Creative misunderstanding.
Ten years ago I quoted here from a short chapter in
Lewis Thomas' Lives
of a Cell in which he claims that:
The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand.
Over the years, that short passage has remained a favorite of mine, and one that
I've found numerous opportunities to quote. Interestingly enough, I quoted it
(in a totally different context, as seems to always be the case) during the month
that I was preparing this column. I certainly don't mind doing so again.
It seems to me that the ambiguity that Thomas refers to is precisely the openness
toward new possibilities that's at the core of Weinberger's miscellany. Both present
us with the possibility of acting upon the unexpected.
Go to: Are there limits to disorganization?, or
Go to: Please organize me.