Although not of a religious nature, today I had a minor epiphany.  I have no idea how or why it came to mind, but then maybe that is what an epiphany is all about.  Anyway, for some inescapable reason, I thought about the three magazines I subscribe to which led me to the conclusion that each of them in one way or another are beyond me.

 

The first magazine is Scientific American or SciAm for those in the know.  For scientists or those steeped in scientific knowledge, it is a wonderful magazine.  But for me it is a magazine that to a significant degree, I simply don't understand.  I have said before that I only comprehend about ten to twenty percent of the content of some articles.  Some other articles I am way up there at seventy percent.  As for the remaining few articles, I skim them over.  Yet in spite of this, I continue to renew my subscription and look forward to its arrival.  Go figure.

 

The second magazine is Popular Science, often referred to as PopSci.  Again this is a magazine that I look forward to getting each month.  It also is a magazine that contains articles about things I could never in my wildest imagination build or invent.  I do understand more of the content, but little good does it do me since I could never make or use what I read and learn.

 

Even more interesting is the fact that in high school I never did well in any subject dealing with science.  In college I majored in business so I could escape any course dealing with science.  So that makes my having subscriptions to SciAm and PopSci even more puzzling.  I guess I should learn more about psychology to understand why my behavior is such as it is concerning these magazine but that would require more learning of subjects in which I know I wouldn't excel.

 

The third magazine is AutoWeek, a car magazine that arrives in my mailbox every two weeks.  While it has articles about some economical cars, it, like most all other car magazines, it worships at the altar of increased horsepower and torque.  They have never met a car that they don't believe would do better with another twenty to thirty horsepower and another thirty to forty ft./lbs. of torque.  This is true regardless of the car being reviewed, be it a great sedan or one of the more exotic cars whose prices are in the six and seven digits.  Therein lays the rub with this magazine.  Most of the cars they review are far beyond what my financial situation could bear.  They are so expensive that I don't even dream about them.  The only time a Ferrari 458 or a Buggati enters my mind is when I'm reading the magazine.  When I close the magazine, they leave my mind as well.

 

What I don't read is the magazine my wife subscribes to - People magazine.  In some ways, the subject matter of that magazine is as unrealistic as the content of any of my magazines.  I will never have the wealth or lead the lifestyle of Hollywood stars.  Oprah will never have me on her show and I will never walk the red carpet.  So maybe three unrealistic magazines are my limit.  If I do go to four, it will be a magazine about golf, something else I can't do well, regardless how much I read about it.

 

Maybe I need to talk to one of those door to door magazine subscription sales people to find something that suits my life style, my capabilities and my financial means.  Maybe I need to subscribe to some kind of children's magazine like Chickadee Magazine.  Or just maybe I need to devote my spare time to something more worthwhile - now that's a novel idea.