Between Two Points the Straight Line Is the Longest and the Curved One Is the Shortest

Xuefeng

April 25, 2007

Between two points, the shortest distance is a straight line. This is common sense in mathematics, and I have no objection. I'm just thinking about it from another angle. I tried to connect the two points of Beijing and New York with a straight line, because the straight line between the two points is the shortest, but after tossing about for a long time, I found that the straight line between the two points is the longest. The principle is that the earth is round, and there is no straight-line connection between any two points. Once you want to connect with a straight line, the connection must go straight out along the tangent, and it is difficult to connect with another point. Only a curved connection represents the shortest distance.

I took a Coca-Cola bottle and marked two points on its surface and tried to connect the two points with a straight line but failed. The result still proved that the straight line between the two points was the longest, and the curve was the shortest. As a result of various thinking and experiments, it is found that the conclusion that the straight line between two points is the shortest only holds true in two-dimensional space, and beyond the two-dimensional plane, this conclusion becomes invalid. In addition, this conclusion is valid in theory, but not in practice. That is to say, two points that are not in the same dimension cannot be connected by a straight line. The more you want to use a straight line to connect, the farther the distance will be. At the same time, what is correct in theory cannot be applied in practice.

What will be the result of extending this discovery to other fields? In the field of thought, two points cannot be connected by a straight line. For example, the thoughts of Jesus, Buddha, Laozi, Muhammad, Marx, Lenin, Mao Zedong, Osho, Seth, etc., represent points that cannot be linearly linked. The shortest distance is a curved line. In the social field, such as the systems of the United States and China, there is no straight line between these two points, the shortest is only the curved one. In the field of belief, such as atheism and theism, evolution and creation, idealism, and materialism, cannot be connected in a straight line.

In human culture, for example, the values of Eastern and Western cultures cannot be linearly connected. In terms of love, the more direct the connection, the shorter the lifespan. " A winding path leads to a hidden spot. A meditation chamber lies deep within the flowering trees." The more curved, the more nerve-racking, the tastier. In terms of happiness, the more you want to get happiness in a straight line, the less you can get happiness. Many people have walked for a lifetime, and finally find that the more direct road is the farthest way from happiness, and it does not lead to any destination.

In fact, the Chinese know the truth of the curve best. Bribery is not done directly to oneself, but through his wife, his sisters, or his wife’s sisters. It is not necessarily the bribe being as money, but to provide convenience for profit. They do not go directly to the office to ask for help but invite people to go to the hotel first to talk about it. Although they are anxious, they pretend to be okay. Strategies such as "playing hard to get", " relieving the state of Zhao by besieging the state of Wei", " crossing the sea under camouflage", " making a feint to the east and attacking in the west", " advancing secretly by an unknown path", " resurrecting a dead soul by borrowing a corpse", " abusing the locust tree while pointing to the mulberry", " stealing the beams and pillars and replacing them with rotten timbers", " using seductive women to corrupt the enemy ", " sowing discord among the enemy ", etc. all exemplify "taking indirect paths to achieve one’s goals.

The more curved the road of life, the better, and the more direct, the worse. What's so good about being born without experiencing anything and going straight to the grave? Falling in love today, getting married tomorrow, having a baby the day after tomorrow, and dying the day after tomorrow’s tomorrow, what good is there? Eat, go to work, sleep, eat again, go to work again, sleep again, what good is there? What's so good about staying the same? A great man once said, "While the prospects are bright, the road has twists and turns." Reversing of this sentence is a truth: the road has twists and turns, but the prospects are bright. At least it makes more sense. The same is true in the field of LIFE. If a master were to reveal the mysteries of life directly, and we were to journey to the Elysium Islands Continent tomorrow, firstly, we would be unable to reach them, and secondly, we would miss out on the rich and diverse experiences of life. If you are having fun, laughing, playing, laughing and joking, feeling, undergoing, and experiencing, it looks like a curve, not direct, but the actual situation is: the straight line between two points is the longest, and the curve is the shortest. I like unconventional thinking and regard the normal as abnormal, and the abnormal as normal. As a result, thinking can extend to infinitely strange and broad fields and often have the feeling of “Just as the weary traveler despairs of finding a road, Lo! A village appears and the shade of willows and riotous flowers beckon.”

Often think from a different perspective. Often look at things upside down! This enlivens your spirit. Hee hee!