Cause and Effect

Heading out on a Saturday morning to drop Joel off at his grandmother's house for the morning, I noticed that on this slightly brisk day guaranteed to warm up into the 80s in afternoon, Joel was donned in a toboggan, scarf, heavy coat, and gloves. I gently but also directly told him that his clothes were too warm for the projected temperature of the day. As is typical for him, he disagreed and insisted on wearing the clothes.

Choosing not to argue at that moment, we climbed in the truck for the 20 minute drive. I noticed the temperature in the truck read 64 degrees and climbing. Mentioning this to Joel, I also said it was likely going to be in the 80s by mid-morning with the sun shining brightly. He said no I was wrong that it was going to snow.

Perplexed by this pronouncement, I asked him why he believed it would snow. His response was that he was dressed for snow, therefore it would snow. I stayed quiet for a few minutes to reflect on this statement. Joel has never completely understood cause and effect. In some ways it has created some curiosity, but in other ways he simply rejects that idea. He knows that what he does can cause an effect of some kind or another, but he has a difficult time discerning or predicting what the effect will be. He cannot determine people's reactions and he cannot determine his own place in creating certain responses in other people. It is all a mystery to him.

This is partly why he wears ties, suits to football games and partly why it seems okay for him to wander around or sit when others are standing or hug when others are shaking hands or insist on playing the organ too loud or the myriad of behaviors Joel tends to do. He does not see anything wrong and cannot assess how people will react to him. Not only that, but their reactions have little meaning to him. He resides in his own tinted existence not worrying about how others see him. Consequently he does not pass judgment on other behaviors other than those events learned specifically out of experience or repetition of order. Cause and effect is peripheral at best in his world, a world without imagination and world requiring routine and order.

Deep down I suspect he knew that he could not cause it to snow simply by wearing warm clothes. He knows that neither nor anyone else governs the snow or lack thereof. Yet because he gives no thought to the reactions of other people, and because he often confuses the cause and effect of his own behavior, he somehow converted his desire for snow into a kind of demand. His appearance and yes his preparation ought to result in the weather change.

I convinced him to watch for the temperature to rise above 72 with the idea that a number would be the catalyst to change, and then further convinced him to remove the toboggan, the gloves, the scarf, and finally the coat upon hitting 72. Reluctant at first, the rising temperature number was the final convincer, making Joel realize that his clothes did not cause the snow.

Still, what a nice dream for our dress to create weather change! Would it were so.