The danger with blogging, at least the way I do it, is that the blog can become a place to be unhappy. To bemoan the state of the political nation. Or to mark mournful anniversaries. We forget to celebrate what we have, to cherish the small moments. One thing I love is walking my boy Giorgie to school. So here I am, celebrating and cherishing, in what may become a School Run series.
3. Evolution
Can sloths see the future?
That’s Giorgie’s question for our school run today.
Given that they are so slow, and that their most violent trait is MAYBE to try to put off attackers – MAYBE, but not definitely, to swipe a defensive paw – how have they survived?
It must be that they can see the future, and avoid danger that way. They must have a special gift.
[We track through the local council estate, a small short-cut, and I’m instantly on the alert when I see an unusual cluster of men gathered near one of the flats. They look like they’re up to something. I silently guide Giorgie to the right so that it’s clear to these men that we aren’t evening THINKING about coming close to them. I glance casually to see if they’re taking any notice of us. Now I see their belts under their jackets – handcuffs, and more – they’re plain clothes police. We are safe, even if a resident on the estate is about to have a very bad day. I relax.]
I put it to Giorgie that capacity to predict is what marks out all kinds of survivors. Pattern spotters learn what danger looks like. They get to stay alive and evolve. To that extent, we can all see the future.
Yeah, says Giorgie. But these guys are nice. I saw one in a zoo. They’re cuddly and they look like bears and they smile.
Those were police back there, I say. Those men. Plain clothes. I saw their handcuffs.
Which men? asks Giorge.
