|
|
<span class="WRB">When</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="CD">26</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">moved</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Amazon</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="NNP">California</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">order</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">study</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBD">were</span> <span class="VBN">believed</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="JJ">unrelated</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">any</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">flew</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">small</span> <span class="JJ">missionary</span> <span class="NN">plane</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">bumpy</span> <span class="JJ">nausea-inducing</span> <span class="NN">ride</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">meet</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">first</span> <span class="NN">time</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">My</span> <span class="NN">body</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="JJ">weak</span> <span class=":">;</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">brain</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="JJ">taut</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">anxiety</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">anticipation</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="JJ">unrelated</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">any</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="VBP">speak</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="JJ">many</span> <span class="NNS">linguists</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="RB">unsuccessfully</span> <span class="VBN">attempted</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">understand</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">My</span> <span class="NN">task</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">understand</span> <span class="WRB">where</span> <span class="JJ">little</span> <span class="JJ">understanding</span> <span class="RB">currently</span> <span class="VBN">existed</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="NN">encounter</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">these</span> <span class="FW">‘</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="IN">unlike</span> <span class="PRP">myself</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">defining</span> <span class="NN">experience</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">rest</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CD">One</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJS">greatest</span> <span class="NNS">challenges</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">species</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="NN">alterity</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">‘</span> <span class="VBZ">otherness.</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class="NNP">All</span> <span class="VBZ">cultures</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="NNS">reasons</span> <span class="JJ">easy</span> <span class="RB">enough</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">understand</span> <span class="NN">fear</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">War</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">conflict</span> <span class="VBP">have</span> <span class="VBN">defined</span> <span class="NNS">humans</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="RB">nearly</span> <span class="CD">two</span> <span class="CD">million</span> <span class="NNS">years</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WRB">When</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">encounter</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="IN">unlike</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="RB">frequently</span> <span class="VBP">become</span> <span class="JJ">uncomfortable</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">suspicious</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">A</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NN">neighbor</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">another</span> <span class="NN">country</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">A</span> <span class="NN">friend</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="VBZ">has</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="NN">color</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Someone</span> <span class="WP$">whose</span> <span class="NN">gender</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">simple</span> <span class="JJ">binary</span> <span class="NN">classification</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">old</span> <span class="NN">problem</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Jesus</span> <span class="PRP">himself</span> <span class="VBD">fell</span> <span class="IN">under</span> <span class="NN">suspicion</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="VBG">befriending</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">woman</span> <span class="VBN">thought</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">prostitute</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">Mary</span> <span class="NNP">Magdalene</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">She</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="IN">unlike</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">religious</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNP">Jesus</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">day</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">An</span> <span class="JJ">‘</span> <span class="NN">other.</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class="DT">Those</span> <span class="IN">unlike</span> <span class="NNS">ourselves</span> <span class="MD">may</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="JJ">unintelligible</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="VBG">speaking</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">those</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">like</span> <span class="PRP">themselves</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">build</span> <span class="JJ">different-looking</span> <span class="NNS">homes</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">view</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">some</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="JJS">most</span> <span class="NNS">fears</span> <span class="RB">otherness</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">simply</span> <span class="JJ">live</span> <span class="NNP">‘</span> <span class="NN">wrongly.</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class="TO">To</span> <span class="DT">some</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">only</span> <span class="JJ">suspect</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">but</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">differences</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">morally</span> <span class="JJ">unacceptable</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WRB">When</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="RB">first</span> <span class="VBD">entered</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Amazon</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">missionary</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">belief</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Everyone</span> <span class="VBD">needed</span> <span class="NNP">Jesus</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="IN">if</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBD">did</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">believe</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP">him</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBD">were</span> <span class="RB">deservedly</span> <span class="VBG">going</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="JJ">eternal</span> <span class="NN">torment</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">In</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">encounter</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">though</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="JJ">uneasy</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">realize</span> <span class="RB">now</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">ironically</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">actually</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">dangerous</span> <span class="CD">one</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">one</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="VBD">came</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="JJ">insufficient</span> <span class="NN">respect</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">ego-centric</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">ethno-centric</span> <span class="NN">view</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="NN">‘</span> <span class="NN">rightness.