Did your pretty face see what he's worth?

Too bad that you couldn't see
See the man that boy could be
There is more than meets the eye
I see the soul that is inside
- Sk8er Boi (2002, Avril Lavigne)

A professor whom I highly respect recounted some stories with the class. He told us about his meandering past and the lessons he learned along the way. Among the many tales, a particular one struck a chord within me. In fact, it rang out with a resounding GONG. It was a story of substance versus style - an issue I'm struggling with.

An experiment was conducted on one of his classes. Wearing singlet, shorts and slippers, he pushed a rickety trolley into class. On the teetering trolley was a plain looking cake, unadorned and unfancied. Lets refer to it as Cake A. Unbeknownst to the students, Cake A was actually baked by the most highly regarded chef in the culinary establishment. In his sloppy attire, the professor walked up the aisles, offering a piece of Cake A to the students. They all politely declined.

He left. He returned shortly after, this time dressed smartly in a crisp attire. Accompanying him were several pretty female waitresses, in charge of pushing the shiny trolley in. This time, the cake was done up differently. Lets refer to it as Cake B. Cake B was displayed prominently as the centrepiece of the gleaming trolley. The package containing Cake B was left casually beside, as if chucked there carelessly. But ah hah, upon closer inspection you notice that it was actually surreptitiously positioned in such a way that the brand of the avant garde cake shop was obvious for all to see. The freshest strawberries were arranged aesthetically across the top, with fine frost icing sprinkled evenly across. Luxurious porcelain plates with the finest stainless-steel wrought cutlery were provided. The waitresses sashayed up the aisles to offer a slice, and this time, nobody refused.

Grinning themselves silly, the students bit into the succulent piece of morsel laid out in front of their eyes. They greedily chomped into it. PUI! They spat the debris out. It tasted of stale eggs and low grade flour! The cream was acrid and bitter, as if whipped out of the sweat and stank scrapped off the walls of ancient dungeons. The stringy yellow patterns swirling across the sides now looked suspiciously like someone's spit. The juicy-looking strawberries were actually choke full of pungent preservatives. The icing sugar that previously looked so inviting turned out to be sickeningly sweet. To add insult to injury, the make up on the waitresses started to cake off (pardon the pun), revealing the flaws they painstakingly tried to hide, strangely reminiscent of the way preservatives were utilized to deceive the students into thinking the rotten strawberries fresh! Your desires are elevated up to the highest pinnacle, but there is no fulfillment. You're left high and dry!

The professor was grinning too. He was indulging in a slice of Cake A: the cake nobody fancied. When cut opened, the aroma of freshest fruits wafted across the air. Sure the outside looked boring and mundane, but inside yielded a hypnotic concoction of the most extravagant ingredients, sourced from the most exotic corners of the world. Upon sinking your teeth in, your taste buds explode in exaltation. With each bite springs forth more delights, as if the symphony of musical flavours dancing across the caverns of your mouth. You can taste a hint of literature, you can revel in a dash of poetry; you understand arcane history, you appreciate current affairs; you are held spellbound by pristine geography, you are thoroughly astounded by financial wizardry. The intellectual leanings gleaned from your books has freed you from the flippant pursuits of the material world. You are satiated! What a balanced flavour! The whole experience is all too gratifying. You had stuck to your choice of a rough, unembellished stone and after some polishing, is eventually rewarded with a rare, sparkling gem. Pitiable that this concept continues to elude some people.

To the question of whether style or substance, I think I've already found the answer in an earlier blog post.. "..forceful reasoning on its own is insufficient. Only when weaved together with tactful persuasion, then can it create lasting impact." Those who fall prey to the glittery, illusionary world of style and style only, probably aren't worth your time anyway.