Cow trees.

The first argument my partner and I got into involved the possible existence of cow trees. By “cow trees” I mean trees that grow cows instead of fruit. Picture it: A gargantuan, lush, verdant tree sprouting cows from its branches. Instead of food, the growing cows would receive their sustenance from the tree itself, much the way a fetus receives its nutrients via the umbilical cord.

My partner refused to exist that such trees could ever exist. It’s not natural, he said. It’s not possible, he lamented. It just can’t be.

Open your mind, I urged. Accept that possibility, however unlikely. Just realize that it’s possible for such a thing to exist. I asked a series of questions and skillfully persuaded him that cow trees may be possible if aliens were to bring them to us. But he was still adamant in his belief that neither a quirk of nature nor a scientific innovation would bring along cow trees.

This discourse only illustrates the difficulty people have in contemplating possibilities that may exist beyond their limited understanding of how the world works. It has been said that no two snowflakes are alike. But that’s only because no one has ever found two that are alike. There are countless snowflakes out there. It seems crazy to assert that no two can be alike simply because of some long held societal belief. It’s common knowledge that men cannot reproduce. But with all the technological and scientific advances, is it really a jump to think that male reproduction may somehow, someday be possible?

The reluctance or refusal or inability to dream and consider all potential circumstances makes me sad. Even the seemingly implausible shouldn’t be rejected out of hand.

The other day I presented my cow tree argument to a woman at work. “Cows can’t grow on trees,” she said. I asked why. “Because they don’t have seeds,” she replied. “The only things that grow in trees are things with seeds. And cows don’t have seeds.”

“Not yet,” was my only response.