This blog really isn't meant to be some sort of recap of material you can find on The Atlantic, but I found yet another video on their site that was interesting.
Wish I had more time to form and articulate my thoughts on this. But if I tried to make every post perfect and a complete overview of all my thoughts on each subject then my posting would be as frequent as it has been the past few years.
But first of all, I always walked to school growing up. And not because there wasn't transportation available. There were rainy days and other days when we were running late and my mom would give us a ride, but I would say that I walked or rode my bike to elementary school and Jr. high school 95% of the time. I even remember walking home in the rain one day. I was really upset that my mom hadn't picked me up. She replied that she thought I would enjoy walking in the rain. I promptly called child protective services.
I didn't love walking to/from school, but I definitely would like my kids to walk to school, for many of the reasons mentioned in the video. Great exercise. Great way to get to know the neighborhood. You are an overall better human and superior to everyone else.
The video says that less than 10% of kids now walk to school. I would have guessed the figure to actually be lower than that. I don't know why so few walk to school now. Part of me wants to say it all relates to the fact that parents today seem to be overly protective. Which is an area I hesitate to talk about because it's overly discussed and analyzed at this point, and I don't have completely organized thoughts on that subject.
I personally fall on the side of being less protective, which is probably why I want my kids to walk to school. But using the term 'less protective' is so negative and feels terrible. As a parent myself, I have the strong desire to protect your children. But I also think you have to find the balance between understanding when you are actually protecting your child and when you might be hurting your child by stunting their growth because they have had their parent's shadow constantly over them.
I also think that there are unfounded fears and concerns that cause people now to be overly protected. I don't know the reason why that is. A theory that I seem to buy into is that mass media and global media has caused concern. Before you were only aware of news that happened nearby. So with kidnappings for instance, the only time you heard about one was if it happened in your neighborhood. If you grew up in a neighborhood like the one I grew in, that meant you never heard about a kidnapping. Now though, you'll hear about a kidnapping in Cleveland or kids being sold into prostitution in Atlanta.
Before people would only hear about crime in their area and would use the local news to gauge how safe or unsafe their surrounding area is. That arguably isn't even a good gauge for the safety of your community, but it's much better than using the national or world news to gauge how safe your community is. There hasn't been a rise in kidnappings in the past few decades. Violent crime is actually down. But there has been a rise in hearing about violent crime because of global and instant news media.
I suppose that it is good because it lets you know what is going on in the world and keeps you informed. Plus, "just because something happened in Atlanta doesn't mean that it can't happen or isn't happening in your backyard." True, it could happen or perhaps is happening nearby. Not arguing people should be ignorant. But the reality is that it's not really happening, or if it is, it's very rare.
I can't fault someone for not swimming in the ocean in southern California because of the possibility of a shark attack. After all, you hear about shark attacks in Australia or in northern California, so sharks do attack people.
They do, but those areas aren't southern California and even in those areas, the attacks aren't as often as people think.
But attacks have happened in southern California before.
They have. So I can't fault you for not going in the water.
You don't need to go into the ocean to have a complete life. You can have a great life if you don't walk to school. But there is enjoyment and experience to be gained from those experiences, at least in my opinion, and not having them because of the remote risk associated with the activities, just doesn't make much sense to me.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Light Pollution
I saw this video the other day, I really liked it. So much so that I'm writing about it. Here it is:
A couple things and thoughts about this video:
1. I think everyone has thought at some point about how it is unfortunate that you can't see the stars at night and that it's tough to see the night sky because there are constant lights. But every time after I had that thought, I just said, "yep, that's a bummer I can't see stars very well. I'll go back inside and go to bed now." I like the fact that this video doesn't stop there where I and most people stop, but goes to the next step and ponders the question of whether there is any consequence to the fact that we can't see the night sky and what the possible implications are for not being able to see the night sky. I like that. I think asking additional questions is great. Wish I had done it. But happy they did for me.
2. I do sort of buy into some of the issues they raise about having constant light at night. I agree that I think that humans should become more comfortable with the dark. When I say dark, I'm not referring to evil dark, but nighttime dark. I think that there is an innate fear of the dark and it makes sense that we would surround ourselves with as much light as possible in order to avoid being in the dark. But as this video discusses, I don't think that is the appropriate or best response to the innate fear of the dark.
First of all, this isn't deep cave pitch black darkness. It's nighttime darkness and there is a big difference.
But second, I think there is value in facing that innate fear and appreciating it. That doesn't mean everyone has to become comfortable with the dark or like to live in it, but I think appreciating it and finding the good in it instead of avoiding it altogether is valuable. Makes me think of the desert. It's easy to find and see the beauty or good of mountains or beaches or rainforests. But it takes additional attention and effort to appreciate the desert and its beauty. Not the best analogy, but it's what just came to mind.
