Sam,workingasatraineewaiterinasmallItalianrestaurantneartheWestEndofLondon,wasonedayfooledbyabohemiansortofmanwithabadsortoflogicthatledtohisdismissalbytheheadwaitress.FeelinglostandtrottingalongRegentStreethebumpedintohisgirlfriendAmywhohadjustbeenthroughasimilarscenario,andthatmadethembothlaughawaytheir‘misfortune’tostartafresh.SamdecidedtotakeacriticalthinkingcourserunbyacertainProfessorPanggloss,anamethatrangabellforhim,recallingVoltaire’sfamousnovelCandide,andthecourseturnedouttobeveryuseful,albeitpuzzlingattimes,whichthereforetroubledSamquitealot,somuchsothathehadtosharehiscriticalthinkingproblemswithAmy,evenwhenshewasalreadyawayfromtheUK,holidayingatheraunt’sinvitationinHongKong.
Thelovers,separatedbyatleastsixthousandmiles,carriedontheirintimatecommunicationusingstate-of-the-artIT,frequentlydisturbingeachotheronaccountofaconsiderabledifferenceintime,eachwakinguptheotherinthesmallhours!Amy,obviouslyenjoyingherselfinHongKongandmeetingupwitholdfriendsandgoingtoscenicplaces,didnotforgetherlove’sacademicproblems.Indeed,shewentoutofherwaytofindanswersforhispuzzles,evengoingsofarastostartareallylengthydiscussionwithherfriendsandnewacquaintancesinwhatisHongKong’smostpopularhideout,theAmigoCaféinHappyValley.BackinLondonSamstrangelyenoughloiteredaroundandendedupinfrontofwhatheperceivedasaSherlockHolmesShopwherehewasgreetedbyaveryfriendlyandlovelyyoungemployeewhoprocessedhisapplicationformembershiptoastrangesortofsociety,theSherlockesqueDetectiveClique.AtthenextcliquemeetingthatSamparticipatedinhefounddelightandinsightforhisappreciationofcriticalthinking,whichheatoncetoldAmyabout,onthephoneofcourseandagaininthesmallhours!
Homeatlast,AmytoldSamaboutherlengthyandveryrevealingdiscussionwithherfriendsintheChineseRestaurantinHongKong’sInternationalAirport.Samfoundthatveryilluminatingandboththenappreciatedcriticalthinkingsomuchmorethanbefore.IntheWestEnd,surprisingly,Samsawthatbohemian-lookingcheaterandchallengedhimtopayforthemealthatheconsumedinthatItalianRestaurant,uponwhichthismanproducedadaggerinsteadofabanknote.RecallingthelastoftheThirty-sixStratagemsSamandAmyletthathooligango,reservingforthemselvesthepeaceofmind,sothatall’swellshouldendwell.
