Heroes are double-edged swords. There is something in our cultural (biological?) makeup that pushes us to identify with heroes – especially in western cultures. The word “hero” has an interesting etymology: The word hero comes from the Greek ἥρως (hērōs), “hero” (literally “protector” or “defender”), particularly one such as Heracles with divine ancestry or later given divine honors. Before the decipherment of Linear B the original…
Africa holds a dear place in my heart after living in West Africa for 1 year. My memories from Africa are some of the clearest, strongest and unforgettable. I am also a big fan of Laurens van der Post (Wikipedia) especially his work on the Kalahari and San people. I recently found and read two…
In a book being read, I ran across a reference to what I’ve come to label – “7 Generation Decision Making” or “7 Generation Principle”. Our world today needs this very, very badly. Even if we would extend our decision horizon to beyond ‘me’ / ‘I’, the world would be better. A glimpse of a…
Some good news on plastic bag bans came out of a policy organization – Environment America – highlighted and published by Grist. Here’s the nutshell The good news is that states and cities with well-designed single-use plastic bag bans have successfully reduced plastic bag use and associated litter and pollution. Bans in five states and…
I wasn’t going to post this pointer to New York Times, assuming most people had either already read or decided not to. Yet, the details of the article and the research behind it are just too good to not share. Science continues to blow me away … If this is behind a paywall or identify…
Just in case you have never read Lord of the Rings and do not know what an Ent is, or have never heard of Treebeard … In continuing the theme of humans completely underestimating the capabilities of our fellow earth denizens (plants, animals and insects) – dolphins, crows and primates so far discussed – a…
