ABOUTTHENOVEL

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

"Me, The Professor, Fuzzy, and the Meaning of Life" is a very long title for a book. Yet, the three titular characters each play an essential role in ferreting out the answers to the big questions that all people eventually ask themselves. All of these questions, as well as the efforts of all three characters, represent attempts to get at the very meaning of life itself.

"Me" represents the narrator who also represents, vicariously, the seeker and philosopher in all of us. Thus, "Me" is also the reader. He is the person asking the questions and working through the answers. He is the author, but he is also someone that you can identify with.

"The Professor" is the self-proclaimed expert. He is the guy who "knows" everything and tells you what he thinks is possible and what is not. This archetype often comes off as arrogant, but nonetheless, it is true that people tend to trust anyone with a Ph.D. after their name. The Ph.D. in this book is a "scientist" in the sense that he believes that only the physical world is real. All the rest is superstition to him. Yet, in the end, he is revealed to be an enemy of discovery because he illegitimately declares certain conclusions off limits before the investigation even begins! If I may throw in a bit of Latin to spice things up, this is the dreaded "a priori rejection."

"Fuzzy" is the most entertaining of the characters. He is the guy we've all met who dabbles in mysticism or any random New-Age fad. Like the Professor, he is also an enemy of the truth, but for the opposite reason. He thinks that all truth is relative. He thinks that my truth and your truth can both be true even if they are in conflict logically. He also thinks that we cannot find the truth because, in the final analysis, nothing is true... or truth is a meaningless concept.

The narrator, "Me," goes through the basics and begins building a stone structure where the building blocks represent ideas.

Note: This concept will be familiar to many because it is the same mental picture that Rene Descartes used when establishing the epistemological methodology known as Foundationalism. There are problems with Foundationalism, however, and I don't want the reader to be unaware of them. The premise of Descartes' Foundationalism is the quest, and requirement, for certainty. Since the time of Descartes, many philosophers from every background and religion have come to accept that certainty is not attainable because of our finite minds and our limited and mediated access to the world... and even ourselves. Because of this problem, I will state clearly here that I am not endorsing Foundationalism despite my blatant use of Foundationalism's core visual metaphor.

This graphic novel does not seek to provide certainty. It is one argument among many for a conclusion that is "certainly," in the end, deniable.

Nonetheless, it is very probably correct. Probability is the realm within which human minds work. This novel presents an argument that reveals the naturally high probability for its conclusions.

I hope that, agree or disagree, you will enjoy the novel and come away from it with more scope in your own personal philosophy!

At the time it was written, this graphic novel (or comic book) was created by a young man who had just come out of a top-10, university in the United States. Curiously, he was left with more questions after attending this school than he had before he entered it!

Of course, I was that young man. After graduating, for myself as much as for the readers I imagined having, I began thinking and writing and sketching. I was actually surprised to discover that I could form a decent argument "from scratch," and without any help. It was actually easy, perhaps too easy. Because of this I rigorously tested my logic and presuppositions. I employed the help of friends from many different religious and philosophical backgrounds to test me in my arguments. Finally, being convinced that I had a decent every-man's argument, I decided to get the message out. This book is the result!

This might be boring for most, but for those who care about the nuts and bolts of how the book was actually produced, especially those who wish to create their own graphic novel, read on!

While at work and in my spare time, whenever I could grab a free moment, I created a sketchbook that might be called a "story board." This step took about nine months in 1995-1996.

Then, with a complete story board in hand, I began illustrating the individual pages. I used plain typing paper and sketched out the visual concepts of each cell first with pencil and then an ink tracing. I used a simple felt-tipped marker that I bought at a local drug store. Nothing too fancy. This step took about four months.

With the sketches for each cell completed, I scanned each one and manipulated it using Adobe Photoshop 4.0 until I had all of the pages assembled. Back then I only had a Pentium 166 MHz computer. Given the state of technology today, I can hardly believe I had the patience to work with such slow equipment! I worked in B&W, but I wish I had done it in color since it can always be converted to B&W later with minimal artistic loss. I also wish I'd scanned the drawings and worked at a higher resolution than I did... but, the technology that I had access to was very restricting. I had to work at 200 dpi.

Eventually, I had a completed version of the book. I printed up a couple of "prototypes" and shipped them off to publishers. Providentially, on my first attempt, I got a hit! AiG agreed to publish the novel readily but asked me to fix a couple of issues.

Four years later we finished the corrections... yes it really took that long! The delays involved misunderstandings on both sides as well as some issues over correct argumentation. I remember fixing some spelling errors and conforming to Australian spelling standards at one point. (Humorously, one of the reviewers was Australian and insisted upon his version of certain words.)

I finished this process by asking Ken Ham, AiG-America's President, to write a foreword. The resulting promotional essay is not available with the online version of the book, and is only available with the physical book. I am grateful to Ken for his glowing appraisal and I am very thankful for his gracious words.

But, don't think I'm shamelessly promoting the book for financial gain. I donated the book to AiG, a charitable organization, so that they could offer the book more cheaply. I personally and sincerely believe in the message of the book and want as many people as possible to read it and learn from it. I don't want anyone to go through the same torture that I did when I went to college. You don't have to give in to the "Professors" or "Fuzzys" of the world!

While waiting to be published, I had put the novel onto a website under the domain name www.thebigquestion.com. The site was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article and this catapulted it immediately into the top 10 of the search engines for queries like "the meaning of life" and similar phrases. Soon, I was flooded with email questions.

This continued for about three years, while the book was being reviewed for publication. I learned a great deal more about my own arguments during this time. I am happy to say that the book stood up to the punishment. Though many detractors remained unconvinced, I was able to remain completely convinced of the legitimacy of the presuppositions, methods, and conclusions in the book.

Unfortunately, the domain name was lost because of an error that was made by my Internet Service Provider, Imaxx.net. They made a mistake and a domain name "squatter" purchased the rights milliseconds after it became available for resale. I had no realistic chance of getting it back because the squatters turned around and asked for $20,000 to sell it back to me. I considered legal action, but decided against it.

I republished the site under a new domain name (the one you're using now): www.thebigmystery.com. However, the presence of this new address has not yet been noticed by the masses.

In the non-virtual world, however, the book has recently gone to a second printing. That means the book is up to 10,000 copies. It is gradually becoming more and more popular and, of course, I hope that it continues to gain new readers.

Sometimes I am asked if another book is in the works. And yes, I had thought that I might produce a sequel at some point, but it has not materialized into the same sense of emergency that drove the production of this book.

Moreover, I have gone on to other things. I am currently studying and teaching philosophy and plan, eventually, to teach and write books without pictures. Hopefully, some day, I will get the chance to write about another important topic. Nevertheless, I am thankful that I had the chance to do it at least one time.

But, enough about me ... read the book!

Purchase the Paperback A printed version of this graphic novel is now available from AiG. Pages: 216 Dimensions (Inches): 8 x 9 Ages: Junior High-Adult Format: Soft Cover Includes the E-book on CD-ROM. Price: approx. $12.00 USD The author has donated the book to Answers in Genesis (AiG) and does not profit from its sale. AiG is an international, charitable organization.