"I liked things better when I didn't understand them"

The statement reflects a longing for the simplicity and magic that often comes with not fully understanding the world. Curiosity is natural, but as understanding deepens, some of the wonder may be lost. When sitting with the unknown, imagination fills in the gaps, creating colorful possibilities and a sense of adventure. Without all the answers, everyday experiences can appear larger, more mysterious, and even more delightful.

As we grow older, education and life experience provide us with explanations and reasons. Things become categorized, boxed in by logic. The child who looks at stars and dreams of unknown worlds may later learn their astronomical names and distances, trimming away some of the limitless mystery that once seemed exhilarating. The world becomes more predictable, safer, perhaps, but less astonishing. There’s a certain disappointment that comes from realizing that magic tricks have explanations and that the monsters under the bed are just shadows.

Yet, not understanding is not ignorance; it is openness. Children, and sometimes adults, revel in their lack of knowledge not because they don’t want to learn, but because they treasure the sense of possibility that ignorance brings. There is joy in not having everything figured out, in believing that things can be bigger, stranger, or more wonderful than we can imagine. It’s an invitation to play, to wonder, to invent meaning where none is given.

Watterson’s reflection is a reminder that knowledge, valuable as it is, often comes at the cost of innocence or enchantment. Many people look back with nostalgia at times when the world seemed full of secrets. Perhaps there’s value in allowing ourselves, every once in a while, to remain a little in the dark, to give space for our creative minds to roam in the ambiguity instead of always seeking to solve every puzzle.