I first saw the idea articulated clearly by the great philosopher of our time, Scott Adams of “Dilbert” fame. The simple observation is that evolution works slowly, and the human brain has not changed significantly since we first stood erect on the grasslands of Africa. The amount of information this brain is expected to retain and process continues to increase exponentially. As a result, all of us go in and out of competence on a nearly constant basis.
Monthly Archives: November 2007
Tao Te Ching
There are four books that I have handy when I am on the internet, because the right quotation from them can kill any argument. They are “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli, “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky, “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Toqueville, and “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu.
As You Like It
It’s another Tuesday, the day that I answer my mail. It’s nothing more than my attempt to make up for the fact that while Author’s Den has a wonderful system for cataloguing and displaying diverse works, it has a lousy blog template that doesn’t allow comments. Sorry. I didn’t come here for the blog, but if you did I owe you a little something.
Saint Paul
Saint Paul has always been comfortable as just another Midwestern city in a way that Minneapolis cannot be. Our younger, more outgoing sister to the west has always had the bright lights of the big city in her eyes, and yearned to be a great beacon out on the prairie.
Not Saint Paul. We see a beacon on the prairie as pointless, something that can only serve to confuse the waterfowl. We have more in common with Mankato than Chicago, more to talk about with Des Moines than New York. Saint Paul is all of these, pushed together, as if it is a dozen cities with one mayor. It’s something like a giant hotdish or booya where everyone is invited to bring their own ingredients.
Travel
One of those many phrases that pass beyond language to take on a meaning of their own is, “Travel broadens the mind”. I’ve never been sure what that means. If you’ve been traveling this week, as many of us have, perhaps you can figure it out.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 