Thread by @marklewismd

Walk with me, won't you, through a thought experiment THREAD

I awake to find a tiger in my house
1/

Perhaps later, at a less alarming moment, I might concern myself with where the tiger came from. But for now I am most preoccupied with the tiger that is -- let's not forget -- NOW IN MY HOUSE.

I would not care if it were, for instance, a Bengali tiger vs. a Siberian tiger.
2/

No, at this time, the Asian provenance of the tiger is not my main issue, which remains its presence IN MY HOUSE.

Oh I have just noticed it is a tigress, about to deliver a litter of baby tigers and multiply my problem several-fold; the more cubs, the worse off I will be!
3/

I will definitely need some way to count the number of cubs to know just how big a problem I have.

A test of some sort will be in order, and I will need access to it quickly!
4/

I will also need to learn from other people about how they have dealt with tigers in their houses.

But right now I won't be inviting anyone over either, because I do not want my tiger problem to become theirs.
5/

One day I will have time to figure out exactly how the tiger got in, but that day is not today.

I certainly do not want to trap myself in my house either, by boarding up doors or, say, building walls. There is a tiger in here!
6/

And maybe, maybe, in the very very distant future, I will look back and make minimizing jokes about how it was "really just like a big housecat".

But right now that seems pretty unlikely and certainly not an appropriate comparison.
7/

Anyway, thanks for joining me on this hypothetical journey.

Apropos of nothing.

(I probably shouldn't have watched Life Of Pi after downing a bottle of Nyquil, but, in my defense, I've been feeling a bit sick lately ...)
fin/