THE PUZZLE

 

I HAVE BEEN PUZZLING OVER A PUZZLE since April

'Earth Day' got me going. Earth Day has been around for 40 years, with a different theme each your. I had been unaware of Earth Day but, as you know, in this Internet Age we ae  frequently surprised to learn of things we did not previously know about. The theme this year was 'Restore Our Earth'. Then, in May, 'New Yorker' offered an article, Is Mars Ours?'

“Whoa,” I thought, “how could Mars be 'ours'?”

'Ours' here refers to the human race. Evidently we think we already own Earth. There was a time when Europeans would land somewhere and assume it for their nation. When I visited Anchorage, in Alaska, back in 1992, the locals told me that in 1778, James Cook had left a note in bottle, saying “I claim this land for King George III.” The Russians and the Spanish previously had done much the same (for their nations); that is, claiming what is now 'Alaska. The Inuit people do not take much notice. At any rate, Anchorage is located at the top of Cook Inlet, where has been a statue of Captain Cook for all to see.

Today, some hope to make Mars the 'second home' of the human race. Personally, I think that a somewhat long shot, not only by reason of distance. So...what is THE PUZZLE?

Has it something to do with how humans, just because we are some place, jump to the conclusion that it belongs to us? 

We forget our place as a recent addition to the primate branch of the mammalian group, havingbeen around for only two million years or so. Most species were here before us. Earth, the inventor of Life and the Great Collaborator with Evolution, was here much, much longer. Humans are no strangers to the enigma of our being. Learning to work with fire was the beginning of the great adventure in which we find ourselves but have not yet understood.

Coincidentally, I have discovered two very clever chaps, Peter Sterling, a neuroscientist , and Simon Laughlin, an information scientist, who have worked together on the design of brains. Designing brains!!! What on earth could that be?   I think they mean, 'If you set about designing a brain, what principles are important?'  This has kept them busy for two decades.

By comparing predictions of ideal brain performance with actual, using very delicate measurements, they have shown that brains are about as efficient as could be expected. This prompted me to venture that this must apply to all the parts of biological bodies. So, what goes for brains goes for the body overall. Running wild with this line of thought, species also have an excellent fit to the environments within which they have evolved. Evidence for the efficiency of the evolutionary process seems very strong.

Reaching even further, is it possible that species develop collaboratively to become collectively exactly what the environment 'needs'? According to this 'mad notion', taking some large environment as a whole (such as the Amazon rain forest), with all the plants and other living creatures, this entity in turn would be just what adjoining regions 'need', and so on?

 Evolution fashions the best fit all round. Nature is not chaotic; instead, exhibits perfect harmony.

The other side of this coin, the source of my puzzlement, is that we happen not see ourselves as part of Nature. Rather, Nature is to be possessed, conquered, plundered, developed, or bent to our purpose, which seems to be to dominate.This view prevents us from seeing the harmony; from seeing ourselfs as  part of nature. We have become powerful, but not humble; as would awareness of our place in the 'web of life'.

Lately, we have been discovering that our way of living has us in a mess. I have read that, for all the people on earth to live as we do in the developed nations, would require three Earths!  Part of the mess we are in is our mess. For all other creatures, what is not put to work in their bodies, gets passed on. As the famous biologist , Lyn Margulus, once quipped,  "What is leaked, others eat!"  We are exceptional; as a instance, consider plastic. When others eat it, it does them no good.

If that is our history, it is a puzzle to see how things might ever be different.

It seems to me that restoring Earth would involve accepting that we are of the earth, earthy. When we are gone, doubtless Earth will restore itself, as it has ever done.  Restoring means 'giving back' as well as 'making good'. It means making room for other critters, we need each other!

This is becoming a 'hot issue' (I hope you will notice the pun). Will we awake in time to take effective action?

Dream on, Roberto!

PANDEMICS, REVOLUTION, AND REFORM

In the Current Era, civilizations have received regular visit by Plagues. In almost all cases, Plagues were followed acute and serious social unrest, even outright revolution.

