In my senior year of high school, I was enrolled in an AP US Government class that really opened my mind to the culture of our society in more ways than just politically. It showed me that everything was connected and that by understanding what's happening in the news and beyond, we can understand so much more that is hidden in jokes, cultural references, and parodies.
One of my favorites is of course the wonderfully amazing Steven Colbert and
The Colbert Report. Not gonna lie but I found myself watching an episode everyday at 11 o'clock at night...when I wasn't finished my homework. Obsession. Anyway, getting back to the point, Colbert has authors come and talk about their latest published work and I would write these books on a little sticky as a memo to buy the next time I went to a bookstore. On a particular episode, they had on air David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times come and talk about his most recent book,
The Social Animal. Sounded like a pretty good book so I scribbled it down.
Fast forward to my first class ever in college and sure enough my Art History professor mentions how this book was THE book of the summer. He gave it the honor of the "all conversation book" to impress people with at a wedding with strangers or in an elevator ride with a boss or business official just to let them know that "hey, I have some intellect and keep up with what's going on." I bought an eBook copy of
this book for my iPhone later that day.
I don't want to let loose any spoilers because I really recommend this for anyone but I got to say is just an encyclopedia of information that you should know, covering topics from biology, evolution, psychology, child development and I'm only about 400 pages into the book here. Imagine a book that although may not have the direct answers to the universe but knowledge on how you can improve your current situation and allow you to fully enjoy your life in more ways than only through wealth. Sounds amazing right??
There was a portion of the book where Brooks mentions how "no simple machine is able to perform the imaginative construct" of being able to imagine ourselves from a human to something like a tiger. Think about it- when we were kids we were able to think ourselves as animals, superheroes, and other objects like plates (?) I know that I once thought of myself as being a deer and dabbled in trying some leaves... The brain is able to perform this task incredibly easily but we don't appreciate it. There is no device out there (Siri is amazing...and a little creepy) that has something as complex as an imagination!!!
The simple of twist of looking at at a concept like imagination in a new light made me start thinking about something else that we take for granted- sight. Isn't it interesting how we can look at something- anything- and it stays with us, in an organic structure smaller than an iPad. Questions- what makes us able to remember things using sight? How are we able to see something and then feel something? Do we unconsciously put ourselves in that person's shoes and if so why do we do that? Is it just a part of human nature that we are born with compassion? Do we dig up past memories given to us by sight that connects us to what our eyes are focusing on now?