But I think in the process of being in then nighttime dark and learning to appreciate it relates to the other issue I liked from this video. At the very end they mention the fact that for all of history you could step outside and see the night sky and that the sky inspired art and philosophy and religion and science from the beginning of time. And now for the first time, many people are living in a place without that sight. I don't know my exact thoughts on that comment from the video, but I think it's true. Science still progresses and philosophy and religion still exists, but I think there is an overall collective societal harm from the vast majority of people not seeing the night sky on a regular basis.
People go camping or have moments where they are able to see the sky without city lights and probably have a moment of pondering questions that go beyond when a deadline is for some work assignment. But that's a few days at best and most days are spent in the city lights bubble where you can't see the night sky and all you can see is just faint stars and city lights that illuminate the horizon. And it does make you feel like you are in a bubble. It restricts one from easily seeing that there is a lot in the sky and universe and we thus tend to focus on what is immediately around us. That's not always a bad thing, there are important things around us that need our time and attenion. But those aren't the only things and to just focus on those things severely limits our view on life. Whereas if we are able to expand our focus, we realize that everything doesn't revolve around us, but rather, we are but a small cog in the enormous wheel.
Unfortuntely, we have to make an effort to think about things that are bigger than us and make an effort to look beyond our immediate surroundings. Previously, because of darkness at night, I think it was thrust upon everyone. You couldn't help but notice the night sky and couldn't help but ponder the heavens. And I don't think people make that effort and I do think that it is a detriment to society as a whole. I don't know what that harm is. I'd hesitate to make any sort of conclusion. I think it's difficult to quantify the impact. I just think the important thing is just noting that there is such a thing as light pollution exists and that there is a benefit to spending time without artificial light.
A couple things and thoughts about this video:
1. I think everyone has thought at some point about how it is unfortunate that you can't see the stars at night and that it's tough to see the night sky because there are constant lights. But every time after I had that thought, I just said, "yep, that's a bummer I can't see stars very well. I'll go back inside and go to bed now." I like the fact that this video doesn't stop there where I and most people stop, but goes to the next step and ponders the question of whether there is any consequence to the fact that we can't see the night sky and what the possible implications are for not being able to see the night sky. I like that. I think asking additional questions is great. Wish I had done it. But happy they did for me.
2. I do sort of buy into some of the issues they raise about having constant light at night. I agree that I think that humans should become more comfortable with the dark. When I say dark, I'm not referring to evil dark, but nighttime dark. I think that there is an innate fear of the dark and it makes sense that we would surround ourselves with as much light as possible in order to avoid being in the dark. But as this video discusses, I don't think that is the appropriate or best response to the innate fear of the dark.
First of all, this isn't deep cave pitch black darkness. It's nighttime darkness and there is a big difference.
But second, I think there is value in facing that innate fear and appreciating it. That doesn't mean everyone has to become comfortable with the dark or like to live in it, but I think appreciating it and finding the good in it instead of avoiding it altogether is valuable. Makes me think of the desert. It's easy to find and see the beauty or good of mountains or beaches or rainforests. But it takes additional attention and effort to appreciate the desert and its beauty. Not the best analogy, but it's what just came to mind.
But I think in the process of being in then nighttime dark and learning to appreciate it relates to the other issue I liked from this video. At the very end they mention the fact that for all of history you could step outside and see the night sky and that the sky inspired art and philosophy and religion and science from the beginning of time. And now for the first time, many people are living in a place without that sight. I don't know my exact thoughts on that comment from the video, but I think it's true. Science still progresses and philosophy and religion still exists, but I think there is an overall collective societal harm from the vast majority of people not seeing the night sky on a regular basis.
People go camping or have moments where they are able to see the sky without city lights and probably have a moment of pondering questions that go beyond when a deadline is for some work assignment. But that's a few days at best and most days are spent in the city lights bubble where you can't see the night sky and all you can see is just faint stars and city lights that illuminate the horizon. And it does make you feel like you are in a bubble. It restricts one from easily seeing that there is a lot in the sky and universe and we thus tend to focus on what is immediately around us. That's not always a bad thing, there are important things around us that need our time and attenion. But those aren't the only things and to just focus on those things severely limits our view on life. Whereas if we are able to expand our focus, we realize that everything doesn't revolve around us, but rather, we are but a small cog in the enormous wheel.
Unfortuntely, we have to make an effort to think about things that are bigger than us and make an effort to look beyond our immediate surroundings. Previously, because of darkness at night, I think it was thrust upon everyone. You couldn't help but notice the night sky and couldn't help but ponder the heavens. And I don't think people make that effort and I do think that it is a detriment to society as a whole. I don't know what that harm is. I'd hesitate to make any sort of conclusion. I think it's difficult to quantify the impact. I just think the important thing is just noting that there is such a thing as light pollution exists and that there is a benefit to spending time without artificial light.
Monday, January 26, 2015
100 Books
Amazon's has a list of 100 books to read in a lifetime. I've already read a few of these, which is good because I'm already a few years into my lifetime.
More to come later.
Amazon's list.
More to come later.
Amazon's list.
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