| Poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new. |
... and ...
| We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders. |
... from the conclusion of "Life Lessons from an Ad Man", a TED talk by Rory Sutherland on the value of intangibles:
Two quotations to more or less end with. One of them is, "Poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new." Which isn't a bad definition of what our job is, to help people appreciate what is unfamiliar, but also to gain a greater appreciation, and place a far higher value on those things which are already existing. There is some evidence, by the way, that things like social networking help do that. Because they help people share news. They give badge value to everyday little trivial activities. So they actually reduce the need for actually spending great money on display, and increase the kind of third-party enjoyment you can get from the smallest, simplest things in life. Which is magic.
The second one is the second G.K. Chesterton quote of this session, which is, "We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders," which I think for anybody involved in technology, is perfectly true. And a final thing: When you place a value on things like health, love, sex and other things, and learn to place a material value on what you've previously discounted for being merely intangible, a thing not seen, you realize you're much, much wealthier than you ever imagined. Thank you very much indeed.
(cf Birdless Silence (2004-06-05), Uproarious Amateurishness (2004-07-12), Rhythm Method (2006-02-24), Seeking Negative Space (2016-04-21), New Ideas (2016-10-18), All the Light We Cannot See (2017-06-09), ...) - ^z - 2021-01-01