Saturday, June 11, 2011

Something Interesting

     So I stumbled across something interesting waiting for my computer to load, and I thought that I would share it with you. I promise I was working. Promise. Cross my heart and blah blah blah.
     To be honest, I thought long and hard about sharing this with you. I asked for a lively discussion about American democracy, actually hoping that I'd get to know my readers a little better. So far, I have...zero comments. So after you read my interesting little story, go down and read the next post. AND LEAVE A COMMENT. I seriously want to know your position. Please? It would mean a lot to your fellow debater/novelist.
     All right, interesting story. So I was reading the book The Geography of Thought, by Richard E. Nisbett. Yes, it's a boring psychological non-fiction book, but it is the most interesting book I have ever read. (Just as a sidenote--I stole it from my teacher's bookshelf after she was arrested and incarcerated for selling drugs under the pretense of getting a CAT scan. Weird, right?) Anyway, this book deals with why Westerners (for those less smart ones reading this, that does not mean cowboys. It means us, Americans and Europeans, like the 16 GERMANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEEN THIS BLOG! *excited wave*) and Easterners (Asians, and Indians, etc.) think differently.
  
     Have you noticed I'm super distracted today?

     Anyway, he quotes a section from Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, a really old Chinese book about being smart. In it is the first recorded way of classifying animals. And it is the singularly most interesting piece of information that I have ever seen, so I'll share it with you. Behold, the benevolent classifications of Chinese animals (Chinesmals?)
  • those that belong to the Emperor (simple enough)
  • embalmbed ones (don't want them just running amok, I suppose)
  • those that are trained (goody two-shoes...or four-shoes)
  • suckling pigs (whiny infants, I guess)
  • mermaids (ummm.....what?)
  • fabulous ones (no comment)
  • stray dogs (hoboes?)
  • those that are included in this classification (wow, how straightforward)
  • those that tremble as if they were mad (the crazies)
  • those drawn with a very fine camel's hair brush (again...what?)
  • others (so insightful)
  • those that have just broken a flower vase (the Bad Boys)
  • those resemble flies at a distance (WHAT?)
     Now, I hope you're as stunned as I am. I read this, finished, and just...had no words. I didn't even know how to describe the complete absurdity of this. THIS IS CRAZY!!
    
     Sorry for the outburst. I'm going back to work now. Promise.
     P.S. Don't forget to weigh in on America's intervention on the article below. What's your opinion?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Nuggets of Wisdom