My father once told me that when he turned 16, he thought he had everything figured out. He had all the answers to every question that could possibly be asked. He officially knew it all.

When he was 18, he looked back at himself at 16 and realized that he knew absolutely nothing. He marveled at his ignorance and his hubris. But now... now... he had everything figured out. He had all the answers.

At 21, it happened again. At 25, who knew?! Another stroke of genius. This time he finally licked the problem. He could go about the rest of his life content that he had all the answers to the questions that life would throw at him.

I heard this tale years back when my dad was entering his midlife, and I was just struglling to understand what it meant to be an adult. He told me that the stars align every few years to produce another great epiphany in life. I carried those words with me.

My father has seen the matrix.

I just had one of moments myself.