Being a left-brained creature, O-Chem and its slap-dash recipes for this-and-that molecules seemed arbitrary and quixotic to me. My brain cried "Anarchy!" I failed the first test of my life.
But as it happened, some years later I had to take a test that contained a substantial amount of O-Chem, and understanding it was no longer optional. So I got a book and dug in and tried to UNDERSTAND my nemesis. It was my first exercise in taking data and turning it around to see if I could uncover the method behind the madness. And I did it! I found the key to O-Chem...
Follow the electrons!
It turns out, all the stuff I was so baffled by before were distractions. I focused on the flashy details and "personalities" of the chemistry, not the "principles" underlying it. I discovered all the razzle-dazzle was ruled by those electrons and what they wanted.
It was an epiphany.
A multi-purpose epiphany... because "follow the electrons" applies to a lot of things.
- If you want to know what your government is going to do... follow the electrons.
- If you want to know if the news is more fact or more fiction... follow the electrons.
- If you want to know why people act the way they do... follow the electrons.
The electrons can be Power, Money, Greed, Control and more - but they all have something in common.
Just as electrons in the real world carry a negative charge, so do "electrons" in human interactions. And the negative charge is Fear. Fear of Not Getting or Fear of Losing what you need/want.
So if you wish to understand the human world around you - keep that question in the front of your mind: "What is the fear?" If you get a grasp on that, you're halfway there.
And just as a footnote: I got the high score on the O-Chem test. I thought that was my reward, but it was really just a carrot so I would keep on the path. And it turned out, I never used O-Chem again.
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