</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class="NNP">How</span> <span class="NN">fortunate</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="JJ">gentle</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="VBD">disabused</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="JJ">many</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="JJ">silly</span> <span class="NN">beliefs</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Though</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="JJ">years-long</span> <span class="NN">encounter</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">improve</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class="RB">globally</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="RB">certainly</span> <span class="VBD">did</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">seem</span> <span class="DT">that</span> <span class="NN">way</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="JJ">first</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">During</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="JJ">first</span> <span class="NN">day</span> <span class="IN">among</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBN">taken</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">young</span> <span class="NN">man</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">fire</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">hut</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">He</span> <span class="VBD">pointed</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">large</span> <span class="NN">rodent</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">fire</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="PRP$">its</span> <span class="NN">tongue</span> <span class="RB">still</span> <span class="VBG">hanging</span> <span class="RP">out</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">small</span> <span class="NN">pool</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">blood</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">edge</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">fire</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NN">hair</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBG">burning</span> <span class="IN">off</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">fresh</span> <span class="NN">kill</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="JJ">young</span> <span class="NN">man</span> <span class="VBD">uttered</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">then-unintelligible</span> <span class="NN">phrase</span> <span class=":">:</span> <span class="NNP">Gí</span> <span class="MD">obáaʔáí</span> <span class="VB">kohoáipi</span> <span class="NN">gíisai</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="RB">Later</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">learned</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="NN">meant</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="VBP">Do</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="VB">know</span> <span class="WRB">how</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="CC">And</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="RB">also</span> <span class="VBD">learned</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="IN">if</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">want</span> <span class="DT">any</span> <span class="VBN">offered</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="MD">can</span> <span class="RB">simply</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="UH">No</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">know</span> <span class="WRB">how</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="DT">No</span> <span class="NN">one</span> <span class="VBZ">loses</span> <span class="NN">face</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">It</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">easy</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">polite</span> <span class="NN">structure</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">allows</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">avoid</span> <span class="NNS">foods</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">want</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="JJ">Many</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">Western</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="NN">example</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">tend</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="JJ">polite</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="RB">often</span> <span class="RB">simply</span> <span class="VBP">offer</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="NNS">things</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">get</span> <span class="VBN">offended</span> <span class="IN">if</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBP">refuse</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Unlike</span> <span class="IN">among</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="EX">there</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">portent</span> <span class="NN">pressure</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">some</span> <span class="JJ">Western</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">guest</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="WDT">whatever</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">host</span> <span class="NNS">offers</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">For</span> <span class="RB">almost</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">experience</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class="RB">first</span> <span class="IN">through</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PDT">All</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">touch</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">taste</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">hear</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">smell</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBP">see</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">eventually</span> <span class="VBN">come</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">know</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">understand</span> <span class="NNS">begins</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="PRP$">her</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="VBN">mediated</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="PRP">her</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">As</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">develop</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">course</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">notice</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="RB">close</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class=":">-</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">father</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">siblings</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">But</span> <span class="IN">until</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">first</span> <span class="NNS">experiences</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NNS">individuals</span> <span class="VBP">begin</span> <span class="IN">outside</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">home</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">values</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">ways</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="VBG">thinking</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="NN">result</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="NNS">interactions</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">select</span> <span class="JJ">small</span> <span class="NN">group</span> <span class="PRP">she</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">These</span> <span class="JJ">early</span> <span class="NNS">apperceptions</span> <span class="VBP">shape</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">subsequent</span> <span class="NNS">lives</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="VBP">lead</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">only</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">individual</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">identity</span> <span class="CC">but</span> <span class="RB">also</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">conception</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="WP">what</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">‘</span> <span class="JJ">normal</span> <span class="NN">identity</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="RB">very</span> <span class="JJ">comfortable</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="VBP">learn</span> <span class="RB">early</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="DT">that</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NN">behavior</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NN">information</span> <span class="NN">entail</span> <span class="NN">effort</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WRB">Why</span> <span class="VBP">listen</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">dissonant</span> <span class="NN">jazz</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">steady</span> <span class="CD">4/4</span> <span class="NN">beat</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">country</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="NN">rock</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">familiar</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="WRB">Why</span> <span class="NN">eat</span> <span class="NN">haggis</span> <span class="RB">instead</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">pot</span> <span class="NN">roast</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="NNP">Comfort</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">just</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">requires</span> <span class="DT">no</span> <span class="NN">gaining</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="VBN">acquired</span> <span class="NNS">tastes</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WRB">Why</span> <span class="VBP">learn</span> <span class="DT">another</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="WRB">Why</span> <span class="VBP">make</span> <span class="NNS">friends</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="NN">color</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="JJ">sexual</span> <span class="NN">orientation</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="NN">nationality</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="WRB">Why</span> <span class="MD">should</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">professor</span> <span class="NN">make</span> <span class="NNS">friends</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">cowboy</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="DT">These</span> <span class="NNS">efforts</span> <span class="VBP">go</span> <span class="IN">against</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">biological</span> <span class="NN">preference</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="VBG">expending</span> <span class="RB">as</span> <span class="JJ">little</span> <span class="NN">energy</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="JJ">possible</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">maintenance</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">status</span> <span class="NN">quo</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NN">work</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="VBG">learning</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">worthwhile</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">but</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">always</span> <span