Borrowing my title, once again, from a songwriter (John Lennon, in this case), I feel compelled to investigate the phenomenon we refer to as “imagination.” It seemed like a reasonable follow-up to my recent essay on “wonderment.” After all, it seems these two go hand-in-hand.

The lyrics in Mr. Lennon’s famous song are certainly thought-provoking, which I am sure was his intent. But they may also seem, to some of us anyway, largely phantasmic, thus providing evidence that one’s imaginings need not be grounded in reality. Nor, for that matter, must they be mirthless. In fact, this sort of imagination can be enormously fun. Think: books and movies like The Golden Compass or The Hobbit, or The Never-Ending Story. Or a balanced Federal budget.

Continue “Imagine”