the conversation to more interesting subjects. The “sharing” that was going on was making me feel drowsy, which can be very unpleasant when you’re unable to sleep.
Many years ago, one of my brothers informed me about a teaching device. Teaching in some strange philosophy is performed by posing riddles of the kind he asked me. The master (as my brother was in that situation) in no wise provides an answer. The student (as I was) wrestles with the riddle, possibly for the remainder of his or her life. Similar, I dare say, to the teaching methods of Yoda.
The riddle was “Where did > go?” The ‘>’ represents an expulsion of air from the mouth towards one’s right. It seemed a nonsensical riddle to me, which may be why it has stuck in my memory. I have never given up the hope that one day the riddle might be answered. Since the group seemed, in my view, to be wasting time anyway, it occurred to me to “share” the riddle with my companions.
Things become controversial when you least expect it. The incident which led to my residence in the ward is a good example. I’ll deal with that in a later post. It did not occur to me that the riddle “Where did > go?” would cause trouble. I may possibly have oversold the importance of the riddle before “sharing” it, even hinting at existential implications. Perhaps my brother posed the riddle in a one to one situation because he foresaw the very difficulty which arose.
I did, of course, overlook the fact that many of the patients are here because of outspoken, even extreme positions and expressing themselves forcefully on issues which others simply brush off. I was unable to focus effectively on what happened next. The details were too many and too varied to assimilate in a short time.
Several heated discussions broke out amongst members of the suddenly splintered group. The uproar drew other patients as well as several staff members, one of whom foolishly sounded an alarm which brought even more patients to the room and into the debate before help could arrive for the staff.
Fortunately, I like to believe that virtue is its own reward. 
