Shivering

Shivering, originally uploaded by susanvg.

One of my neighbours has two of these lions in front of his house. They sit there in all weather but I am sure this fellow would rather be indoors. He looks like he is suffering in the cold weather. He can't even see who might be coming along.

In the summer his friend suffered from vandalism. Some youngsters thought it was a good idea to push it over. These lions are very heavy; my neighbour had to get a small crane to set it back on its pedestal. I don't understand what goes through people's minds when they commit these acts.

Louis Cyr

Louis Cyr, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Another quick shoot as I was passing by in my car. This is Louis Cyr, Montreal's famous strong man. This sculpture is by Robert Pelletier.

As I was driving I was listening to Q on CBC radio. William Gibson was on and he was asked if the Internet was dumbing us down. I loved his answer. First he said that we are the only creatures that have created prostheses for memory from writing on scrolls to handmade books to printing and on through the various media. The Internet is just the latest prosthesis. With facts on hand we can free our brains to think, to ask the questions we need answered, to think more deeply.

A colleague recently pointed me to Conrad Woolfram's TED Talk on computers and mathematics and how letting the computers do computations we could be free to do the thinking. We have to understand what computation needs to be done, but can give that part of the task over. In this way, students can be doing more mathematical thinking.

So the computer in both situations can make us stronger - doing the low level tasks and freeing our brains for the deeper work. In this odd way there is a connection between what I heard and what I saw. While Louis Cyr is a celebration of brawn; I like to think of the computer as a brain expander.

Day 63: Norman Bethune

Day 63: Norman Bethune, originally uploaded by susanvg.

On my way to an appointment, I passed this statue of Norman Bethune, a Canadian who was largely ignored here until relatively recently, but who is revered in China. In the photograph he is in shadow, perhaps emphasizing his lack of renown. For years he was the favourite roost of pigeons, who decorated him with their droppings. He was recently cleaned.

Bethune was an idealist who lived his beliefs until his death. As a doctor he was an innovator; as a humanitarian he spoke out for the poor, pressing for socialized medicine. After serving in the Canadian Medical Corps in the Spanish Civil War, he joined Mao Tse Tung in China, training doctors and operating a mobile medical clinic. He died in China from blood poisoning.

It's interesting to see connections. Bethune did not succeed in convincing politicians of the need for medical care for all. The father of Canada's medicare was Tommy Douglas. His one time son-in-law, Donald Sutherland, produced a film about Bethune and portrayed him in it. You can see an interview with Sutherland and learn more here. Sutherland, of course, played in M.A.S.H. and in the interview points out that Bethune really set up the first M.A.S.H. unit in Spain.

It is not the heroes who seek adulation who are truly heroes - but rather those, who for altruistic reasons, follow their beliefs simply because they see no other way to live.