We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.
John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, 1159
For what feels like ages I have been trying to distil a thought process into a neat personal philosophy that could be expounded in a single blog post. It started from the idea of selbständigkeit, the principle that a self-respecting person should not have to rely upon the assistance of others for anything. I’m having difficulty explaining this now but the essence was that I felt as if I should be able to look after myself. I might not be good at everything but I should aim to be sufficiently proficient to get through without having to lean on anyone else. But I have now realised that this is utter bollocks.
My, err, great-great-(great-?)grandfather was a naval Captain. He helped build the Clifton suspension bridge by positioning ships at various points across the Avon to support the structure and equipment. No mean feat when you start to think of the basic mechanics of it. Quite large and heavy bits of equipment must have been involved. My rather crappy photo of the bridge shows quite how high up the bridge is.
My grandfather was a civil servant, but he did not sit on his backside shuffling paper around in a shiny air-conditioned office in Whitehall. His had rather mundane job titles but in effect he set up and operated important infrastructure in some of Britain’s African colonies. He was pivotal in the creation and operation of Somaliland – the bit next to the Failed Republic of Somalia that you rarely hear about because people there don’t make a habit of hijacking oil tankers.
Anyway, under this stupid boy theory, everyone is supposed to stand alone and achieve their best under their own steam. No help is asked for, none is expected. Problems are to be dealt with alone. There is nothing wrong with BE that cannot be fixed by BE, etc..
But we can’t deny that we all stand on the shoulders of giants. Whether we are using something as mundane as a road or using something skill we learned from someone else we constantly depend on each other. Or it might be a nudge in the right direction when we can’t see through the fog that sometimes descends.
I am lucky enough to know giants who have lifted me up so that I can sit on their shoulders. And they have dashed my stupid theory to smithereens.
The real situation, of course, is that we are happiest and most functional when we are resting on the shoulders of those giants, and they are also resting on our shoulders.
That does do horrible things to the mental image conjured up by the metaphor, though.
Yes, absolutely right. I did mean to add something along those lines but couldn’t come up with anything as succinct as that.
There is still a toll charge on that bridge. Caught me out on the satnav.
Pedestrians are apparently still supposed to pay 5p but it is not collected.
I love that bridge. At night time it looks like it was etched in the sky with stars that were plucked for the purpose.
At least, that was how I saw it in my drunken stupor.
I agree BE, we all depend on those around us to greater or lesser degrees. I know people are happier with you as a friend, and I count myself as one of them.
“people are happier with you as a friend when you get the beers in”
Indeed.
Joking apart, WELCOME BACK AREA. It is an honour to have you back online. The internet has missed you. I hope this means you will be entertaining us with your anecdotes soon enough!
Asking for help requires trust and intimacy, two of the scariest but ultimately most rewarding things there are. Or so I’m told
Lola x
I chuckled at that comment Lola!
I find it comforting to be part of a network of friends and family working in concert, a lone wolf type of character seems appealing in literature etc but it doesn’t work for me.
I like the idea that I *could* look after myself if I needed to. I probably couldn’t though, if push came to shove.
I find this phrase particularly endearing as it is so often quoted by physicists
It takes a certain kind of person to study physics. A certain kind of unhinged person. IMHO.
I sat in the bay window of the bar of a hotel overlooking that bridge one evening, and counted every lightbulb. There were also several nuns in the room.
That was after several glasses of vino too.
I can’t remember anything else.
Are you sure it was just wine you were drinking?