Today I found myself in a situation where my perception of the color “goldenrod” was interpreted as “nacho cheese” by someone else’s thinking. Our brains did a rapid fire of synapse dance in our heads and found that thing in the world that seemed the most fitting to become an adjective for this particular shade of yellow. You just never know with thinking. Perspective is everything. This could get very philosophical if I was willing to let it. But I’m going to keep the reins tight, here. This horse will not be rearing his head.
Perspective is a thing that I find intimidating. I’d imagine – if we all really sat in a circle and thought it over real nice – that most people would agree that perspective and its inherent nature to change from person-to-person, to be fickle and to continuously transform is downright scary. I do believe this is why most humans in the world have such a problem with other humans. Different perspectives from different eyes can be quite the puzzle.
This relates to politics. Politics has an awful lot to do with perspectives. See that? That’s my link today, and now that it’s there, I’m going to just plunge this mighty stallion right into the heart of the matter. If you find yourself curious about perspectives – and here, namely, the perspectives of UofL professors – you are in luck. Tomorrow, Thursday, January 10th, kicks off the University Club’s Meet the Professor talks, with first guest Political Science Associate Professor Jasmine Farrier launching the series at noon.
Farrier’s lecture, “Rethinking the Place of Congress in the 21st Century”, will explore the ways in which modern Congress has contributed to its own diminished stature in the political arena and how its constitutional place might be reaffirmed. Apart from professing at the University of Louisville, Farrier has also contributed two books to her political science career, Congressional Ambivalence: The Political Burden of Constitutional Authority and Passing the Buck: Congress, the Budget and Deficits.
I would argue that this all taps into a great many meshings (and clashings) of perspectives, here. Here – where I happen to still be having my tiny, tired mind blown as to the beauty of a biological mechanism that can see both “goldenrod” and “nacho cheese” in the same place. We speak the same language, and we create our own. Nothing more perfect; nothing more troubling.
Tickets for Farrier’s talk are $14 per person and can be purchased with cash or check by contacting Janna Tajibaeva at janna@louisville.edu. The University Club is located at 200 E Brandeis Avenue
Image: Courtesy of University of Louisville website www.louisville.edu
