The Einstein of WELL

Einstein of the Well

A frog was born in a well, raised in it, and completed all its higher education within its confines. It travelled to every corner of the well, engaged in intellectual debates with the other learned inhabitants, and generously shared its vast knowledge of the well’s sciences with the less-educated. Indeed, our frog was regarded as the brightest and most capable among all the well-dwellers. Seeing its brilliance, one couldn’t help but wish the poor frog could escape the well and experience the real world beyond. How astonishing would its reaction be when faced with the vastness of the universe?

Let’s imagine, in an optimistic spirit, that someone creates a technology capable of finding such intelligent frogs and bringing them out of their wells. Wouldn’t that be a noble endeavour?

But you might wonder: what would happen if the frog truly did come out?

Let’s suppose a kind-hearted, scientific individual takes on this mission, devises a technology to rescue the frog, and brings it into the outside world. You would expect the frog to thank its benefactor for freeing it from the well, right? Well, brace yourself for a surprise. The first thing the frog would do after emerging would be to accuse its savior of wielding some conspiratorial weapon aimed at disrupting the life inside the well. It would warn that this so-called technology will soon self-destruct and vanish.

Moving on, let’s take the frog on a journey. Suppose it sails across vast oceans on a ship, then flies through the open skies on an airplane, eventually reaching Switzerland, and from there wanders its way to Germany, where it encounters the real Einstein. Now, you might think that the frog's intellect would pale in comparison to the actual Einstein. "That’s where you’re mistaken," I’d say.

The frog, the "Einstein of the Well," would confidently explain the true meaning of Einstein's famous equation:

E = mc²

According to the frog, the "m" in the equation actually stands for "Mendik" (frog), and the correct equation should be:

E = Mendik²

You can probably imagine what Einstein’s reaction would be by now.

But let’s not dwell on poor Einstein. Let’s continue our journey with the frog through Europe, hoping it might be impressed by the extraordinary achievements of modern civilisation. Once again, you’d be wrong. You see, the frog of the well views everything through the narrow lens of its confined world.

While it might marvel at Europe’s material progress, it would simultaneously warn you that this progress is superficial and temporary. It would tell you that the towering skyscrapers could collapse at any moment, whereas the water level in its well is steady and natural, never fluctuating. The frog would remind you that the world has been built and destroyed many times before, and that soon the West will face destruction, leaving the frog’s well—sustainable, natural, and rooted in ethics—to triumph over it all. This reminds me of a humorous story about how the well-dwellers surpass material progress.

Once, I was on a motorcycle trip with my uncle. He drove so cautiously and slowly, believing that high speed was nothing short of a satanic act. We were moving so sluggishly that every car passed us by. Then, a bus honked and overtook us, too. I couldn't help but ask my uncle if we could speed up and overtake the bus. But he remained unaffected, maintaining his slow and steady pace.

As fate would have it, we encountered the same bus later, parked on the roadside due to some issue—likely it had reached its final stop. Triumphantly, my uncle declared, “Look! We’ve overtaken the bus!” Sure enough, the bus was now behind us as we continued on our way.

At that moment, I was left wondering: should I applaud my uncle for overtaking the bus, or sympathize with the bus's mechanical issue?

Similarly, the "Einstein of the Well" would proudly proclaim that his name was already mentioned in your scientific books, which proves that he is indeed correct, and that the rest of you are wrong.

By now, you’re likely exhausted by the frog’s childish reasoning. You confront it, demanding proof and evidence for its grand theories. This enrages the frog. It warns you that, in the well, anyone who dares question "Einstein" is drowned. And it is precisely because of this practice that the well has remained intact for so long.

Before you can ask another question, the frog announces that it is returning to its well, where no one dares challenge it, and where everyone truly believes it is Einstein.

Once, a horse and a donkey got into an argument. The horse claimed, “The sky is blue,” while the donkey insisted, “The sky is green.” They decided to take their dispute to the lion, the king of the jungle. After hearing both sides, the lion declared, “Imprison the horse.”
The horse protested, “Your Majesty! How can you punish me when I’m the one who’s right?”
The lion replied, “It’s not about right or wrong. Your mistake was in arguing with a donkey.”

Honestly, our patience had run out by this point. We had presented all our arguments, yet the frog remained unmoved, its confidence unshaken. Worse still, it began to leap excitedly while making its points, which only added to our embarrassment. We concluded that the safest course of action was to let the "Einstein of the Well" return to where it belonged—back to the well.

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