Curly Howard, unknown to many, makes a stunningly perceptive argument/statement/question in the Three Stooges short ‘An Ache In Every Stake’.
Now, Curly cleverly disguises this as a discussion about warmth in various conditions, but the analogy to the argument over the existence/non-existence of God is quite apparent when you consider all the hidden nuances littered throughout the short.
Here is the actual verbatim statement:
“Tell me…is it as warm in the summer as it is in the country? Or vice versa? Or who cares? *nyuk nyuk nyuk*”
When you put this incredibly challenging statement together with all the other elements, the clarity is DEVASTATING.
But where is the ambiguity? It’s over there, in a box.
Careful study reveals that the “nyuk” repeated at the end of the statement, while APPARENTLY a form of laughter at a simple joke, could very well be much more. Oh, SO much more…
I can’t even begin to appreciate fully the majesty and yet brilliantly simple meanings at play here…
But like the question “If God exists, and is omnipotent, can God create a boulder so heavy that even He cannot lift it?”
I’ve read ‘Hagakure’, and as with it, some statements take long, long periods of intense thought to even BEGIN to comprehend.
Such is the case here. We may never know, in our lifetimes, the true meaning of Curly’s words. But it is a fitting challenge for the greatest minds of today.
We must, I would suppose, be satisfied in being able to at least comprehend another brilliantly allegorical piece:
Ecce Homo, Ergo Elk. La Fontaine knew his sister and knew her bloody well.
Fair Use: Criticism – GREAT clip.