Let's talk about G-P-P, let's talk about you and me...

Doxa, the Greek word for opinion, is meritous of more than simply a descriptive definition. Plato employed "doxa" in his dialogues with a view to frame opinion within a broader scheme of knowlege. For Socrates (through the account rendered by Plato), the condition that must pertain in order for knowledge to exist is experience. Experience shapes opinion, and only through experience can we move beyond a static understanding to develop opinion (through the use of logos to express those experiences) as a preondition for knowledge.
Sound a bit cryptic? Allow me elaborate...

Yesterday morning, I stepped out of the house and was greeted by a pretty generous volume of snow! My walk to the bus station exceeded it's usual duration by a good 10 minutes, as I waddled, stumbled and tumbled around, ontop, inside of, and through the vast piles of snow. I had a grand time and couldn't help but feel desirous of the early days, when we used to play with abandon, celebrating snow with glee. As I boarded the bus, I promised myself that I would find more opportunities to enjoy this light, white harmless stuff. (I implore you to please interpret my vaguery as being representative of snow and not crack!)

Fast forward to my return and subsequent encounter with the snow..dun dun dun..that I had to shovel. I tell you, that "light" white stuff takes on a whole new meaning when it suddenly makes you wish you'd done mobility work in advance of interacting with it. So I conquered the driveway. I have conquered the driveway countless times prior to this experience, but few victories have come at such a great caloric expense!


Upon finishing the job, some gruelling, fulfilling 1.25 hours later, I couldn't help but feel as though my experience and opinion of snow had taken on a new body, since this latest experience overwrote the first.

In conclusion, if you want to possess a happy knowledge of snow (since we all know that knowledge can be characterized as being "happy"), do not endeavour to shovel 40 inches worth in a single interval. Although, I did feel like a glowing (nose-dripping) goddess afterwards! I know, a terrible analogy and a total injustice to Plato. But now we're even!

Not bad eh? Between the runny nose, my frozen locks of hair and gratitude for the modest athleticism that facilitated this conquest, I couldn't help but revel in how damn good it feels to do the simple things in life.

And over at the opposite end of the spectrum, but within the great realm of knowledge, may I present, "Albian-Cenomanian Foraminifera in Northeastern British Columbia and Western Alberta: Paleoecology and Biostratigraphy with Allostratigraphy" by David "Manski" Mans. It's 200 pages of geologese, but I think he passed.