The Sanity of Madness
Imagine a forest where the animals gather under the shade of an ancient oak, their voices rising in a cacophony of complaints. Among them is a frog, small and unassuming, who croaks loudly about the lack of order in their watery home. The Frogs Who Desired a King, these amphibians, tired of their anarchic existence, petition Zeus for a ruler. Amused, Zeus tosses a log into their pond, declaring it their king. At first, the frogs are awestruck, but soon they climb atop the motionless timber, mocking its stillness. Dissatisfied, they demand a livelier monarch. Zeus, now irritated, sends a stork instead—a predator who promptly begins devouring them. The moral: as Aesop frames it, be careful what you wish for when disrupting the natural order. But beneath this simple tale lies a deeper question: Were the frogs mad to seek a king, or was their madness a sane response to chaos? This fable introduces us to the paradox of the "sanity of madness"—the idea that what appears irra...
