We have the ultimate second hand store here on the Island called Granny’s Attic. One time years ago I was there and met a book entitled Mapping by Author David Greenhood. And I did my usual test by opening to a random page to see what was going on and what did I run into but this very story.
This very story is definitely on my top ten list along with St. Paul on the road to Damascus or Moses parting of the Red Sea. So this guy our today’s story guy was a poet and a librarian and he figured out most elegantly an important scientific measurement way ahead of science. One guy with a little math and a big imagination. Are we capable of stuff like this? Can discover things in our backyards? You’ll like this:
Yours, love, Felipe.
Felipe:
What a grand story! Just pure genius and poetry as well! Now, in today’s world we would probably say Eratosthenes had a touch of Autism to remain that focused for that long. To be so intentionally focused on one thing that it haunted nearly all your thoughts is what it takes to resolve dilemmas! A little bit of geometry helps too!
Love,
Cas
PS Put “grandma’s attic” on our list. Just the sort of place my hubby could get lost in!
Carol the Terrific Handler ~ isn’t that a great story. I think about that story maybe more than any other. It is a great thought to understand that we all have this potential in our own way and in our own sphere. On the lookout for great things. Felipe.x
Amazing!
When I first went to Europe, the first country I visited was Italy. And saw with my own eyes the Sixtine Chapel and the Duomo in Florence, and what I had read about the number of years it took to create those pieces became a justification… beautiful things need time and mostly a commitment… and I thought whether it was true that there would not be so talented people as Miguel Angel these days or was just the fact that people would not devote to a piece as he used to do… The distraction, the immediacy and the hunger to get things done I guess, conspire against that more than an assumption of lack of talent…
(those would be the stories I would buy a book for too!!!)
Cris
Cris ~ I think it is a matter of priorities for cultures. We put a man on the moon for instance. All ages have talent, they just have different systems, tools and goals. But to me what is interesting about the Eratosthenes story is the thought that maybe the average guy has the potential to pull something amazing off in his backyard. It is a very inspiring thought. Felipe.x
Interesting sentence you wrote to Cris: “But to me what is interesting about the Eratosthenes story is the thought that maybe the average guy has the potential to pull something amazing off in his backyard.” Yes, the thought that maybe an average guy has the potential to pull something amazing off in his backyard is interesting to me, too. Even after three years! Love you Felipe!
Annie ~ yes, it does have a ring of familiarity to it. Can’t quite put my finger on it though. Oh well, have to go work on my geometry. Later, Felipe.x