Lesson #3:

They say you can’t stick a square peg in a round hole.

But this is simplistic.

Sometimes you can stick a square peg in a round hole, but the length of the diagonal of the square (i.e. from point to point, cutting it into two triangles) must be just less than the diameter of the hole. This may actually be an ideal situation. Square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes make for peg-ish monotony.

Sometimes, at the beginning, the square peg is slightly larger than the round hole and won’t fit. But over time, the square may shrink slightly, and the hole may increase slightly. Then the square peg will fit.

But sometimes the square peg will shrink or the round hole will enlarge too much. Then, the square peg will fall right through the round hole. It will get lost. It may even forget that it used to be a square peg. Or, years later, the square peg may go through an identity crisis, remember it was a square peg, but it will have forgotten how to be a square peg. Then it may make a fool of itself behaving as an exaggerated caricature of a square peg. This is not an ideal situation.

What They say is also simplistic because it negates the fact that part of getting the pegs into the holes is a function of sheer will. Given two identical square pegs and two identical round holes, with concerted effort, one could likely make the first set fit, even though with less effort the second set might not fit. And then even once the first peg is in the hole, it may still require some effort to keep it there.

My Task: Not only recognizing when a square peg is being jammed into a round hole, but assessing the cost of the effort that would be required to get it in versus the benefit to be acquired once it is in.

NOTICE: If you have become aroused by all this talk of pegs fitting into holes, you have a dirty mind and have missed the point. There was no sexual innuendo intended here.