Three-Minute Ideas

What am I doing now? I'm pouring endless streams of words out onto my screen only to press the delete key and start all over again. I have inadvertently developed a co-dependent relationship with my copy of The Philosophy of History.

Every time I put it aside, tired of finding something new when I look through it, I pick it up again. It's as if I can only understand what he's saying if I've got the book open. History. Progress. Spirit. Predetermination. Not to mention reason, freedom, subjective will, dialectic, universality and idea. Will I be going to bed any time soon? Nope. It's my own fault. I was so wrapped up in the text, that I was unable to apply its ideas to anything. And then, miraculously, I had a conversation about death with my roommate. And then I mentioned Hegel (because that's what academics do: they name drop philosophers and ideas so they sound smart...and I don't even consider myself an academic).

At any rate, I mentioned Hegel. And then I remembered that he's big on predetermination. Well then what's the point of waxing philosophic on history if it already has a set end? This is going to be the crux of my presentation. Which, thank goodness, only has to be about three minutes. Those are going to be some long three minutes. Seventeen more hours until this is over.