Howie's two worlds
Howie's life consists of two worlds: the inner world (the soup of internal thoughts, ideas, and insights that he garners throughout his life) and the outer world (the physical world that he interacts with - his home, the subway, the streets, his workplace, other people). These two worlds are almost completely insulated from each other in that, even if Howie's outer world (physical lifestyle) stays unchanging, the inner world is undergoing dynamic growth as Howie makes new connections and observations about the world. Then, comes the question, which world is more real for Howie? (Short answer: The inner world) In the perspective of Howie, the outer world is a specimen that nourishes his elaborate inner world of thoughts, questions, analogies, historical accounts, ideas, and theories. He even develops theories and conducts experiments (ex. testing the shoelace flexion model) to develop a comprehensive internal understanding of the physical world. Beyond this purpose of a "...