Harmony in numbers

Harmony and cacophony are about as far from each other as two things can be. As opposite as two things can be. Or that is what I thought.

I was passing by a stone carving workshop and a lone carver sat chipping at his stone making harsh sharp sounds. Something made me stop and see him work. Soon another carver came and took his place at the workbench and he added his cacophony. It must have been some sort of a break because within minutes four other carvers got to work and now you had six of them all doing their own thing. Some hammering away, others doing more delicate work with softer strokes. And as I stood there listening to the evolving cacophony I was stunned. What now emerged from the workshop wasn't cacophony anymore. It sounded rhythmic and I dare say, melodious. Each individual carver was still harsh, but as a group they weren't.

Sometimes the only difference in being seen as an odd one out and the one that is in sync with others is the numbers. An idiot would stick out among the sane just as much as a sane would among idiots.

If this were true, then the big question really is, can we ever be sure calling someone an idiot. What if she is the only sane among all us idiots.