Psychologists at the University of Bhunkum have found that adding the words ‘at night’ or ‘by moonlight’ to any activity increases its AQ (Adventure Quotient) by an incredible 308%
Dec 26, 2021·edited Dec 26, 2021Liked by David Charles
Really enjoyed this, thank you.
Night walks are such a treat. Night walks in *fog*? Ten times so. I went out in a peasouper here in Troon, wandered up the beach for a mile or so, and when I looked back, everything was gone - no town, no lights, not even a glow. But on the way back, the fog started to lift like a curtain being raised, and it was like seeing a painting come together, or an urban timelapse through history. Such a treat. I felt treated.
Also, I just read Rachel Carson's "A Sense Of Wonder" for the first time, and there's a passage that aligns with what you're writing about here. Lengthy pasted quote incoming:
>>"I remember a summer night.... It was a clear night without a moon. With a friend, I went out on a flat headland that is almost a tiny island, being all but surrounded by the waters of the bay. There the horizons are remote and distant rims on the edge of space. We lay and looked up at the sky and the millions of stars that blazed in darkness.
The night was so still that we could hear the buoy on the ledges out beyond the mouth of the bay. Once or twice a word spoken by someone on the far shore was carried across on the clear air. A few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of other human life; my companion and I were alone with the stars. I have never seen them more beautiful: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. Once or twice a meteor burned its way into the earth’s atmosphere.
It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century or even once in a human generation, this little headland would be thronged with spectators. But it can be seen many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they will never see it."<<
Ooh - thanks Mike. On reading this quotation, I immediately went out and bought the book. I still have Silent Spring sitting gathering dust on my shelf, but this seems like more my jam. Certainly more uplifting material for a pandemic year! Thanks for sharing :))
Oh fantastic. Hope you enjoy it! It's short (kinda frustratingly short) but I can already tell I'm going to be circling back into it again and again to pull out sentences and paragraphs to think about. And I think the book she *wanted* to write has yet to be written, and someone should really get on that. Happy new year!
Really enjoyed this, thank you.
Night walks are such a treat. Night walks in *fog*? Ten times so. I went out in a peasouper here in Troon, wandered up the beach for a mile or so, and when I looked back, everything was gone - no town, no lights, not even a glow. But on the way back, the fog started to lift like a curtain being raised, and it was like seeing a painting come together, or an urban timelapse through history. Such a treat. I felt treated.
Also, I just read Rachel Carson's "A Sense Of Wonder" for the first time, and there's a passage that aligns with what you're writing about here. Lengthy pasted quote incoming:
>>"I remember a summer night.... It was a clear night without a moon. With a friend, I went out on a flat headland that is almost a tiny island, being all but surrounded by the waters of the bay. There the horizons are remote and distant rims on the edge of space. We lay and looked up at the sky and the millions of stars that blazed in darkness.
The night was so still that we could hear the buoy on the ledges out beyond the mouth of the bay. Once or twice a word spoken by someone on the far shore was carried across on the clear air. A few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of other human life; my companion and I were alone with the stars. I have never seen them more beautiful: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. Once or twice a meteor burned its way into the earth’s atmosphere.
It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century or even once in a human generation, this little headland would be thronged with spectators. But it can be seen many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they will never see it."<<
Ooh - thanks Mike. On reading this quotation, I immediately went out and bought the book. I still have Silent Spring sitting gathering dust on my shelf, but this seems like more my jam. Certainly more uplifting material for a pandemic year! Thanks for sharing :))
Oh fantastic. Hope you enjoy it! It's short (kinda frustratingly short) but I can already tell I'm going to be circling back into it again and again to pull out sentences and paragraphs to think about. And I think the book she *wanted* to write has yet to be written, and someone should really get on that. Happy new year!
Happy New Year to you too! I've always been a huge fan of short books, especially ones that get the thought-juices flowing. Can't wait!