class="JJ">obvious</span> <span class="RB">initially</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNS">Linguists</span> <span class="VBD">recognized</span> <span class="RB">long</span> <span class="RB">ago</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">first</span> <span class="NN">rule</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NN">‘</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">talk</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">talk</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">And</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="JJ">behavioral</span> <span class="NNS">scientists</span> <span class="VBP">have</span> <span class="VBN">realized</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NN">‘</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">eat</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">eat</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">‘</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">create</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">think</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="IN">‘</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">think</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">think</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">Our</span> <span class="JJS">earliest</span> <span class="NNS">associations</span> <span class="VBP">teach</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">only</span> <span class="WRB">how</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">think</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">create</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">talk</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">eat</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">but</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">evaluate</span> <span class="JJ">normal</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="JJ">correct</span> <span class="NN">thinking</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">talking</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">eating</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">creating</span> <span class="VBN">based</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">narrow</span> <span class="NN">range</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">experiences</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="JJ">crucial</span> <span class="NNS">differences</span> <span class="IN">between</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">in-group</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="NNS">values</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">social</span> <span class="NNS">roles</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">knowledge</span> <span class="NNS">structures</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">All</span> <span class="RB">else</span> <span class="VBZ">emerges</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">these</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">have</span> <span class="VBN">claimed</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="NNS">writings</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">Each</span> <span class="NN">builds</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">learn</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">context</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">familiarity</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">intimates</span> <span class="(">(</span> <span class="NN">i.e</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">family</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">village</span> <span class=")">)</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">leads</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">conceptualization</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="NN">identity</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">For</span> <span class="NN">example</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">know</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">some</span> <span class="NN">way</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">am</span> <span class="NNP">Dan</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">Yet</span> <span class="DT">no</span> <span class="NN">one</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">even</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">fully</span> <span class="VBZ">understands</span> <span class="WP">what</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBZ">means</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NN">construction</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">identity</span> <span class="IN">through</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">familiar</span> <span class="VBZ">leads</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">think</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="WP">what</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">family</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">norm</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">Inevitably</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">experience</span> <span class="VBZ">expands</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">meet</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VB">fit</span> <span class="RB">neatly</span> <span class="IN">into</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">expectations</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">These</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="PDT">‘</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">others.</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class="IN">In</span> <span class="CD">1990</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">Columbia</span> <span class="NNP">University</span> <span class="NN">psychologist</span> <span class="NNP">Peter</span> <span class="NNP">Gordon</span> <span class="VBD">accompanied</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="JJ">several</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NNS">villages</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">order</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">conduct</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">pilot</span> <span class="NN">study</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="NN">learning</span> <span class="IN">among</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NNS">children</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="VBD">set</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="NNS">cameras</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">hut</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="JJ">full</span> <span class="NN">view</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">permission</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">its</span> <span class="NNS">occupants</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBD">started</span> <span class="VBG">filming</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="DT">both</span> <span class="VBD">were</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">film</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">talking</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">adults</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">beliefs</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">children</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">behavior</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">After</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBD">were</span> <span class="VBN">done</span> <span class="NN">filming</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBD">noticed</span> <span class="NN">something</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VBN">seen</span> <span class="RB">before</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">because</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBG">happening</span> <span class="IN">behind</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">A</span> <span class="NN">toddler</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">perhaps</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">year</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">half</span> <span class="JJ">old</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBG">playing</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">sharp</span> <span class="NN">kitchen</span> <span class="NN">knife</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="CD">30cm</span> <span class="NN">blade</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">He</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBG">swinging</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="RB">nonchalantly</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">almost</span> <span class="VBG">stabbing</span> <span class="PRP">himself</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">face</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">legs</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">midsection</span> <span class=":">;</span> <span class="RB">occasionally</span> <span class="VBG">swinging</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="JJ">close</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">face</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">back</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="RB">initially</span> <span class="VBD">assumed</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="VBD">did</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">see</span> <span class="PRP$">her</span> <span class="NN">toddler</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="JJ">dangerous</span> <span class="NN">toy</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">But</span> <span class="RB">then</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">she</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="VBG">talking</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">another</span> <span class="NN">woman</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">camera</span> <span class="VBD">recorded</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">baby</span> <span