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Thomas Merton Response

In his essay, “Rain and the Rhinoceros”, Thomas Merton wastes no time introducing the fact that he disagrees with the mass consumerism that manages to plague the mainstream mindset. He states, “By ‘they’ I mean the people who cannot understand that the rain is a festival, who do not appreciate its gratuity, who think that what cannot be sold is not real, so that the only way to make something actual is to place it on the market. The time will come when they will sell you even the rain” (9). Merton is commenting on the fact that if given the opportunity, an entity would literally sell the rain that comes naturally from the clouds for profit. Whether or not this is possible or would ever happen, it is important to remember how far some people in power will go to keep and grow their influence. In recent history, men have lobbied for inhumane laws and protocols, destroyed the habitats of all forms of life, and even gone so far as to have enslaved their own kind. So Merton suggesting that the rain will someday be sold is not a longshot.

Merton writes about nature as if he were talking about a dependable friend. He says when writing about the rain, “Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants, this rain. As long as it talks I am going to listen” (Merton, 10). This idea that nature just “is” and that it was not built or thought up by man is important. Although it might seem obvious that the Earth itself was not created by people, it is a truth that can help one understand that we are part of, and, therefore, connected to it. So when this connection to nature is lost to, as Merton puts it, “a world outside the world, against the world”, humans lose a piece of their innate being.

Merton looks at mainstream culture with cynicism. Through his writing, he paints a clear picture that everything has gone too far. This essay, just as the romantics pushed back, is an announcement asking for people to question and rethink the world around them. Merton goes on to say that the people living in cities “...contemn nature and seek only to use it up, thus preventing itself from renewing itself and man” (11).  Merton, when describing the correlation between city dwellers and their disconnect with nature, paints with extremely broad strokes, making his writing sound less elegant and more preachy. Yes, there are some very misguided people in the world, who will do anything for a dollar, including destroying the planet, but this description does not include the majority. The problem many people had when this essay was written, and even more so now due to the media at one’s fingertips, is letting capitalism trick them into feeling that they will not be complete without the next best upgrade. So in rebuttal to Merton, it is not that the everyday person’s goal is to “...contemn nature and seek only to use it up”. Through everyday struggles, lives become complicated, they become lost, and it becomes difficult for one to see the bigger picture and what matters.

Merton stresses the benefits of both a life of solitude and non-conformism. He states, “The love of solitude is sometimes condemned as ‘hatred of our fellow men.’ But is this true? If we push our analysis of collective thinking further we will find that the dialectic of power and need, of submission and satisfaction, ends by being a dialectic of hate” (Merton 21-22). This hate comes from these needs one feels becoming negative feelings like jealousy for what someone else has. Being able to be alone and truly with oneself is a form of non-conformism. If one can be alone, he or she does not need anything else to find fulfilment or contentment. When Merton writes about being in solitude, he is not talking about throwing away every possession and living in a tent in the woods, but rather that one can be happy through solitude with his or her own ideas and way of life. What a person finds appreciation or joy in does not have to fit the mainstream view.

This idea is as relevant as ever today. Capitalism has found a way into so many parts of our lives that would have been thought of as untouchable years before. Our “private” lives have less and less privacy every day, lobbyists find ways to make it okay for advertisers and businesses alike to be more invasive, and mass consumerism and overall consumption is becoming a serious environmental issue. There is hope though. Just as the National Parks were created, positive change is absolutely possible. There is nothing inherently wrong with consumption or making money, and in many ways, these are both necessities in today’s world. The problem comes, though, when these two things become the end goal of everything, or, in a less extreme way, stops one from seeing what is truly important. Conforming can be a very necessary concept. For example, conforming to laws that exist to protect everyone is a noble pursuit. But it becomes a problem when conforming takes away free thought and agency. It is an individual’s decision whether he or she will conform to the system, and the worth of it all comes down to the availability of choice and its purpose.

