When We Were Children, Staying at the Archduke's

These twins both independently thought of the same cheesecake at the same time.

The actual ability of anyone to simultaneously come to the same conclusion as another without outside communication is commonly relegated to the realm of urban myth and Robert Stack’s steely narration of the episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” where those identical twins predict each other’s car wrecks. Or something like that. However, the phenomenon is considerably more normal and only goes to show that the reality of instructive structure and its limiting effects on the cultural boundaries of man’s natural inclinations make us much more alike than anyone would care to admit. Frequently the end result is the forced dissimulation of our congruence through the concussive interference of fists.

Fully two weeks of my childhood were spent solely in watching this program.

A historical example of this phenomenon (although it probably doesn’t even deserve that title) was frequently imparted to me by my favorite college professor; namely, the discovery of the calculus by Leibniz and Newton concordantly. If we can forgive the fact that it is supremely annoying when someone refers to it as “the Calculus” when “Calculus” would certainly suffice, we find evidence that shows (supposedly) that although the two were in frequent contact both Newton and Leibniz were so overwhelmed with paranoia that they refused to discuss with one another the enormous mathematical discovery they were both in the process of stumbling upon. When both published their findings within a year of one another their worst fears appeared to have been realized and they immediately hated each other with such a fervent ferocity it’s surprising Newton didn’t just stab Liebniz in the heart and throw him out a window. Although he may have, my historical knowledge is spotty.

Newton to Leibniz: Checkmate, bitch.

In any case, during my usual research on the continuing impotence with which modern medicine addresses sleep-eating (they call it “parasomnia” – HA!) I stumbled upon a passage that may encourage Death Mask to pursue a Newton v. Leibniz strategy with the author of Talkaboutsleep.com:

Sleep eating is more common in younger women. Symptoms typically begin in the late 20s. Episodes may reoccur, in combination with a stressful situation, or an episode may occur only once or twice. Additionally, many parasomnias seem to run in families, which may indicate that sleep eating is genetically linked. (From www.talkaboutsleep.com)

The interchangeable nature of genetic inheritance (i.e. a priori medicinal pseudo-physiological physical scientific anthrobiological deoxyribonucleic-acidic anatomical reproduction) and psychological inheritance (i.e. Freudian Elektral and Oedipal residual bricolage of inheritable and free-repeating trauma) will be further discussed at a later date. Succinct preview: contagion is ontologically and physically permeable.