Life, 1918-08-01 · page 27 of 36
Life — August 1, 1918 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical self-help guide mocking positive-thinking philosophies and mind-over-matter ideologies. The humor works through absurdist logic: the character "climbs" a hill by lying down and mentally reframing his position, rather than through actual physical effort. The six-panel sequence progressively shows increasingly ridiculous mental gymnastics—lying flat to make the hill "appear below," using thought to "overcome gravity," acting quickly to "avoid a fall" (while suspended upside down)—culminating in the final punchline: if you merely *think* you're at the summit, what else matters? The satire targets naive self-improvement advice popular in early 20th-century American culture, suggesting that mere positive thinking cannot substitute for genuine accomplishment. It's fundamentally about the gap between wishful thinking and reality, rendered through deliberately foolish physical contortions that make the absurdity literal and visual.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Compendium of Timely Information How to Think Yourself Up a Hill Position 1 Position 2 . When you find it necessary to climb a hill Lie flat on your back at the foot of it. The hill will now appear to be below you. Position 3 Position 4 _ By concentrating on this thought you may thus overcome You must act quickly to avoid a fall. the natural force of gravity. SI) Position 5 Position 6 Then lower yourself carefully to the summit. Now, if you think you are at the top of the hill, what more do you want?