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Digital Media Blackout

What made the “digital blackout” experiment rewarding was that it created action. I frequently hear discussions on how addictive and destructive digital media can be to people’s lives. Even though much of this cliché talk is generated by baby boomers bashing the newest technology in order to justify that the old ways were better, they may have a point. Digital media, as much as it helps us in so many ways, can negatively impact our relationships, productivity, and health if we are not careful. These things that digital media has the power to improve, can also be harmed in equal measure.

Just yesterday, my friends and I were playing Uno in my room, and one person was really making the game move poorly due to the constant use of a phone. Whenever it would become her turn, she wouldn’t know it, so everyone would have to let her know. Then, right after she finished her turn, she would immediately go back to using the phone. I kept my mouth shut, but I wanted to ask her to leave because the phone use was a detriment to the enjoyment of everyone else involved. Not only was it a distraction, but it was blatantly rude. The obsessive use of phones has become so commonplace that it is doubtful that this person even knew the negative impact created. I am telling this story because it proves that many people are “addicted” to their devices.

Being able to carry a computer around in my pocket at all times is awesome, and not too long ago, the concept of even just a basic cell phone was science fiction. An iPhone 6s, which I had for over four years, recently failed, so I traded it in for some money and upgraded to the iPhone 8. I was lucky to get a working phone as soon as I did at a decent price, but buying this new device did not give me a rush of excitement. As I have increasingly become more conscious about the decisions in my life, especially through living alone while away at college, I have come to consider my phone and laptop as tools. Another tool is my Nikon camera which allows me to do incredible things and brings value to my life. Although I still use these devices for entertainment as well, I don’t see them as objects that must be engaged every waking moment.

During the “digital blackout”, I hung out with my girlfriend doing homework together for most of the day, which is typical on a weekend together. It was such a beautiful day outside, so we went for a few walks around the neighborhood as breaks between studying. I also went to the gym which is something I make sure I get in on the weekend. This day without digital media reminded me of being a kid before I had a cell phone to annoy and grab at my attention. I felt a strong sense of agency not needing to check my phone. This was a very empowering feeling.

I think this experiment goes back to balance. I really love true, face-to-face connection, but when I am away from home during the school year, my phone allows me to connect in ways that make missing home and family a little less difficult. It may sound silly, but my family has a Snapchat group that keeps us connected. Having experienced a short “digital blackout”, reinforcing the importance of unplugging occasionally, I still think there can be great value from the use of digital media. It allows me to do work that I find fulfillment in, learn a foreign language on my schedule, and interact with my friends and family. Digital media, when used with intentionality, is an incredible tool.

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Algorithmic Realities Primer

I have been learning about algorithms in many of my classes as a New Media major, and every time the topic is discussed, it makes me feel as though people are being manipulated. Although the intent of algorithms were not to elect a President that needs assistance tying his shoe, or to radicalize users through recommended videos,but these are a few of the outcomes. Algorithm is a word that gets thrown around often, but many people do not understand how it can impact a person’s life.

Since graduating High School, social media for entertainment or for social purposes has had little to no importance to me. I now only use Snapchat to keep in touch with close friends and family, and Instagram mainly for establishing myself as a photographer/creator. The only way I see the Instagram algorithm affecting me is through the engagement I get on my photography posts. I want to spread my work out into the world to get feedback, so I try to use the tools that Instagram has in order to have my work favored by the algorithm. That being said, I don’t obsess over it because I don’t want to waste time worrying about one or two missed hashtags while I could be out creating better work.

Where I do see algorithms at work in my daily life is when I am on YouTube. I strictly use YouTube for learning about different creative softwares and to watch shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver which are very “left” shows. Because I frequently search for these kinds of videos, I rarely see any recommended videos that differ out of the “Casey Neistat creator” type videos or the “anti-trump/anti-Fox News” videos. So as much as I don’t mind being offered videos that I relate to, it is interesting to notice how well YouTube’s algorithm has come to “know” me. As Zeynep Tufekci's put it in her Ted talk, We’re Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads, “It’s just the algorithm figuring out human behavior.” YouTube has become used to my behavior, and now recommends videos that I am usually interested in watching.

