Make Stuff Up
(See our live acoustic version of it: https://youtu.be/LLdJTWAwToc )

We ponder the world with our big old brains and we make stuff up
There's lots that we know, but for what remains, we just make stuff up

Joining the dots and filling the gaps
With definite maybe's and a strong perhaps.

Arts, maths and science need creative minds that can make stuff up
But standardized tests tend to fail the kinds who make great stuff up

From brainstorming crazy to editing phase, when we toss nearly half
All the dross and the chaff and laugh at the thoughts we had
Ideas that were clearly bad, but led into something rad

Two rights make a wrong when combined misaligned
That's false syllogism. It can mess with your mind
The truth is hard to find and trust is undermined
And leaves you kind of blind in a bind

Is it a lie if you think it's true, when you make stuff up?
An honest mistake when the fake is you, it's a vague stuff up

Joining the dots and filling the gaps
With definite maybes and a strong perhaps.

That distant rumbling noise you hear. Does it annoy, or bring you joy or fear?
Is it the ocean roar? A busy road? A waterfall?  Or a passing train?
Is it the thunder, wind and rain? A growling bowel? A wheelie bin? Or a jet plane?
You can choose how you explain it, through how you use your brain.
It takes a gentle mental shove, it could be one, it could be some
It could be all of the above, all of the above, all of the above
It could be none, it could be one, it could be some
It could be all of the above, all of the above, all of the above

When fact disagrees with hypotheses, you might make stuff up
But fudging results even by degrees, is a great stuff up

Right when you conceive it, you want to believe it
But you've gotta leave it for peers to receive it,
Folks who are in the know. See if they give it a go
And when they see how the data sums up
They might just give it a thumbs up

But having said that there’s a chance that you’ve
Found something so new it’s hard to prove
Keep checking yourself and yet stick to your groove
These paradigm shifts take a while to move

You might have to lay low, not like Galileo
When those flat earthers say no
Don’t wanna end up with a premature halo

Pride takes a dive when we're proven wrong so we make stuff up
Try to imply we were right all along, it’s a great stuff up

Joining the dots and filling the gaps
With definite maybe's and a strong perhaps.

Value is so subjective
When appreciation is the sole objective
The hype and hopes fade over time
Faith and fashion can turn on a dime

That information that you hear. Does it annoy, or bring you joy or fear?
Is it research results reached rigorously? Or a paranoid conspiracy?
Is it irony? Or parody? Or prophecy, philosophy or fantasy?
You can choose how you explain it
Through how you use your brain
It takes a gentle mental shove
It could be all of the above, all of the above, all of the above
It could be none, it could be one, it could be some
It could be all of the above, all of the above, all of the above, all of the above

© Mal Webb 2021

Human brains are amazing. But our vast creative potential can have dodgy consequences.
The "Rumbling noise" verse takes me back to a workshop I once ran at high school in Leeds, UK: I had the kids silently listening to the cars on the wet road outside and trying to convert that sound to being waves on a beack or wind in the trees (or both!) with power of the mind! They loved it and totally got it. A teacher burst in saying, "is everything OK?"... the silence class freaked her out!
The "Value is so subjective..." verse referes to many things, but most pointedly cryptocurrency and the "like" culture of social media.