They say you can tell a lot about a society from what it discards. They don't usually say that you can tell a lot about that society's professors by what they rescue from the trash, but it's true.
Today I passed by that bench in Jolley where discarded books seem to find a home. Not only were there books there today, but also two bowling trophies. One book was some joke book about lawyers "from hell". Another book was some popular book about the solar system and stuff.
So we know what people don't treasure. But later I saw Ron Loui walking through the halls carrying the two books. I just had to ask why he didn't pick up the bowling trophies. Without missing a beat, he said he thought of doing that and removing the "bowling trophy" metallic label so he could give it to a deserving student in 313 or 513. I didn't point out that the top of the trophy featured somebody in mid-bowl position.
Popular book about the Solar Systems... was it "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking? That's one helluva book just to discard. Then again, most science books are underappreciated by ordinary people like me.
I don't know what I'd do with the bowling trophies. I'm sure someone else could think of something creative, though.
Posted by: The Phantom Reviewer at November 19, 2003 10:48 AM
Since Stephan Hawking was mentioned, I thought I'd pose a question about him that has been bothering me for quite a while. Now, Dr. Hawking is undoubtedly a very smart guy and his scientific books are very well received. However, I often hear him linked to past luminaries such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo, at least in the popular press. Has Dr. Hawking made any scientific advancements that merit his inclusion with this rather elite group?
Posted by: david at November 19, 2003 12:42 PM
Well, lately he may be more akin to Carl Sagan "Billions and billions of stars" in that he's popularizing physics.
Posted by: rkc at November 20, 2003 6:28 AM
If I had taking an anthropology class a few years back, I would have been forced to take a bag of trash from one of the dorm trash bins so that I could use it to make a report on the people in that society and determine the sort of culture and the type of people that lived there.
Posted by: Athene at November 21, 2003 1:54 PM
ya uh huh sure i know yep!!!
Posted by: elizabet luedke at January 14, 2004 3:09 PM