As much as I will agree that social media companies need to make a profit in order to stay in business, this idea of increasing time spent at the detriment of the user is completely wrong. The concept that videos with completely false or misleading information, that is presented as the truth, can be favored by algorithms on various platforms just because of time spent is unethical. When these companies see that their algorithms are churning out bad results, they must make a change for the better. There is another point to be made here. Although their needs to be better transparency about the presence and potentially harmful effects of algorithms by those in charge, the users of these platforms need to become more thoughtful when using social media. These companies are running businesses, businesses where the shareholders only care about what ends up in their pocket at the end of the quarter.

It is important for people to know that algorithms do have effect on them, but it can be difficult to tell someone, “Hey, you know that stuff that you watch on Facebook about how Donald Trump is being wrongly accused of lying by CNN and CNBC? Well, it’s being served to you by an algorithm because of prioritizing watch time, not because it’s true, high quality content. Oh yeah, and it’s radicalizing you.” In James Cohen’s article, Exploring Echo-Systems: How Algorithms Shape Immersive Media Environments, he brings up education stating “Contemporary media literacy education could incorporate new methods of reading and interpreting feeds by understanding the multiple ways user actions are converted into algorithmic tools.” Algorithms are being used so much that they should be introduced to children at a young age about what they are, how they can be harmful, and how to safely maneuver platforms that use them so to avoid being manipulated. James, when writing about algorithms personalizing a user’s platform says, “Within just a few hours of using an app like Twitter, Netflix, Facebook, or the news app, the feed is customized to the user, based on the choices of what was read, ignored, or reacted to, and combined with the aforementioned collected data in physical spaces” (146). It is easy to see that if one is going to use popular apps to connect with others or for entertainment, it practically impossible to avoid dealing with algorithms. This is where education becomes crucial. Hopefully in the future, companies will use better practices, but for now, it is up to the user to protect themselves.

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Learning and the New Nature

I think that South Korea’s response to “internet addiction” is an effective method because it puts the affected kids into situations where they have to be social and active. Not only are they cut off from the opportunity to use the internet, but they are brought back into a world where they are forced to use their hands, collaborate, and problem solve. These camps bring them from their imprisonment with the computer, back into the world they had become so disconnected from. In the book, The Nature Study Movement, the author, Kevin C. Armitage, writes about an essay by Benjamin O. Flower called, “The Great Mother as an Educator”, stating, “Indeed, contact with nature would turn the “listless” and “observing” child into a “man or woman who is at once a philosopher, an idealist, and a lover” (42). This quote defines what these internet addiction camps are attempting to do. As Rachel Carson would put it, they are trying to rekindle the wonder that lives inside us all and that had been lost by these children in South Korea. Last Thursday when talking about The Nature Study Movement, Connie asked the question, “What does it mean to be human?” Considering that while watching the film made me think about how technology can be used in ways to help people and without doing damage.

One could argue that an internet addiction is not as bad as a chemical addiction, and that it is the choice of the person using the technology to create barriers. In a perfect world, everyone would understand what a healthy use of technology was for them and be able to stop if it became an issue, but for many people, “addiction” to technology is real. These problems are so serious that they have harmed people’s overall health, ruined relationships between family members, and in rare cases, gamers have died in the internet cafes that Rushkoff discusses. So yes, I appreciate the fact that South Korea is doing what they can to help those who are willing to take advantage of the assistance they offer.

The author of the book, “The Dumbest Generation”, Mark Bauerlein, was extremely arrogant and had only one-sided views. He exploited a common fear of many adults and parents, in this case the fear of technology having negative effects, and pumped out a book with a “just saying it how it is” cover for the sake of making money. Yes, there may be facts confirming that people aren’t as good at reading as they used to be, but maybe it isn’t the best medium for everyone to learn or engage with. More importantly, students are doing much better in other skills that didn’t exist before (Photoshop, non-linear video editing, coding, presenting facts or stories audibly or visually).

