Chapter 57: Today's Breastfeeding Method
"What do you mean?"
Monica looked at Paige in surprise.
If Paige really knew, it would mean she truly understood Chuck. Then, with Paige's wisdom and guidance, things would be much easier for her and Chuck.
Everyone glanced at Chuck again.
Chuck didn't answer, just staring at Paige, waiting for her explanation.
"It's not surprising you don't know about this, since you're not from Texas," Paige said with a smile. "Sheldon did something that shocked East Texas and even the entire state..."
As she recounted this, everyone realized it was indeed very Sheldon.
Little Sheldon preferred stability and hated change. Then, while eating bread, he noticed the taste had changed. When he first brought it up, his parents thought his taste had simply changed as he grew older, but he didn't believe them. Following scientific principles, they conducted an investigation and discovered that the local bread manufacturer had been bought out by a national corporation, which had then changed the formula to cut costs, resulting in the change in the bread's taste.
Little Sheldon was both thrilled and furious.
Thrilled he was right, as always!
Furious that a corporation had changed the flavor of his favorite bread, he—a free American citizen—followed everything he'd learned about standing up to injustice and challenged the evil corporation.
He began collecting signatures from locals for a petition and even called Channel 7, the local TV station, to expose the issue. He gladly accepted an interview and appeared on the evening news.
Everything went smoothly, just as the textbooks and comic books had promised—classic American dream stuff.
A kid takes on a corrupt and greedy corporation. Through hard work and determination, justice is served, and the kid becomes a hero. If it were a comic book, he figured he'd be called Bread Boy.
"That's classic Americana, really inspiring," Professor John Harper said, puzzled. "Didn't it work?"
"Have you ever been interviewed on TV?" Paige asked him knowingly.
"...No."
Professor John Harper's expression froze.
He could sense where this was heading.
"You can't imagine how ruthless that TV host was," Paige shook her head and sighed. "How could Sheldon know what he was walking into? In just a few minutes, his innocent complaint was twisted by the host's three tactics: interrupting, misinterpreting, and changing the subject.
I don't know if the host was paid off by the big company, or if he just wanted to create sensational news for ratings, but he twisted a normal kid's complaint about lower-quality bread after a corporate buyout into shocking news that Sheldon supports the Soviet Union.
You know that after decades of Cold War propaganda, the Soviets became a symbol of pure evil. In most places, even a hint of sympathy gets you blacklisted, but here in Texas? Forget about it."
"Oh my God! What happened next?" Monica was horrified.
"As soon as that TV segment aired, Sheldon's family immediately rushed to dig out the American and Texas flags that had been gathering dust in the garage, and hung them in the most visible spots outside their house."
Paige laughed as she described the scene that was both hilarious and terrifying. "But it didn't work. Neighbors who saw the news came to their door telling Sheldon he couldn't play with their kids anymore.
Not that Sheldon had ever played with any of them before, mind you.
When he went to school, kids immediately called him a traitor and told him to go back to Russia.
It didn't matter that Sheldon had no friends to lose; his older siblings were suddenly shunned by all of theirs.
Sheldon's father was called in by the principal—parents had complained and his job as the school's football coach was on the line.
Outside the Cooper house, every American and Texas flag they could find was on display. Sheldon's Meemaw stood in the front yard for days, waving a huge flag and singing the national anthem over and over again, trying to prove their patriotism."
"And then what?" Professor Alicia Harper glanced at her husband and then at Paige.
"And then, of course, it still didn't work," Paige nodded toward little Sheldon who had emerged from the bathroom, smiling sadly. "Once you've been completely demonized on television, no one will listen to you. They don't need to hear your explanations. They only know one thing: you're the enemy."
"I'm not the enemy!" little Sheldon protested.
"Of course you're not," Paige said gently, "but when others believe you are, perception becomes reality."
"How did they resolve it?" Monica pressed.
"Television again, of course," Paige continued. "Sheldon's father appeared on the same station in his best suit, talking about how he had served in the military, how he'd bled for his country, and how much he loved America. He brought little Sheldon with him, dressed up as Uncle Sam with a top hat and fake white beard, to prove his son was definitely not a communist sympathizer.
Sheldon wanted to maintain his scientific objectivity—you know, acknowledge that every country has both good and bad aspects—but after his father's stern reminder, he could only say one thing: that he loved America more than anything."
"So now Sheldon won't express any opinion about the Soviet Union," Professor Alicia Harper glanced at Chuck meaningfully. "Because he's been traumatized and is afraid to speak his mind."
"Not only that," Paige continued. "After that ordeal, the Cooper family—who had nearly been driven out of East Texas because of one twisted sentence—gave Sheldon the silent treatment for several days. It was from that moment that Sheldon suddenly decided the lower-quality bread made by the big corporation was actually delicious."
She looked directly at Professor John Harper. "Professor, do you think Sheldon's sudden and dramatic change was due to his taste buds actually changing, or was there some other scientific principle at work?"
"Taste buds can change suddenly," Professor John Harper said with a frown.
He understood what Paige and Chuck were getting at, but he didn't like this example or its implications.
"Come on!" Professor Alicia Harper couldn't contain herself any longer. "That might be possible for ordinary people, but for geniuses like Sheldon—and you—who hate change, your food preferences don't just flip overnight.
Why can't you admit that Sheldon's dramatic shift happened because the fanatical public pressure distorted his ability to perceive reality? He can no longer taste whether food is actually good or bad—he can only accept whatever he's told is good or bad.
This kind of extremism goes against everything science stands for. Sheldon, you grew up in an environment that was even more extreme than today's, which explains why you've become like this—no longer objective and pure in your approach to science, constantly asking others what they think instead of thinking for yourself.
Even if the Soviet Union collapses, so what?
Will their collapse help you solve the P vs NP problem?
Stop letting politics cloud your judgment!
Science, especially mathematics, is pure. Americans, Russians, Germans, Japanese—anyone can make great scientific discoveries because the truth doesn't care about your nationality. It only cares whether you can understand it!"
(End of Chapter)
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