class="VBG">dropping</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">knife</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">starting</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">cry</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">Barely</span> <span class="VBG">glancing</span> <span class="NNS">backwards</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="PRP$">her</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="RB">casually</span> <span class="VBD">leaned</span> <span class="IN">over</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBD">picked</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">knife</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="IN">off</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">ground</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBD">handed</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="RB">back</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">baby</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="VBD">returned</span> <span class="RB">gleefully</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">quasi-stabbing</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">himself</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">confrontation</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">values</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="NNP">Peter</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">myself</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">underscoring</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">otherness</span> <span class="NN">divide</span> <span class="IN">between</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="VBP">Was</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="VBD">concerned</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="PRP$">her</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">welfare</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="PRP">She</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">indeed</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">But</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">cut</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="JJ">non-life-threatening</span> <span class="NN">injury</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">price</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="RB">occasionally</span> <span class="MD">must</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="VBN">paid</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">order</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">learn</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">skills</span> <span class="JJ">necessary</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">survive</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">jungle</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="MD">Would</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">Dutch</span> <span class="NN">mother</span> <span class="VB">give</span> <span class="PRP$">her</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">sharp</span> <span class="NN">knife</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">toy</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">believing</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">any</span> <span class="NN">piercing</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">flesh</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="VBN">compensated</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="PRP$">its</span> <span class="NN">contribution</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">child</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">development</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="NNP">Could</span> <span class="PRP">she</span> <span class="RB">even</span> <span class="VBP">respect</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="(">(</span> <span class="NNS">m</span> <span class=")">)</span> <span class="SYM">otherness</span> <span class=":">-</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">root</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">lives</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="WRB">When</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="RB">first</span> <span class="VBD">encountered</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">learned</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="VBG">pointing</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">giving</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">name</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NNP">English</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">pick</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">stick</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="NN">stick</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJS">most</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="RB">anyway</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">give</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">translation</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">Then</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="MD">might</span> <span class="VB">let</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">stick</span> <span class="NN">drop</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">ground</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">stick</span> <span class="VBZ">falls</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">ground</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">throw</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">stick</span> <span class="RP">away</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="CD">two</span> <span class="NNS">sticks</span> <span class="NN">drop</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">ground</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">transcribe</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">responses</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="RB">back</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="JJS">least</span> <span class="CD">three</span> <span class="NNS">times</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">speaker</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">making</span> <span class="JJ">sure</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="RB">right</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="JJ">able</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">follow</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">translations</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">also</span> <span class="VBP">write</span> <span class="RP">down</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">comments</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">But</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">occasional</span> <span class="NN">speaker</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">ignore</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">request</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">instead</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class="NN">something</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBD">turned</span> <span class="RP">out</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="RB">even</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">interesting</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="JJ">Ɂaooí</span> <span class="JJ">Ɂaohoaí</span> <span class="NN">sahaɁaí</span> <span class="NNP">ɁapaitíisoɁabaɁáígio</span> <span class="NN">hiahoaáti</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="WDT">which</span> <span class="VBZ">means</span> <span class=":">:</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="VBP">Do</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VB">talk</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">crooked</span> <span class="NN">head</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Talk</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">straight</span> <span class="NN">head</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="VBD">wanted</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">talk</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">person</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">bizarre</span> <span class="NN">foreigner</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Like</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">American</span> <span class="NN">tourist</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NNP">France</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="MD">could</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VB">understand</span> <span class="WRB">why</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="MD">could</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">speak</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">Then</span> <span class="CD">one</span> <span class="NN">day</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">missionary</span> <span class="NN">plane</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="VBN">brought</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="DT">some</span> <span class="NNS">supplies</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">jungle</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Among</span> <span class="DT">those</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="JJ">lettuce</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="JJ">excited</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">have</span> <span class="NNS">greens</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="NN">eat</span> <span class="DT">no</span> <span class="NNS">greens</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">think</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NN">worm</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">cheerfully</span> <span class="VBG">eating</span> <span class="NN">lettuce</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">bowl</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NN">friend</span> <span class="VBD">walked</span> <span class="RB">up</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBD">said</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="DT">That</span> <span class="VBZ">'s</span> <span class="WRB">why</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">speak</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="RB">yet</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class="RB">n't</span> <span class="VB">eat</span> <span