The paradox of our time turns out to be this month's e-prank.
Seems a pithy little essay has been busy circulating around the Internet, being passed in and out of mailboxes and electronically recycled before anyone can hit delete fast enough.
And despite widespread attribution otherwise, comedian George Carlin is not the author.
Carlin is famous for his "Filthy Words" monologue, but not so famous for inspirational phrases that appear in the piece like, "We've conquered outer space, but not inner space."
The essay has shown up in the Indianapolis Star with Carlin's byline, and on dozens of Web sites adorned with soothing backdrops. Syndicated columnist Ann Landers was so enamored by the essay that she ran it in her column, although she listed the author as anonymous.
The essay is reminiscent of the infamous "Sunscreen" tome, a popular piece that was sent around in 1997 as the text of a graduation speech by Kurt Vonnegut. The author of that essay turned out to be Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, who has reportedly made a mint on book sales and song royalties since the hoax was uncovered.
If the real author of "Paradox" is out there, this would be a great time to make an entrance.
In the meantime, maybe someone ought to ask Mike Barnicle if he wrote it.
