Ever notice how much mystery plays a part in our lives?

“Peek-a-boo! I see you!”

That innocent game we play with a baby is probably the child’s first conscious introduction to mysteries. When the blanket is up, where did mommy go? When it’s down, oh, there she is!

From that moment on, we are constantly engaged in solving mysteries.

Going to school allows us to find the answers to the mystery of:

• spelling
• arithmetic
• whether or not Susie likes Calvin

Mysteries are what fuels scientist’s curiosity:

• Are birds descendants of dinosaurs?
• Who built the giant statues of Easter Island?
• What can we do to save this species from extinction?

Many of us face personal issues to which we seek answers, such as those offered by unscrupulous marketers:

• “Learn the 10 Secrets the Pros Don’t Want You to Know!”
• “Lose 30lbs in 30 Days!”
• “Get Rich Using these 5 Easy Steps!”

We seek out and are entertained by mysteries in stories such as:

• Sherlock Holmes
• Indiana Jones
• Harry Potter

Why are Mysteries Important?

If you don’t think mysteries are important, let me ask you the following:

• Have you ever seen a movie where you start realizing what’s going to happen before it happens? Ruins the fun, right? That’s like telling people Darth Vader is Luke’s father before they saw Empire Strikes Back in 1980.
• Or how about seeing a magician do a trick that you’ve already seen before? The effect is not as…magical.
• Or why a woman wearing revealing clothing that much sexier than if she was simply nude?
• When you go see an Opera, Ballet, Musical, or Play at the theater, what if they didn’t have a drawn curtain?

We Love the Tease

Ever hear advice about writing a cover letter for your resume? Or how about a book proposal, or any proposal. What about the opening minutes of a TV show? The inside cover of a book jacket? Magazine cover? Promotional mailer?

They all feature something short, quick and easy to remember — to tease you into looking for more.

The best ones present a compelling mystery, one which you are eager to solve.

The Quest for Knowledge

• If fiction, we have the “MacGuffin”, what director Alfred Hitchcock referred to as an object or person — SOMETHING! — that is being chased after, sought after, and fought over. That continued searching is what the viewer of his films get hooked on.
• In Dashiell Hammet’s Maltese Falcon – detective Sam Spade is after the “black bird”, a supposedly jewel-encrusted statuette worth millions. His partner is murdered, and various parties are all after the falcon. What’s going to happen?
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – how is Frodo and his band going to destroy the One Ring, in the face of overwhelming odds?

In real life, we have the quest for knowledge.

• Buddha, in the process of becoming the Buddha, sought to answer to why humans suffered
• Leonardo Da Vinci, the Wright Brothers, and other dreamers sought out the answers to flight.
• We each all have our goals, and often wonder how we are to achieve them.

Mysteries engage our minds, our imagination, and our creativity.

The Mystery of Blogging

It even applies to our blogging.

Why do we ultimately subscribe to someone’s RSS feed?

To find out what’s going to be written next.

Have a great weekend!

I leave you with the following inspirational video clip:

TEDTalks: J.J. Abrams: The Mystery Box

Related posts:

1. 5 Things I Learned from Star Trek