A factor in this might well be that inequalities tend to build up during eras, but do so slowly across generations so that the pain is incremental and tolerable. There may be occasional mobs protesting but with little effect. When mobs become overly rambunctious, authorities label them as lawless, security forces appear and put down the uprising. Since no society is perfect, over time imperfections, flaws, or (in the modern terminology) 'fault lines' appear. The news gets about that the 'one percent' have ninety percent of the total wealth. Tens of thousands invade the streets of large cities in protest. Nothing changes in our social structures and the people go home (if they have a home) to disappear from our sight.

Sometimes, however, a confluence of suffering happens; a coherent awareness that something dreadful is gathering form. Pandemic appears all around us. Soon the media reports that certain 'minorities' do not have equal access to treatment and more likely to die. In my country, the United States, racial differences suddenly receive a proper focus. We see a man (a descendant of the former slave class) who had peaceably agreed to arrest by police, apparently murdered by one of the arresting officers, his neck pinned to the pavement for minutes, protesting his treatment,'Help me, I can't breath...', until we witness his death. Unfair, even illegal, brutal actions by police joins the focus. Protest by crowds in the streets spread across hundreds of cities in this country and then internationally. The dark shadow that falls across us deepens, thickens... becoming darker, denser, palpable.

In societies less beleaguered by inequalities, a pandemic adeptly managed with sufficient understanding and resource, a plague might pass by with little disturbance, and fault-lines beneath the surface might remain unnoticed.

History does not encourage us when we consider plagues and their associated rebellions and revolutions. In the aftermath, more often than not, the downtrodden fare no better, while the well-off   emerge doing even better!

Are we, in the United States, really living within a looming revolution? Not a few columnists and opinion writers in respected publications appear to think so. Good revolutions occur over years and not months. The pandemic provides a moment awaiting proper birth, to look more perceptively at the economic and political structures that, over the last two generations have ceased to serve all equally well. If this vaunted 'greatest democracy' cannot seize such a moment, then perhaps woe betide the rest of the world.

The tectonic metaphor, 'fault-lines' developing in our social structures seems useful, evoking the distinction between cracks developing in the surface and deeper fissures causing the cracks, while raising the possibility that myriad tremors portent a disastrous 'quake'.

Sociologically, the body politic, humans in aggregate, resembles our own selves. We want so to be well and healthy that discovering signs of serious disease has us aghast. In the next postings, I will have a look at a few underlying problems that may underlie that cracks appearing in the fabric of our current order.

Mind you, I only speak of where I happen to live. I welcome your comments.

MORE TRAVELS

SINCE THE LAST POSTING, I returned to Australia for a month (in August) reuniting with family and friends. To tell the truth, I was more than a little worn down by the time I got back to Corning, mainly due to jet-lag.  I must be getting old!  Even so, it was very worthwhile.

JUST LAST WEEK, I flew down to Fort Lauderdale (Florida) to pick up a car that I had sucessfully bid for on eBay.  This was quite the trip, in more ways that one!

The Car?  A 2000 Mazda Miata!!  120,000 or so miles old and supposedly in excellent condition.  A real 'pig in a poke' That is:
"something is sold or bought without the buyer knowing its true nature or value, especially when buying without inspecting the item beforehand."

To make it worse, quite a few, friends and others, warned  that is was probably a 'scam'...there would be no car!  To be frank about it, I thought that it was probably it was a little rash.  However, I had not expected to win the auction and was greatly surprised at my unintended success. And I had done my due diligence researching the seller

You might guess that I was considerably relieved when Tom, the seller, arrived at the airport to pick me up in that very car!  The vehicle was as advertised...another source of relief!  Hooray and Hooray!!

Since very young I have wanted to own a sports car, and more than a few times came close to doing so.  But then, at 82 years, how many more years of driving might I expect to enjoy?  Sort of  'on my bucket list' if you like.

I was dreading the drive back (four days and 1600 miles). But the Miata got me home with only a problem with the alternator light (two hours at an auto-electrical shop somewhere along the way) caused by faulty wiring.  Here I am in Market St, Corning, showing it off to my coffee mates.

Actually, if you discount many boring miles, the trip was great!  Along the way I made new friends, benefited greatly by the kindness of strangers, and deepened friendships.

