What's the Frequency, Sheldrake?

Newspaper headlines have come a long way. Once, they were meant to convey as much information as possible—they were dry, to the point, and generally followed by subheads that explained the most important points of the story. So, you really didn’t have to read on unless you wanted the details (cnn.com does this now… bullet summaries of stories. Someone scattered like myself certainly appreciates this – it allows a superficial understanding of current events without the tedium of reading sentences.)

Now—especially on the web—it’s not as important to convey the story in the headline. It’s to tease the reader, to get them to click the headline and read on—thus, ostensibly, increasing the number of advertisements they see. The cliffhanger headline is an art—and I appreciate when it’s done well. The one I saw yesterday was a masterpiece.

“Rupert Sheldrake Stabbed in Leg at Conference”

This headline brings to mind so many questions that you aren't sure where to begin. First – Who is Rupert Sheldrake? And why is his name so awesome? He sounds like a villainous sophisticate, or a deputy minister in the British government. He was probably made fun of as a child. But is he good or evil? Difficult to say. He’s probably bamboozled some people in his time, but he’s got a good heart—or so he would have you believe. But to be stabbed? Sheldrake, Sheldrake…. What have you done now?

Next – why was Sheldrake stabbed? And why, of all the more deadly stabbing locations, was he stabbed in the leg? It reeks of Harding-ian desperation, cutting your opponents leg. But one of the things we know about Sheldrake—or we guess about Sheldrake, because with a Sheldrake you never can assume—is that he is not an ice dancer.

And… who would stab somebody in the leg at a conference? Conferences are for discussion, the furthering of ideas, the eating of expensive steak dinners, the wearing of nametag lanyards. They are not for stabbings. What sort of passion must Sheldrake evoke in someone to inspire such disdain for the rules of conference etiquette?

I’m not going to give away the ending – but I will say that the rest of the story involves thought transference, the seeing of “demons” and a man from Yokohama. You think I’m going to tell you what happens. But I’m not.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/03/rupert-shedrake-stab.html