Let’s face it, randomness is overwhelming. We need patterns, we need meaning. And we need a narrative. In fact, storytelling appears as an anthropological “universal”.
In this context, everything has a history. Even words. Unless it’s say Ernest Hemmingway’s, a pencil can be a dull everyday object. However, the pencil has a story to itself. Around 1565, large deposits of graphite were found in Cumbria, England. They discovered it was good for marking surfaces and was easily cut into sticks. However, chemists thought it to be a form of lead and it was called plumbago (Latin for “lead ore”). Ah, so now you needn’t wonder why it’s called lead pencils when it’s actually graphite.
But wonder has not been reduced. Indeed, it has emerged like a pearl from investigating an oyster of ignorance. Curiosity lies at the heart of knowing the universe. Questions are raised like flags half-way. Answers take the flags to their full fluttering height. And quizzing is interesting presentation of knowledge via questions and answers. It is therefore at the very heart of what makes us human. Yes, it reveals knowledge and ignorance.
Go ahead, sharpen the pencils of your minds.
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