A mistake actually made the entire trip great, despite those boring freeway miles. I forgot to reprogram my GPS not to avoid toll roads!  So it frequently took me off highways onto byways.  In turn, this forced me to drive fewer miles eash day over the middle two days, adding some hours and wonderful passage.

By the time I had figured this out (GPS, why are you taking me off onto these strange back roads?), it was too late to avert traversing the rural roads of the Appalation Mountains during the peak Fall season.  How dreadful to have to view all those colors and the spectcular vistas of mountains and broad valleys!  And not be forced to keep an eye on the busy traffic.

By such means the journey became a consant delight.

As in life, the journey takes over, refusing to be compliant with what seemed to have been the plan. Of the many possible paths, the best may prevail.

SOME LAST THINGS ABOUT RUSSIA, AND THOUGHTS ON TRAVEL.

AFTER PERVOURALSK, I returned to Yekaterinburg, to the care of Natalia, who still had that long list of things to experience.

Back once more in Saint-Petersburg, I had quite a deal of time to myself, which was good for me and you lot benefited by way of a couple of postings.  I also walked about the neighborhood, visiting coffee shops, the bank and similar mundane things, still a little weary from travels.  On the last day in Russia, I was all settled down, my stuff packed for the return flight, and thinking that I would write up a last posting, when Bazhena texted me...Would I like to meet her at the end of her working day and go walking the neighborhoods of The Hermitage Museum.  Why not? I thought, so I caught the Trolley Bus around to meet her.  We had such a fine time, she telling me stories and showing me notable sights.

 Here is one:  This is the Church of the Blessed Blood.  As you can see from the exterior shot, the church is alongside a canal and occupies extensive grounds beside a large public park.

The interior is wonderfully beautiful with paintings and frescoes.  Unlike the Catholic Churches you may see in Europe, there is only small space to accommodate worshipers, who stand during ceremony.   This opens the floor as opportunity for religious art.

There are many churches to see in Saint-Petersburg, while the population generally are not so very religious.  However, interest in religion many be increasing as the stance of government toward the Church seems more favorable.  I would like to have seen inside the Cathedral Church, the tall spire of which is visible from many parts of the city.  We had walked by, on an earlier evening, but it had already closed.  I had thought to come by the next day, but needed to relax and wrote  emails and postings instead.  There the remains of the Czar and his family are interred, venerated a thousand miles from those mine-shafts near Yekaterinburg where they were discovered.

WHY RUSSIA? or: WHY TRAVEL?

Back here in Corning, before I left, some friends asked my why I was going.  It seemed an easy question to answer.  Then it seemed just to be about deepening friendships made here and finding out about the lives of my friends in Russia.  Long ago, in my first University  studies, I had studied the emergence of the Soviet Union, so knew a little about its history.  I had also read some of Solzhenitsyn's writings relating to the time of Stalinist Terror.

Until now, most of my travel has been targeted, related to maintaining family ties, professional interests, or personal interest (such as French language).  Even so, I experienced moments when meeting folk in foreign places, of understanding how very different but equally sensible are the views and cultural character of those who live in places far away, compared with one's own; and, at the margins, how some may be more so.

In Yekaterinburg, while visiting the Stone Museum, I met Olga.  She was telling my host, Natalia, of her visits to India and other places in Asia.  My guess is that Olga is in her 70's.  She was confiding that she considered love and travel the most important things in life, and that she had not had enough of either!  Can there be travel for its own sake? I began to wonder.  Here in Corning, I have a friend whose target is to visit 100 countries.  One way or the other, she is almost 90 percent to attaining her mark!  Has travel a gift not available in any other way?

When I returned home, I resumed reading 'The First Scientist: Anaximander and His Legacy', by one of my favorite authors, Carlo Rovelli.  His daytime job is as a leading theoretical physicist but he also has a deep knowledge of classical or ancient authors.; besides which he is absolutely a most wonderful writer!  Anaximander, who lived during the Sixth Century BCE in Miletus, happens to be one of his favorite thinkers and widely regarded as one of the originators of scientific thinking.  Miletus , situated in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean, was a center of trade and  scholarship.  From there one could travel easily to the four corners of the Earth, even as far a China, in pursuit of profit or learning.

