Not having answers, much less a vision, made me nervous at first, to the point of despair and occasional panic. After a while, however, I grew tired … - James E. Ryan

When like-minded individuals get together, online or in real life, they tend to reinforce each other’s views. They not only increase the strength of each other’s convictions, but they often lead each other, intentionally or not, to take even more extreme positions.

Which leads me to the second essential question: “I wonder . . . ?” Before you object, I recognize that this is, technically, not a complete question. It is instead the first half of a series of questions. “I wonder” can be paired, at the very least, with both “why” and “if.” This chapter is about these two variations on a single theme, namely the questions “I wonder why?” and “I wonder if?” Asking “I wonder why?” allows you to remain curious about the world, which would have come in handy on my run in the Netherlands. Asking “I wonder if?” allows you to remain engaged with the world and is a way to prompt yourself to try something new.

The simple truth is that an answer can only be as good as the question asked. If you ask the wrong question, you are going to get the wrong answer.