I'm having a philosphy-phase at the moment I think, well and truely inspired by de Botton and too much time with my own thoughts. It's nice to feel in touch with my angst-ridden teenage years. I don't think I quite ever grew out of them.
I think the first time I got into philosophy and in fact at the same time into science, was when reading Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. All I'll say is if you haven't read it, read it.
One of the things I remember about that book was in considering what it 'green'. What do you mean when you say something is green? This leads on, in the book, to considering 'what is a horse?' In the sense of how do we recognise things. What factors make us decide something is a horse.
Going back to being green....a tree is green. But is the green I see the same as the green you see? Or is it all just relative?
I got back to thinking about this whilst watching the chef Raymond Blanc on the TV last night. His description of the food he was cooking was so vivid and passionate, I wondered 'what exactly is he tasting?' I couldnt imagine having so much excitement about the food as he has, despite the fact that I love love love food. Is it experience, can it be taught? For me, I think that is what makes someone gifted. This ability to, for example, taste food with so much depth means Raymond Blanc can create exceptional food.
Maybe this also makes 'genius'- added dimensions of perception. A real basal understanding of the topic at hand. It could be how deeply and vividly you see your 'green'.
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