Not surprisingly, Rovelli has some thoughts on how travel affects thinking.  That is does affect thinking and understanding is hardly in doubt.  We have a saying the 'travel broadens the mind'; Rovelli remarks that '(what ) opens our minds and shows the limits of our ideas is an encounter with other people, other cultures, other ideas.' and 'Each time we open ourselves to diversity and ponder that which is different from us, we enlarge the richness and intelligence of the human race.'

This can be astonishing or more subtle and hard to define quickly.  There is much in Russia that is astonishing, or deeply moving, as I have related.  However, I am aware of a more subtle effect that I am gradually realizing..  When complete, I will let you know,

Meanwhile, as ever, watch this space.

THE LAST OF RUSSIA?

WELL, THE LAST DAY OF THIS RUSSIAN ADVENTURE.

I do admit the last posting was somewhat somber.  It is false not to be so when I allow myself to imagine the terror of this times. Many years ago I had read the book about those times by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, so had some knowledge of the Stalinist Terror.  The woman in red top, in the last photo is Olesya.  She teaches English to adults and speaks this language very well.

She is also dedicated to show me how ordinary Russians live, and (like a good teacher) had assembled many experiences to achieve this goal  Such as going out into the country where were the small 'log-cabin like' homes where many once Russians lived.  Some still do but in this villages such dwellings are mainly let to people on summer vacation.  Here come those who want to garden!  This is a treasured break for retired folk who live apartment blocks.  One couple invited us inside (which they were most willing to do) so we could see how compact and neatly arranged the two rooms that comprise their house.

The village sits aside a once broad river over which is strung an ancient swing bridge, in which three young fellows were swimming, and across which a fine Russian Orthodox Church.

After which we attempted to throw a boomerang in a wheat-field, with little success, with Igor coming out the winner.  That is Igor next to Olesya on the swing bridge.

My third day Oleysa devoted to work with the local TV station news crew.  Yes...I became a TV personality (for a day) on the theme 'what does an American tourist think of Pervouralsk?' The clip will  turn up in a later posting or on Facebook.  Better brush up on your Russian!

PERVOURALSK

RUSSIA IS A VERY LARGE COUNTRY, as I am sure you will know.  It is much larger than it appears on a map, due to the convergence of the latitude lines near the pole.  Also, when you view a global representation of our planet, from the perspective of the North Pole, you will see how close are Russia and the United States, looking at Alaska.

Russia is divided into two huge regions, Europe and Asia.  Asia extends eastwards from the Urals, an area either side of the Ural Mountains; near the middle lies the 'line' that divides Asia from Europe (or vice versa, if you wish).  The city that sits, as it were, upon this line is Pervouralsk.  With a population of about 130,000, it is one tenth the size of Yekaterinburg, the major administration center of this region.  The major industry is the manufacture of steel pipes of all sizes.  In this it is like my home city, Corning, that has as its main industry the manufacture of all things glass.  Both industries are highly technical and require high levels of scientific support; over time, this has transformed the social structure of what once was a entirely rural area.

One might think of this region as the 'center of Russia' and this notion is supported by the local significance made of this.  On a main highway they have a monument marking the latitude.  It is possible to stand with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia; an Eurasian experience!

Here you see 'yours truly' doing so!  Many do likewise, as you might well imagine.  It is also a significant place for newly weds and others wishing to affirm their affinity.  A fence supports this intention, festooned with ribbons and padlocks, many of which have the partners initials or some wish for their future.  This is a common practice and bridges used by pedestrians in other cities do similarly.

A more sobering testament can be found on the road to Moscow.  During the Stalinist Terror on the 1930's, many thousands of innocent people were falsely accused of often absurd political crimes, found guilty, and summarily shot.  This aspect of the terror did not extend to this region, where none were accused and summarily shot.  These were the 'Victims of Political Repression'.  But what to do with all those bodies? 

In 1967, this mystery began to be solved when another sport stadium was planned for the Pervouralsk area.  During site preparation, workers discovered very many human remains.  Initially, law enforcement sought to quash further investigation.

