Excerpt
Humour is an intrinsic part of Ken’s make-up but if you want to scratch the
surface of the real Kirkby, you need to have an elastic mind. His secret life,
as he refers to it, revolves around more complex thinking than the average
person is prepared to enter into. Quantum mechanics is not a subject he
expounds on readily because, aware as he is that he doesn’t fit into the
comfortable mould most of us consider to be normal, and because he doesn’t
enjoy one-sided conversations all that much, there are only a few special
and close friends that are privy to discussions on what is broadly termed
quantum theory.
I find it curious that this subject is a puzzle that people run from. I’ve
tried to fathom why they find it so irritating, and this is what I have come
up with. We’ve been trained so thoroughly to believe that certain things
are the property of ‘special’ people—the elite, the priests, geniuses, the
scientists—and unless you are credentialed you do not even have the
right to talk about those things.
We bump into this in attitude at every turn of life—before people
allow themselves to listen, they ask, “What training do you have in this
subject?” Why should testimonials matter if you have an intelligent
thought that merits discussion? Because you can’t explain in medical
terms exactly how your brain works, does that mean you should not
have one?
The mental acuity required to follow the intricate pathways of this
thinking process brings Ken enormous pleasure. As his own dad did, Ken
corresponds internationally with stimulating and enquiring thinkers. But
that, too, had to be sidelined while he put the shattered pieces of his life…
