Footnotes to a Conversation, April 24, 2023
“The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.” — John Kenneth Galbraith
I am infatuated with a nearby wood that is carpeted in bluebells. It’s particularly wonderful as the wood is beside a school, in the middle of a residential area. Thank goodness it has been preserved for everyone to enjoy.
Right of Way
An excellent article about transit options. I’ll pass on two quotes and leave you to read the full article. [The Walrus]
“No matter how you get around, it’s hard not to demonize everyone else—to see them as obstructions or opponents rather than fellow humans who are just trying to make it from point A to point B without dying.”
“All of us, regardless of our chosen modes of transport, want roads that are safe, efficient, and pleasant, but no one wants to be the person who has to change for that to happen … Changing our roads, even slightly, feels like an exhortation to change ourselves, because how we get around says a lot about who we think we are.”
Making Wise Decisions
It can sound pompous when a famous person refers to themselves in the third person, as in ‘We are not amused.’ But, “if we are trying to make a difficult decision, speaking about ourselves in the third person can help to neutralise the emotions that could lead our thinking astray, allowing us to find a wiser solution to our problem.” [BBC]
What We Leave Behind
As ice and snow melt in Europe, relics of past civilizations are uncovered. There’s something very moving about chancing upon a Bronze Age lunchbox, a 1,400-year old toy arrow, or an Iron Age horse snowshoe. [Live Science]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.