I first heard about the paradox of illumination from Lee
Loevinger, an extraordinary gentleman I was privileged to know
professionally. Lee was a multi-faceted, multi-talented,
thought-provoking lawyer whose sage advice and stimulating ideas
continue to resonate with those honored to have known him, and
everyone else wise enough to read his work and the words he left
behind.
In a nutshell, the paradox of illumination is extraordinarily
complex, but simple to describe. Much like Albert Einstein
who, when asked about his theory of relativity and the notion that
time is not constant, described it in personal terms: if a man is
at dinner for 10 minutes with a beautiful woman, it seems like a
fleeting instant; but sit on a burning hot stove for 10 minutes and
it seems like an eternity :).