I was very impressed with what high school teacher Steven Maher when he stated, “The world that we’re preparing them for isn’t going to require of them that they have to remember a bunch of information that someone tells them. The world is going to require for them to do stuff, to build things, to work on stuff…” This teacher recognizes that technology is here to stay and if young people aren’t prepared, they will be lost in a world that requires them to use it. Maybe change isn’t always bad, it’s just change.

Kamo, a college student in the film, when talking about the use of technology around his friends said, “We kinda understand that, too, between each other. We’re all so busy that it’s okay if I’m talking to Murph right now and his Blackberry goes off and he has to start going on it. I’m like, well that’s okay because I’m gonna do that to him anyways, so…” As much as I understand that college students are busy, I don’t agree with this idea of being blatantly rude with the people you choose to hang out with. Without being cliché and sounding like someone well above the qualifying age for medicare, technology often gets in the way of meaningful human interaction, the stuff that matters. I frequently feel interrupted or not listened to due to people not being “in the moment”. I have lost respect for, and refused to hang out with, some people based on the fact that if I agree to spend time with them, it is not time I want wasted watching them get sucked into their devices. Technology can be extremely helpful, and is a part of everyday life, but there is a time and place for it.

Those involved in The Nature Study and Progressive Education relate with the documentary because they both deal with changing environments and how they particularly affect children. On page 64, Kevin C. Armitage states, “Nature Study advocates felt that the amoral outlook of experimental science failed to connect actions to the moral realm of choices and consequences.” It’s not that science had nothing to offer, but many found it fell short of teaching someone to be a well rounded-learner. A lot of it goes back to balance. The Romantic Era happened because many people felt that things were out of balance. To create creative thinkers, with a deep understanding of what it means to be human, will take a balanced approach. No true form of education can be only one-sided.

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Cathedrals of Nature

The idea of having national parks feels so normal to me. Part of this may be due to me  living close to Acadia National Park, but even so, it seems like the right, obvious thing to do. The documentary, The National Park- America’s Best Idea, explains how the proposal of setting land aside to be protected from commercial development and enjoyed by the public was considered by many to be a radical idea. The Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, along with The Scientific Revolution, were focused on innovation and development. Some extremely important things came out of it, but it threw man’s connection with nature out of balance.

Romanticism was a movement in reaction to the ideas that came out of The Enlightenment and The Scientific Revolution that “stripped” people from “...feeling intensity, direct experience, mystery, beauty, and wonder” (Lasher). Through the creative arts, especially poetry and painting, Romanticism was able to promote things that could not be found using The Scientific Method, such as, “closeness to nature, purity, and meaning” (Lasher).

John Muir truly saw the beauty in nature and he fell in love with it immediately after spending time at Yosemite. When quoting Muirs experience with exploring Yosemite, the narrator states, “I drifted from rock to rock, from stream to stream, from grove to grove. When I discovered a new plant, I sat down beside it for a moment or a day, to make its acquaintance and hear what it had to tell” (Muir). Muir saw nature through the lens of a Romantic.

While I was outside, I considered this idea of nature being sacred. I have always had a deep love for the natural world, but I don’t look at it in the religious way John Muir did. When I am in nature, I feel lucky and peaceful. I marvel at what nature has created. Many people may look at being deep in the wilderness as a dangerous thing, but I argue that it is much more dangerous and harsh in the city surrounded by cars, busses, and angry people who are late to work. Nature is restorative in every way. Nature is filed with constant beauty and it requires no expectations. If you respect and take care of nature, nature will do the exact same for you and more.

This idea of having national parks and protecting special places is most certainly a fantastic idea, but I do have one major problem with it. If nature is viewed as an object, and not as an all-encompassing environment that human beings are innately part of and dependant on, then it will be looked at with secondary importance over man-made creations.

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Memory of a Landscape

When I look at this photo, it reminds me of a place in time that I rarely think about. On this particular day, I know that I had fewer responsibilities than I do now. My family had moved in with my grandparents to take care of my grandfather who was sick. This was back when I lived in Illinois (pronounced without an s on the end). The rocking horse that I am riding on was in their backyard. My mother and her brother also played on this same horse when they were young. Even though so young, I remember this space around me with great detail.

