I really love those two words… conundrum, oxymoron – they just frolic off the tongue. Better yet, I like the definitions of those two words – they suit my rather ironic view of words. In case you aren’t completely sure of definitions, conundrum is a puzzle. It can be, “a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun”. Another definition is, “a question or problem having only a conjectural answer”. Either definition works for me but I especially enjoy the second one.
As much as my philosophy is black or white not both, not gray – I enjoy the fact that we often have to operate on partial information thus letting ourselves in for a conjectural response. I suspect that this is why I’m so insistent upon knowing the options and the ramifications from them. Granted one rarely knows all of them but also we need to prepare for this.
A conundrum forces us to be creative, to look beyond the obvious (without discounting it simply because it is obvious) – to be inventive. Bottom line is that it forces us to consider why we are thinking the way we are and to be open to other alternatives.
An oxymoron is, “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words or elements”. I suspect that my enjoyment stems from a love of double negatives, which I employ at every opportunity. However, this word also provides some of the same stimulus as conundrum does – it forces us out of a non-thinking response.
Too often we merely parrot the response that is familiar thus we need not think about it and don’t delve into the question/statement by someone else. Oxymorons don’t allow us this easy answer approach. Simply… it forces us to actually ‘be’ in the moment rather than being physically in one place and in the mind – far, far away.
Conundrums and oxymorons are the surprise in the moment. They provide us with opportunities to think in different ways.
