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::: center home >> being here >> last donut? >> elephant


The Elephant
Fellows’ Reading Group
March 15, 2016

It is late enough in term that our Fellows’ reading group has settled into a regular pattern. Each week, someone proposes a reading. It is typically of their own latest work. The reading is short—12 pages, no more.

We each take our turn in the proposals. In some years the competition for times is strong. This term, the competition is for the weeks towards the end of term, when the Fellows’ projects are better developed.

So what should we do now? There’s no rule, I say often enough, about what we do, other than a simple one: we meet once a week. That reminder opened the door.

“What about elephants?” Maël said.

As best I recall, he paused strategically at this point to have us look at him and each other in puzzlement. Then he closed it:

“We each have our elephants—elephants in the room. They are things we are puzzled about but are too embarrassed to admit what we don’t know. For the meeting, we each bring one.”

It was a good proposal and rapidly accepted. We each did have elephants. I blurted out all too quickly: “What I don’t get is what people see in Kant. Reading him has a powerful impact on them, but I never see it.” That triggered a round of discussion. Was I really puzzled? Or was I just trying to have a dig at the Kantians?

The time has now come. It is is the week of the elephant. In preparation, I had drawn a large one on the whiteboard. It would set the mood. Then I divided off 8 squares, one for each of us to write in our elephant. It would soon be nine when Carol arrived from the airport, to a rousing cheer from us, while she lamented a bus delay.

This week Drew had promised food. We have special challenges this term with food. The best choices are vegan, gluten free. Drew had seen a bakery in Squirrel Hill that promised just that in cookies. And he also bought some green tinted cookies, left over from St. Patrick’s Day.

“Are the cookies both vegan and gluten free?” That triggered long moments of doubt for Drew and a hasty internet search.

With that, we were ready to proceed. Agnes took the chair and we went round the room unveiling our elephants.

You can never tell with a new scheme. Will it lead to interesting discussion? This one did. What do you expect when a wild mix of ideas is thrown in front of an intellectually energetic group? The discussion was wide ranging. It had moments of drama. There was a testy stand off on the intricacies of possible worlds. Most of us, not steeped in the inner corners of the theories, pleaded repeatedly for the version a taxi cab driver would understand.

 

When our time drew to a close, we fitted in the last few hands and fingers, while counting down the last few minutes. Dinner was at the Independent Brewing Company in Squirrel Hill.

 

John D. Norton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Revised 3/23/16 - Copyright 2012