In Rachel Carson’s article, Help Your Child to Wonder, she states, “And then there is the world of little things, seen all too seldom. Many children, perhaps because they themselves are small and closer to the ground than we are, notice and delight in the small and inconspicuous.” I remember a time when I would pick up every stick and rock that was in my path. “The small and inconspicuous” was remarkable when everything was yet to be discovered.

I remember my grandmother’s garden, which seemed like a farm from my perspective. I used to follow my grandmother around, and she let me pick cucumbers and tomatoes off the plants. My sisters and I played in the sandbox. We ran throughout the house as if it were a mansion. Every day felt like a vacation because each day was filled with something new. I distinctly remember not being able to explain the world around me, but it wasn’t a problem because as long as I was with my family, everything was alright.

In class, Connie and Jamie discussed mediated and unmediated experiences. These days were full of experience without mediation. Nothing “shallow” was in the way. During Connie's lecture, Connie asked “What is the meaning of life?”. She responded to her question saying, “The meaning is love, beauty, and compassion.” When people are young, they have less bias,  fewer negative thoughts, and fewer passed experiences to judge with, so, we see beauty easier. Beauty doesn’t need explanation. As we get older though, we lose this idea of what it means to be human and have to perform deep work to come back to it.

The setting of this picture is no longer the same as it used to be because another family lives there now. Still, the image of the landscape that I grew up with will live on forever engraved in my mind. I wouldn’t particularly want to see the space again if I had the chance because it might alter the way I see these memories, and I like them just the way they are.

Today, I am most certainly a different person, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Although I can’t recall every experience I had as a child, they have all collectively shaped me into the person I am today. That little boy in the picture may not represent everything that defines me now, yet pieces of him still flourish in me. Sometimes when I think about the past it makes me feel sad as though time is moving too fast. When I talk to my parents about it, they always say that we cannot stop time, but we can make the most of it, remember the good times, and learn from the bad. As I grow older, what I have learned from the past allows me to have more freedom to pursue what I want to do and helps me to appreciate new experiences.

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Rachel Carson

The film, American Experience: Rachel Carson tells a story of a real-life hero. The importance of family, whether by blood or not, was a theme that carried on throughout the film. A line that stood out to me was, “Maria Carson had always wanted to go to college and couldn’t, so she was going to be quite sure that this daughter, this smart daughter, was going to go to college.” This quote really hit me deep down because it reminds me about my parents and how they have always been there for me and always want to help me when they can. They have shown that they will always be there for me, and I always want to be there to do the same for them when they need me. During Connie’s lecture, she spoke about how we are all born with “intrinsic value” which means that, as human beings, we already have it. That being said, when a person is dehumanized, they can sometimes forget his/her value. A strong family will remind you of your value without having to say a word.

Another theme that connected with me was the realization and appreciation of beauty through Carson’s eyes. When they talked about her “escaping” to Maine, it made me feel right at home. There is nothing more real than being completely surrounded by nature and feeling as though you are at peace with the world. The Maine coast was the place that allowed Rachel “... to be still, to feel and to imagine…” Every evil action, every grudge, every man-made label of what is good and what is bad vanishes; it just is. Connie, when discussing beauty, mystery, and goodness (the fullness of life), said that you have the choice to “...either receive it as a gratitude/humility or impose/ignore it. There are certain places of beauty I have been able to see that it doesn’t matter how bad of a mood I’m in or how hard I try to fight it, the natural world takes over and becomes an antidote for the angst or frustration I am feeling in the moment. It gives me no choice but to “receive it”.

The third theme that really stood out to me is the meaningless of war. When describing Rachel Carson’s thoughts toward the man-made world, the narrator states, “...what she felt was a quiet rage.” When I think about war, it hurts me to think that disputes lead to violence. So many innocent people’s lives are lost, or, if they are lucky enough to survive, are left to pick up the pieces of what is left of their life that once was.

