Knowing and Understanding

I had my first epiphany (in the Joycean, secular sense, not the religious one) when I was in second grade, standing next to the telephone pole across the street from my house, talking to the girl next door.

I don't remember how the conversation came up - it was probably one of those challenges kids throw at each other, of the "I know something you don't know" kind. The problem was "what is 3 times 2"?

I couldn't tell you exactly what she said that triggered it, but at that moment a clear vision of two sets of three appeared in my head. 3 times 2 actually meant 3, two times. All I had to do was add them.

Mostly what I remember though was the sensation - that feeling that a door had been opened in my head, that "ah-ha", light bulb moment. That brief moment when it seems you can touch something eternal, a glimpse into the infinite.

Decades later, they still happen. I would really miss them if they didn't. On one level, I know that it is just the synapses in my brain making a new connection, using information I already had.

But it's still a rush.