This proved impossible, as local people demanded the truth; eventually witnesses to the burials came forward.  The truth was that, during the final years of the Terror, during the night hundreds of bodies were transported to this area in trucks, comprising 75 hectares.  At least 20,000 civilians are known to be buried in this place.  They are memorialized by walls on which are fastened metal plaques with their names embossed.  Walking along the walls, I felt the same emotions as I had when walking along The Wall in Washington, remembering the sacrifice of more than 60,000 US soldiers who had died during the Vietnam war  deep sorrow for the follies of humanity and admiration for those who refuse to allow the truth to remain concealed.

All this was long ago, back to the time when I was born.  How do later generations come to terms with atrocities long past?  It is surely better to know such things happened than for the knowledge to disappear for ever.

But we can reflect and learn. The past is fixed and cannot be remade.  We have only the present moment, yet somehow the future, which does not yet exist, is constructed from the present, including our imaginings

YEKATERINBURG AND PERVOURALSK I

THIS IS NOT A TRAVELOGUE!  Or so I remind myself of when I set to type...

It would take too long fully to describe my experiences in these two places so I must confine myself to significant impressions. I did not come on this journey with highly specific objectives, other than to extend and deeper earlier acquaintances, but these are folk that you, my dear readers, have never met.

It was a little strange to arrive at Yekaterinburg Airport to be met by someone I had never met, other than through emails. Natalia is cousin to a friend who lives in Corning, who was looking for a modern day, English speaking, 'pen pal'.  Her career is as a translator of English texts into Russian, who works independently.  She has international certification, having first studied in London.  There I was, just off the plane and, although I did not know it then, famously in the middle of a very long stretch without sleep.  Looking all about for someone who might fit my own picture of 'Natalia', when up from behind came a voice, 'Are you Robert?'  So began my Ykb adventures!

 In the Wikipedia article, you can find out much more than I can tell you.  For tour planning, The Lonely Planet article is a great place to begin discovering this amazing city.

In the last century this history became stained with blood and terrible political acts. These relate to the murder of the Czar, Nicholas II, and his family in 1918.  They had taken up residence near the city during the Civil War.  On the night of July 17, they were awoken from sleep and taken to the basement of the house and shot, the Czar and Czarina dying immediately. The children were more trouble to kill, as they were laden with jewels, secreted in their undergarments, that acted a body armour.

 After this their bodies were taken some 15 kilometers through dense forest to mine shafts, into which their remains were dropped and covered with earth and the shafts boarded over.  The intention was to render this ordeal secret.  So it remained until road building revealed the boards and then the shaft, many years on.  Now a monastery, Ganina Yama, established to memorialize the royal family, occupies the site.  Set remotely in dense forest, with a unique building for each of the family,  it is a beautiful place to visit.







A massive magnificent Church Upon The Blood, commemorates the place where these murders took place, now crowded about by city sprawl.

Natalia and I visited both sites.  Public transport goes right by the church, but a bus reaches to the monastery only a few times each day.  In July and October, many come from all over Russia to make pilgrimage between these two locations.




Yekaterinburg was founded almost 300 years ago by Peter the Great and named for his wife, Catherine.  It is the gateway to Asia and Europe and greatly favoured by mineral resources; due to the transport afforded by rivers and later railways, it was the early economic engine for Russia, and later much artistry flourished, in part made possible by the wealth produced there.  There are many museums that display its progress.  Natalia made sure I saw a good number of these and later admitted that she before seen them!  How often, is it not, that having a visitor leads to greater knowledge of one's locality and its history!  I thought it very suitable that ensuring the visitor's joy of discovery be rewarded and alloyed with one's own.  She had a long list of things to have me see!

Like Spb, there are many churches and therefore many domes and spires gold plated and splendidly glinting in the sun.  Only churches may have this gold-plate embellishment, much to the chagrin of one newly rich local who, some years back was denied gold plating for the roof of his huge mansion while, in his own neighborhood were many glittering all about!

The tallest building in the city provides a viewing platform at the 52nd floor from where one can view as far as the city outskirts.