The most important and personally meaningful aspect of the Carson story is that one woman (while fighting sexest views), from the “middle of nowhere Pennsylvania”, was able to make an immensely positive impact on the whole world. With the power of words, carefully strung together, Rachel Carson was able to start a conversation about the importance of protecting the environment that we all can share and need so much. Sometimes I wonder if one person can really make an impact that matters, but Rachel Carson proved to everyone that her life left a mountain of positive influence. Similarly, the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, is a great reminder about the potential power each one of us has to do good. The average person may not be able to personally make governmental change alone, but one person always has the choice to do well onto others, even if it’s a quick conversation on the subway that brightens up a stranger’s day or helping someone known or unknown through action.

In the magazine article, Help Your Child to Wonder, there is an important quote that, if all parents could understand, would not only make them better parents but help them live more fulfilling lives. Carson states, when talking about the wonder of a newborn child, “It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.” In high school, many friends I had in Boy Scouts became “too cool” for appreciating nature and adventure. They were quickly consumed by the pressures of teenage norms and the invisible, yet very strong, expectations that come with becoming an adult. It was as if when you become a certain arbitrary age, the things you found fun yesterday cannot be enjoyable anymore. This is so untrue and it makes me wish that more people would go back to some of the activities they enjoyed as children as it could “reset” some of their joy-killing attitude.

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With and Without Wonder

In Manufactured Landscapes, the factory workers displayed do the same tedious task every day. There are many jobs in the United States that require a person to do the same task all day but not at the same scale as in these enormous factories. For example, bus drivers in New York City pretty much do the same thing every day, but they receive good benefits through the MTA (government), they feel a sense of purpose by getting people where they need to go, and they are able to interact with their passengers. The problem with the manual labor job of the young woman, Tan Yangfang, who assembles 400 units in a day without overtime, is that it does not allow for uncertainty, variation, or growth. As much as it is impressive what Tan can accomplish, the job is mundane. She has become so good at what she does through repetition that there is no more learning to be done, which is never a good thing. Learning and creativity are the two most important things a person needs in life.

I would not be able to do Tan’s job because of what I know about myself and what my interests are. Fortunately, I have an immense amount of opportunity and choice. The boat breakers do not have such options, face extreme dangers, and do what they must to survive. If I weren’t born in a first-world country, let alone the United States of America, I might not have as much agency over my job and what I want to learn in school (provided the opportunity to attend school existed). It is good to see that these factory workers at least have jobs and enough to eat. Hopefully, one day they will be able to have more choices in the type of work they do.

When Jane Goodall talks about the chimpanzees, you can hear in her voice how she cares for these animals and that she truly feels a connection with nature. Jane mentions the dream she had as a young girl stating, “I will grow up, go to Africa, live with wild animals, and write books about them.” This dream came to Jane at an age when her sense of wonder was at an all-time high. When Jane speaks about “borrowing the planet from our children” instead of inheriting it, she says with confidence, “But we haven’t have we?” She goes on to say, “We’ve stolen, and we’re still stealing the future of our children as we go on destroying the environment.” Because Jane has seen the beauty of these animals first-hand, and even lived alongside them, she understands the importance of the planet and how human beings need it more than they realize.

In class, we discussed how we cannot truly appreciate our own situation or experiences until we have learned or experienced that of others. Jane’s world is filled with and driven by wonder, while the lives of the factory workers and boat breakers are the exact opposite. This is where Jane’s mission becomes so powerful and relevant. Jane’s work and those featured in Manufactured Landscapes are in direct contrast with each other. Jane’s work is not just focused on conserving the planet’s natural environment but also about keeping the sense of wonder in all of us. She mentions, “the indomitable human spirit” toward the end of the interview, and it reminded me about our sense of agency and the overall responsibility we have as future leaders. Our agency, which comes from our freedom as citizens and from deep inside us, is what will drive us to make more conscious decisions that are better for not only our natural environment, but for the people around us and yet to come.

