what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new!”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
(Ecclesiastes, 1:9-10)
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This week we read "The Black Gate Opens." Aragorn leads an army from Minas Tirith to the gate of Mordor to challenge Sauron to battle, his aim not to win through arms but through cunning. He wants to draw Sauron's gaze out of Mordor so Frodo might have a better chance..
On the way the army skirmishes with a few enemies who are watching the road to the gate. One such encounter occurs precisely where Faramir had ambushed the enemy on the day he first met Frodo and Sam.
A strong force of Orcs and Easterlings attempted to take their
leading companies in an ambush; and that was in the very place where
Faramir had waylaid the men of Harad, and the road went in a
deep cutting through an out-thrust of the eastward hills.
The terrain, of course, doesn't take a side. Mountains and valleys don't care about war. They exist to be used in every which way. Cover can conceal both good and bad guys.
I want to talk today about the difference between situations and events. Events are occurrences - they happen. Events can be described in great detail: Who did what, what they were wearing, how hard the wind was blowing, etc. Events are specific moments in time and space. Moving the moon landing from 1969 to 1959 fundamentally changes history. Moving Hurricane Katrina to the Florida Keys drastically changes the recent history of New Orleans. Events occur and can be described with great specificity..
Situations are events shorn of their details. The perfect storm was a real storm that occurred in 1991, and was the unlikely but powerful combination of three weather systems. Since that event, "a perfect storm" has become a moniker for any situation that can be described as the unlikely but powerful confluence of three factors. You have perhaps experienced a perfect storm situation. You will probably face more in the future. That's the nature of situations: They can be applied over and over again.
When we evaluate the events in our lives, it can be useful to look at them as situations. The details are too specific to learn much from. Instead, we should look at the broad factors. It's unlikely "we went to Hawaii and did fun things" will be useful in planning future vacations. It may even lead to disappointment, if you return to Hawaii to do the exact same things you did before. They were new and exciting the first time. In planning future vacations it may be better to say of your Hawaiian adventure "we went somewhere new we were excited about, and researched fun things to do ahead of time". That gives you useful actionable advice. You liked doing something new that you could anticipate, and you looked up things to do ahead of time so you wouldn't have to spend a lot of time while on your vacation figuring out what to do. You were able to just do it.
The more technical term for this is "schema", which is the plural of schemes. Here, scheme isn't a shady plan, but a broad outline. In education, schema are how we are able to learn math. Learning 1+1=2 is of extremely limited value. It is nothing more than a very specific math event. We don't teach children each math problem - that would take forever. We teach them the principles and processes of math, the "situation" of math. Then they are able to solve all sorts of math problems, because they are applying the situation to the event. Schema become the template upon which all education is based.
It is important for schema to be flexible. Rarely do we know everything. If we want our template to be useful, we need to be willing to update it. Since schema can cover every possible reality, they need to bend quite a bit. Reality does not bend.
Consider this: Someone has a schema that relationships end when someone is unhappy. Let's say this someone gets suddenly dumped. They are, we understand, taken aback and surprised. They may need some time to process it. There are two main conclusions they can come to.
1. My partner must have been unhappy and I just didn't know it.
2. Relationships end when someone is unhappy or for no reason.
#1 is a reasonable reaction, and very likely to be true.
#2 is less reasonable and definitely not true.
Also, #1 describes an event. It applies the schema to the event. The schema says relationships end when someone is unhappy, my relationship just ended, I wasn't unhappy, my partner must have been.
#2, meanwhile, applies the event to the schema. No reason is obvious, therefore it is obvious there was no reason. A person who concludes #1 may, in the future, take time to check with their partner to make sure they are happy, knowing that some people will be unhappy without showing it. A person who concludes #2 may become a much less reliable partner, since they now believe can relationships end randomly.
The schema is useful in understanding the event. The event is unhelpful in understanding the schema.
The more technical term for this is "schema", which is the plural of schemes. Here, scheme isn't a shady plan, but a broad outline. In education, schema are how we are able to learn math. Learning 1+1=2 is of extremely limited value. It is nothing more than a very specific math event. We don't teach children each math problem - that would take forever. We teach them the principles and processes of math, the "situation" of math. Then they are able to solve all sorts of math problems, because they are applying the situation to the event. Schema become the template upon which all education is based.
It is important for schema to be flexible. Rarely do we know everything. If we want our template to be useful, we need to be willing to update it. Since schema can cover every possible reality, they need to bend quite a bit. Reality does not bend.
Consider this: Someone has a schema that relationships end when someone is unhappy. Let's say this someone gets suddenly dumped. They are, we understand, taken aback and surprised. They may need some time to process it. There are two main conclusions they can come to.
1. My partner must have been unhappy and I just didn't know it.
2. Relationships end when someone is unhappy or for no reason.
#1 is a reasonable reaction, and very likely to be true.
#2 is less reasonable and definitely not true.
Also, #1 describes an event. It applies the schema to the event. The schema says relationships end when someone is unhappy, my relationship just ended, I wasn't unhappy, my partner must have been.
#2, meanwhile, applies the event to the schema. No reason is obvious, therefore it is obvious there was no reason. A person who concludes #1 may, in the future, take time to check with their partner to make sure they are happy, knowing that some people will be unhappy without showing it. A person who concludes #2 may become a much less reliable partner, since they now believe can relationships end randomly.
The schema is useful in understanding the event. The event is unhelpful in understanding the schema.
But that doesn't mean events are worthless to us. Events give context to the present. An increased risk for heart attack is probably directly tied to actions you've taken, and not a broad understanding of the situations of your life. Returning to the math comparison, one can complete a long division problem by doing specific division, multiplication, and subtracting problems. A broad understanding of those things isn't enough, you need to do it.
Events are great in the moment. We need to keep track of the, so we know what is happening around us. The world moves fast, and it's helpful to see which dominoes are actually falling so we can react accordingly.
Situations, meanwhile, are great for understanding potential. When "the Orcs and Easterlings" set up their ambush it is unlikely they chose that spot because of Faramir's ambush. They just came upon it and realized how good it was for such an attack. If you have good schema you can see potential events without needing to actually see them in happen.
Understanding situations is useful for planning for the future. As my good friend Koheleth said in the introduction, "nothing is new under the sun." Most events can be broken down into familiar situations, giving us better insight into them than we'd otherwise have.
Events are great in the moment. We need to keep track of the, so we know what is happening around us. The world moves fast, and it's helpful to see which dominoes are actually falling so we can react accordingly.
Situations, meanwhile, are great for understanding potential. When "the Orcs and Easterlings" set up their ambush it is unlikely they chose that spot because of Faramir's ambush. They just came upon it and realized how good it was for such an attack. If you have good schema you can see potential events without needing to actually see them in happen.
Understanding situations is useful for planning for the future. As my good friend Koheleth said in the introduction, "nothing is new under the sun." Most events can be broken down into familiar situations, giving us better insight into them than we'd otherwise have.
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