Hypothetically Speaking...
What if we all thought in ‘What Ifs’?
I've been playing out a lot of hypotheticals in my mind.
I’ve recently grown fond of the song Hypotheticals by Lake Street Drive. It’s an upbeat alternative/indie track with a bit of underlying soul that keeps my foot tapping every time I give it a listen.
The song talks about playing hypotheticals out with a theoretical lover. The singer explores the idea of saying “yes” to a proposal, and dances through the myriad of thoughts that race through one’s mind before making such a monumental commitment.
My mind begins to drift every time I listen to this song, and I think about how odd the concept of hypotheticals actually is. Why do humans even have the ability to think in hypotheticals? I’m sure more than we all realize, hypotheticals race along the edges of our mind as we make constant, tiny adjustments based on micro decisions. What is a choice to do something, if not a rejection of all the other “hypotheticals” in front of us?
Is it better to constantly have the ability to ask “what if?” or to constantly think logically like our favorite Vulcan?
Needless to say, we don’t sit down and think much about the actual concept of hypotheticals and how they influence the way we think and act. I believe there is some untapped potential for hypotheticals to be used as a tool to expand our imagination. They could even be the rocket fuel to boosting creativity and exploring ideas outside of traditional thinking.
However, hypotheticals, like any powerful tool, must be wielded with caution. What starts as a harmless “what if” can quickly spiral into a labyrinth of “intrusive thoughts.” One minute you’re wondering what life would be like if you could speak to animals, and the next, you’re sweating over your lack of survival instincts in a zombie apocalypse. It’s a slippery slope, one that can even lead you to the edge of what is universally known (but little spoken of) as “the call of the void.”
Some of my recent, and favorite intrusive thoughts…
What if I threw my Apple Watch Ultra over this bridge and into the Potomac?
What if I climb over the gate at the White House?
Welcome delightful daydreamers and Spock-like logical thinkers. Hypotheticals are underused, under-appreciated, and vastly underestimated, and I’m here to argue for their rightful place in your daily mental gymnastics.
What are Hypotheticals?
The itch in the back of your mind to explore the possibility of “what if?” A pebble to throw into the pond of the past to see how the ripples differ between today and what could have been today. A lens to layer over the future, standing in the present moment and observing all the possible timelines of tomorrow. They are the multiverse, with a touch of curiosity and mischief.
They allow you to twist the mundane into the magnificent, and test the boundaries of reality, just to see what happens. They’re a way to stretch the imagination, explore new ideas, and sometimes, to waste a perfectly good afternoon pondering the logistics of being born in the 15th century when contacts weren’t invented yet.
My Hypotheticals
Let’s be honest, everyone indulges in hypotheticals, whether they admit it or not. Your boss is running a hypothetical about abandoning this Zoom meeting and buying a lake house with a jet ski. Your daughter is pondering the hypothetical consequences for a “close friend” if they chose not to show up to the first day of school.
Here are a few of mine, which range from the mildly absurd to the outright ridiculous:
What if I WFV? Aka rented a van, bought a Starlink (on sale at Costco actually) and took full advantage of my remote job by traveling the US for three months and WFV (Work From Van).
Hypothetically, I move back to Michigan. Will my parents be happier? Yes. Will I be colder? Yes.
Say I never attended Central Michigan University, would I have ever met my wife, who lived one floor above me in the dorms? (Of course, we are soulmates, she says).
Let’s say, theoretically, that Starlord in “Avengers Infinity War” was not an emotional idiot, and did not punch Thanos, resulting in the titan’s comeback, proceeding to the eraser of half of the entire universe, and the production of the smash hit follow-up movie “Avengers Endgame.”
These hypotheticals don’t just keep me entertained—they also keep my imagination sharp, like a well-shaped cloud, ready to be sculpted into whatever recognizable image my mind can conjure.
The Call of the Void
You stand on top of a tall bridge or at the edge of a cliff, admiring the view sprawled before you. You feel the wind pushing your hair back, see the sky expand over the landscape, and hear the tiniest whisper in the back of your mind “What if I just… jump?”
Of course, you have no intention to harm yourself or to follow through with this fleeting thought, but it sits there, uninvited and a bit unsettling.
This is a shared human experience, and the phenomenon is known as “The Call of the Void.” It’s believed to be the brain's way of reconciling the awareness of danger and nudging you with hypotheticals best left unexplored. It’s that intrusive thoughts muscle flexing its dark side.
No need to fret over your subconsciousness flirting with danger, in fact, I see the call of the void as a strong reminder that I am still very much alive..
For instance, the last time I rode near Gravelly Park (a park very close to the Reagan International Airport) the void was ringing:
What if I rode my bike onto the runway right now?
Pop Culture Hypotheticals
Hypotheticals are immensely popular across all types of media. In fact, I would argue most fiction is based on some form of hypothetical, which is probably why books and movies and shows keep us so entertained. They are a palpable means of playing out a possible “what if” scenario. Here are some of my recommendations for entertainment based on hypotheticals:
Books
“11/22/63” by Stephen King - A time-travel thriller about a man who attempts to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
For more hypotheticals around preventing the Kennedy assassination, see “The Umbrella Academy” - Season 2
What if the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy had failed?
“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury - In a society of extreme censorship, books are completely banned and burned if found.
What if firemen started fires instead of stopping them?
TV Shows
“The Man in the High Castle” by Philip K. Dick - In an alternate history where the Allied powers lose WWII, the show explores the American lives of those living under totalitarian regimes.
What if the Axis powers won World War II?
“The Twilight Zone” - A classic anthology series covering stories of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, often with a delightful twist ending that will rock your world.
What if your glasses broke in an post-apocalyptic world?
“What If…?” - An animated Marvel series that explores alternate realities in the Marvel Universe.
What if the Avengers Assembled in 1602?
“Black Mirror” - Another dystopian anthology series that explores the disturbing consequences of modern technology.
What if our consciousness could be uploaded to a virtual reality after death?
Movies
“It’s a Wonderful Life” - The most depressing Christmas movie you will ever watch.
What if one man had never been born?
“The Matrix” - A man discovers that reality as he knows it is a simulated world controlled by intelligent machines.
What if our entire reality is a computer-generated simulation?
Any single “Fast & Furious” Movie - The most outrageous film series ever made.
What if earth didn’t have any gravity and saying the word “family” made you invincible?
Music
“If I Had a Boat” by Lyle Lovett
If I had a boat… I’d go out on the ocean.
Same, Lyle. Same.
“If I Had $1,000,000” by Barenaked Ladies
If I had a million dollars… I’d buy you a house.
Well I might buy one for me first. Then we can talk about you.
Art
“The School of Athens” by Italian Renaissance painter Raphael - Raphael’s fresco rests in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and places some of history’s greatest minds into the same room. From Plato, Aristotle, Socrates to Ptolemy and Raphael himself.
What if the greatest philosophers, mathematicians and scientists across all time gathered in one room?
The next time you find your mind is wandering, don’t pull back - let yourself explore those wild hypotheticals. Indulge in them. Expand upon them. And most importantly, share them!
The Bel
I particularly liked your second hypothetical :-)
Just so you know, Michigan isn't as cold as it used to be.