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Wonder

While spending time outside, by myself, without any devices to pull at my attention, I put myself into the mindset that this would be my last time being able to experience nature. I realized that unlike relationships with other people, my relationship with nature is simple and does not have expectations that need to be met. Nature just is, and it’s up to humans to find our proper place within it. Recently, I’ve been reading books, watching documentaries, and listening to podcasts on growth, learning, and self-actualization. All of them have similar core qualities. They each deal with grounding oneself, stripping away unneeded distractions, simple living, and, ultimately, finding out what is truly important in life.

During class, Connie said, “Nature has always been a way that humans come back home to themselves.” I have been contemplating this idea of “coming back home” and how the way people communicate with one another has changed due to technology. Without frequent interaction with nature, and appreciation for it, one will deviate from what matters and what really makes them content.

In this age of fast fashion, cheap dollar store products, and one-time use plastic coffee cups, we have come to believe that everything that is will always be. We live our lives as if the world has unlimited resources and time is infinite. This cannot be further from the truth. The way we think, speak to one another, and the decisions we make in our everyday lives have a snowball effect. We drill for oil no matter the damage it has on nature, and say to ourselves, “The world is big; the animals will find another place to live.” We forget to call our family and those we love the most because we are “busy”, and “they’ll understand”.

We take the world for granted, act as though our loved ones will live forever, and our actions do not matter. Rachel Carson realizes the lack of appreciation for nature and its beauty saying, “if this were a sight that could be seen only once a century or even once in a human generation, this little headland would be thronged with spectators…[but] because they could see it almost any night perhaps they will never see it.” It is as if this planet we live on is so consistently remarkable, is the exact reason that its beauty and sophistication is overlooked. Human beings do not realize that through our destructive actions, we are not only ruining the lives of other species, but our own lives as well.

Kathleen Dean Moore comments on how people are “hungry for connection to something meaningful”, and yet many people don’t realize that this connection is all around us. The sense of wonder inside all of us is what makes us feel alive. Mediated technology can take us away from this wonder and lead us away from a life of wholeness if we aren’t conscious of our actions. This world is an extraordinary place. Just open your eyes.

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Reality

As I walked around the neighborhood surrounding Molloy College looking for an interesting piece of nature, I came across brown, spiky balls littering the sidewalk. I had seen these many times before and had even picked them up to feel the texture or crushed them with my heel. That being said, I had never stopped to really experience these fallen, prickly objects.

While studying these natural creations, which I later researched to be the fallen seed pods of a Sweet Gum Tree, I employed many of my senses. I used my eyes to both find and closely study one of the balls and my sense of touch to feel its texture. Until now, I may not have realized that I was also using my sense of hearing to listen to the sounds the ball made when I picked it up, touched it, and dropped a few on the ground. For the sake of experiencing as many senses as I could, I also smelled the seed pod a few times, but it was so cold and dried out that it didn’t give off much of a distinct smell.

I sat down on the curb, further experiencing this fallen seed, and it made me think of David Eagleman’s most interesting idea in the whole episode. He said, “If you were to look out over a city and ask, Where is the economy located? … instead the economy emerges as an interaction of all the elements.” Although I was consciously breaking down what senses I was using with this assignment in mind, I realize now that all of my senses were having an effect on one another.

When I rolled the spikes between my fingers, they felt like needles pressing into my skin. The more I really looked at it, the more my imagination grew, and my mind began to tell me how a creepy insect could be using the seed as a home and might crawl out of it at any second. Obviously, my mind was just stirring up caution in my head, but it did make me consider dropping it on the ground. I also started to picture it as a medieval flail. It made me marvel at the creativity of nature and how this seed from a tree could be so amazingly complex.

All of these different thoughts I had while spending time with this piece of nature were conclusions my mind made up based upon my past experiences. This reminded me of what David Eagleman said about synesthesia, “Synesthesia shows us that even minute changes in brain wiring can lead to different realities.” Although I don’t experience synesthesia at the same level of those featured in the film, it still can be said that no two people will have the same interaction with the the same piece of nature.