Mr. Incredible, you'll recall, arrives home from work one day to find the neighbor kid lurking on his tricycle in the Incredibles' driveway.

"What are you waiting for?" Mr. Incredible demands.

"I dunno," shrugs the kid. "Something amazing, I guess."

That wishful statement from a cartoon boy reveals profound insights into human nature.

It explains why millions of people lurk at magazine racks gawking at celebrities in cheap tabloids.

Amazing, isn't it, how much time people will spend watching other people be amazing? Fearful and unwilling to live an outstanding life themselves, they get their fix of amazing vicariously.

The kid's comment also explains...