Y'know, I've used that "what colour is the sky on your planet?" line, come to think of it, but if the answer comes back simply, "blue", that's an indication that they do live in a different world than I do. I thinkmine is Earth...
But in a rather important sense, my mother and I do live in different worlds, if not on different planets, and that question about the colour of the sky is one of the smaller differences but a telling difference. (Our worlds are not as far apart as they were ten years ago, but there's a lot she doesn't even see about my world, and a lot that I see but don't get about hers -- there's probably a lot I don't see either, but I wouldn't know what that is, would I?)
In my world, scientists are allowed to be awed by the beauty of the things they study; understanding is not a barrier to appreciation. In my world there's a significant overlap between the set of mathematicians and the set of artists. In my world, what friends think of us is more important than what neighbours or strangers might think. And in my world, the sky isn't always blue.
What bugs me is not so much the folks who think appreciation is blocked by understandingusually, they're only hurting themselves -- as those who insist that appreciation blocks understanding. I.e., only dispassionate people really understand -- as if caring for someone/something necessarily twists your perspective more than not caring for them. -- Selki
(no subject)
But in a rather important sense, my mother and I do live in different worlds, if not on different planets, and that question about the colour of the sky is one of the smaller differences but a telling difference. (Our worlds are not as far apart as they were ten years ago, but there's a lot she doesn't even see about my world, and a lot that I see but don't get about hers -- there's probably a lot I don't see either, but I wouldn't know what that is, would I?)
In my world, scientists are allowed to be awed by the beauty of the things they study; understanding is not a barrier to appreciation. In my world there's a significant overlap between the set of mathematicians and the set of artists. In my world, what friends think of us is more important than what neighbours or strangers might think. And in my world, the sky isn't always blue.
(no subject)