I love it when Chuck reads articles to me at night from science magazines. Because I really love learning about the latest theories and the latest discoveries.

And it's even more fun when we read about it together. It's fun to agree or to disagree with the article. It really doesn't matter to me if I don't know what I'm talking about. But sometimes it matters to Chuck. And I don't mind this, either. Because he's the only one I know who cares enough to get mad when I don't know what I'm talking about in science. I appreciate that. And besides it's fun when he gets mad.

I liked it when he got mad about my interpretation of quantum entanglements. He didn't think the theory about three particle entanglements made sense. I did. So I explained why. But he didn't like my explanation any more than he liked the theory in the first place. My explanation made him mad. That's what makes reading together such fun. I don't know that many people who give a hoot about three particle quantum entanglement. In fact I only know Chuck and me. And I don't know that many people who would get mad at my interpretation. In fact, I only know Chuck. I get mad at his interpretation, too. That's one of the reasons we get along so well.

Reading together also provides possibilities for me to speculate about the latest theories and the latest discoveries. And to disparage them. I love that.

Take the article on biological body clocks that Chuck just read me. This article actually claims that you can change your body clock just by placing a light behind your knees. It's the kind of idea that strikes me as ludicrous. I liked it immediately. Besides it seemed especially relevant to Chuck. Since I've been unsuccessfully trying to persuade him to observe a 1:30 curfew. Chuck never goes to sleep when he's tired. He claims he needs to relax first. So he stays up very late relaxing. The consequence of this odd behavior, which anyone else would realize immediately, is that he never gets enough sleep. So he's always tired.

This article made me realize for the first time that his body clock might account for his strange behavior. "Maybe you haven't been able to observe your 1:30 curfew because of your body clock," I told Chuck. "This article shows an easy way to change it. Do I have your permission to place a light behind your knees? Or do I have to be sneaky?"

"You'll have to be sneaky," Chuck said. "Just don't use a match."

As if I would have thought of anything that foolish. Not to mention impractical. As if a match would stay lit long enough to change Chuck's body clock so he could observe his 1:30 curfew.

Which started me thinking a little more about this body clock business. It really did strike me as a little implausible. More than a little implausible. Very implausible.

"Why would you have to limit the light to behind your knees?" I asked Chuck. "That doesn't make any sense at all. What's so special about knees? If you can put a light behind your knees, you can put it anywhere. Why not elbows? Why can't you change your body clock by putting a light on your elbows? Or anywhere else, for that matter. The entire skin has to be filled with body clock receptors. That's the only thing that makes sense. I think I have to E-mail The New Scientist. Would you help me E-mail them?"

Chuck didn't respond immediately. Sometimes I think it would help if I slowed down. Sometimes I think I present him with too many ideas at once. Too many new ones. Any one of which could be too surprising for him to comprehend swiftly. He was probably still moping about the chance of my sneaking up on him unawares and changing his body clock with a light behind his knees. He was probably still worrying that it might be a match, too. As if I'd be foolish enough to use a match.

Which is why I love it when we read science articles together. I love reading about the latest theories and the latest discoveries. I love those theories. I usually think they're wrong and I like my own theories much better.

And Chuck is the only person I know who will listen to my theories. Actually, I can't be absolutely sure about that. But at least I think he listens.

December 1998
BB