Boom Town and The Importance of Out There
“Wow, you’re a dude who actually reads the Japanese version of Time Magazine.”
This was a recent reply I received to a diabetes-related article I sent over WhatsApp. Actually, I was a dude checking out Hacker News for outlandish content, as one does. Seemed normal to me. In retrospect, I don’t know if this was said in awe, meant as a compliment or the person simply found it weird.
Whatever the case may be, I most certainly AM that dude. For reasons ranging from “I really can’t be anything else”, “I really like being that dude” to “Being that dude keeps things fresh for my brain” and “Finding information / reading the same stuff as everyone else makes you that much more like everyone else and who wants that” I like being him.
What also happened fairly recently as a result of that dudeness was me picking up a copy of “Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding… Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis”. It was an Amazon Kindle impulse buy, with some common sense left to sift through a couple of favorable reviews prior to purchase. No, not recommended, I browse. Weird, remember?
If I were a betting man person, I would put money on me being just about the only person in Croatia to own a copy of a book chronicling the founding of Oklahoma City, its big-ass tornadoes, a world famous weatherman, The Flaming Lips and a stolen, currently tanking basketball team with the most atrocious jersey design.
“Oh, he got it because of basketball” is what most of you are thinking. I did not. Well, not entirely. It’s just that the topic was so “out there” that I NEEDED to read it. I do that sometimes. We don’t appreciate Picasso because of the realistically drawn pigeons, we do it because of the weird-ass cubism. Hell, even if it sucked, I’d still end up finding out interesting tidbits about the Durant, Westbrook and Harden Thunder teams.
Still, I was intrigued. Who in their right mind thinks this can be interesting? Can it? How does it fit together? Why in the hell should I care about Oklahoma City, of all places? But there it was, taking its unearned place at the top of my Kindle library, annoyingly staring back at me. “You bought me, now READ ME.”
Turns out, it is one of the best books. Beautifully written, spiraling into a crescendo of vivid visualizations of art and horrible things, amazing historical and societal facts and a city’s identity regained through mainstream basketball.
For me, the book was also proof of three things. One — If you care enough to look a bit deeper, everything is more interesting than it initially seems. Two — Beauty can be found in the most unexpected of things. And finally, three. The thing I want you to read about — embracing the weirdness of things that are “out there”.
One big problem with globalization is that it’s, in essence, centralization. Of thoughts, ideas and worldviews. We all watch the same shows, read the same recommended books and start to view the world in the same way. Uniform thinking, uniform ideas, shaped by the culture most of us now shares.
Honestly, the extent of the general public’s collective curiosity right now can be summed up in one self-quoting LinkedIn post. The wonderful regurgitation of endlessly circulating quasi wisdom that we already know, yet like every time we see it posted in a slightly different way. Have you read Simon Sinek’s thoughts on leadership? Yes, the problem is we all have. A slightly different problem is acting on it, not just reading and telling people we did — but personal branding cough social media narcissism cough is a topic for another time.
When it comes to narcissism, I’m not telling you this story to tell you how weird/special I am for reading the weird/special shit I read. Like I said, I read it because I have no choice. Looking for obscure is my normal, not my special. Be it music, books, movies, sports… It certainly has its drawbacks. Such as not having anyone to talk to about the latest All Blacks Wallabies clash. Exactly! I’m also telling you that being that dude has certain benefits.
Stepping out of the comfort zone doesn’t mean reading “Five Steps to Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone”, a bestseller by Guru von Gurustein. I can guarantee you one thing. That book, wouldn’t be surprised if it existed, would pretty much meet your expectations. You wouldn’t be surprised by it, it wouldn’t take you off guard or make you re-evaluate how you approach your reading materials.
And it most certainly wouldn’t be your fucking cubism. Instead of Sinek, going with The Cubs Way, Eleven Rings or Badasses for leadership tips might reveal a new outlook on things, especially if you’re not into sports. The Book of Five Rings can be your new Art of War. Sorry Sun Tzu, I don’t know what it is, but I do find books about rings that much more precious.
So, why would I read a book about Oklahoma City featuring a team with no rings? To my surprise, to learn how tornadoes are formed and how shamans talk to them. To learn about civic movements in America or to be shocked by the graphic nature and devastating effects a terrorist attack can have on a community. To be amazed at how nature and strength of character can conspire to make an everyday weatherman the most important person in society. Finally, that even a bond with a team stolen from another city can heal the gaping wound of another.
But most of all, that sometimes, even the things seemingly most apart are strongly interconnected through the shared human experience.
In a digitally curated world that claims to take pride in everlasting growth and learning, I was never happier being the dude who learns from something that world would never recommend. Like the chaotic land run of Oklahoma City, it still seems that out there has a lot more to offer than staying right here.