class="NNS">leaves</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="IN">In</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NNS">words</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahã</span> <span class="NN">man</span> <span class="VBD">believed</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="VBZ">emerges</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class="RB">as</span> <span class="RB">well</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">entirety</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">behavior</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NNS">members</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">belief</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">have</span> <span class="VBN">come</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="RB">as</span> <span class="RB">well</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="VBD">felt</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="MD">could</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VB">learn</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="JJ">native</span> <span class="NN">level</span> <span class="IN">unless</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBD">became</span> <span class="RB">also</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class=":">;</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">native</span> <span class="NN">level</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="WP">what</span> <span class="NNS">matters</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="EX">there</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="DT">no</span> <span class="NNS">prizes</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="RB">merely</span> <span class="VBG">speaking</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="RB">intelligibly</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="IN">against</span> <span class="NN">everything</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="VBN">been</span> <span class="VBN">taught</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">university</span> <span class="NNS">courses</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBD">underscored</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">gap</span> <span class="IN">between</span> <span class="PRP">them</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNS">Languages</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class="VBP">interact</span> <span class="RB">symbiotically</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">each</span> <span class="VBG">affecting</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">Our</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">self</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class="NNS">emerges</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="VBG">enveloping</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">accents</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">hear</span> <span class="RBS">most</span> <span class="IN">during</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">childhood</span> <span class="NN">development</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NN">speed</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">conversations</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">structures</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">interactions</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="VBN">formed</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="JJ">local</span> <span class="NNS">communities</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="RBS">most</span> <span class="JJ">comfortable</span> <span class="NNS">conversations</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="VBP">sound</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">put</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">phrases</span> <span class="RB">together</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">you</span> <span class="VBP">do</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="VBP">reach</span> <span class="JJ">similar</span> <span class="NNS">conclusions</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="EX">There</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="JJ">many</span> <span class="NNS">ways</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="WDT">which</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">confront</span> <span class="RB">otherness</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNS">Strangers</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="RB">always</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Nature</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">often</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">foreigner</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="JJS">most</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="MD">can</span> <span class="VB">learn</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="VBG">submitting</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CD">One</span> <span class="NN">reason</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="RB">annually</span> <span class="VBD">read</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">American</span> <span class="NNP">Henry</span> <span class="NNP">David</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NNP">Walden</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="JJ">favorite</span> <span class="NN">book</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">American</span> <span class="NN">literature</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="RB">articulately</span> <span class="JJ">different</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">That</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">irrelevant</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">account</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">year</span> <span class="RB">alone</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">His</span> <span class="NN">year</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">brilliant</span> <span class="NN">experiment</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="VBD">did</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="VB">remain</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="NNP">Walden</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">He</span> <span class="VBD">returned</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">take</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="RB">fairly</span> <span class="JJ">boring</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">handyman</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">adjacent</span> <span class="NN">city</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNP">Concord</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">Massachusetts</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">Yet</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">book</span> <span class="PRP">he</span> <span class="VBD">wrote</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">full</span> <span class="JJ">brilliant</span> <span class="NNS">observations</span> <span class="VBN">based</span> <span class="IN">on</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">concepts</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">American</span> <span class="NN">Transcendentalism</span> <span class=":">:</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">idea</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">inherently</span> <span class="JJ">good</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="JJS">best</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="VBN">left</span> <span class="RB">alone</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP$">its</span> <span class="NNS">institutions</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Transcendentalism</span> <span class="VBZ">implies</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">come</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">know</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">remove</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="VBG">experiencing</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">senses</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">That</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="VBN">embodied</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">that</span> <span class="RB">very</span> <span class="RB">nature</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">grows</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NNS">insights</span> <span class="IN">into</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NNS">lessons</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="NN">–</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">stranger</span> <span class=":">-</span> <span class="VB">teach</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="WP">what</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBZ">means</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">live</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">human</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="JJ">independent</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">occupy</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">natural</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Through</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">encounter</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">strangeness</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">solitary</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Oneness</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNS">ourselves</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="NN">–</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="JJ">strange</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="CC">but</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">like</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">just</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="NNP">–</span> <span class="VBZ">requires</span> <span class="JJ">slow</span> <span class="NN">work</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">contemplation</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">experience</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="RB">once</span> <span class="VBZ">embraces</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">It</span> <span class="VBZ">demands</span> <span class="VBG">working</span> <span class="NNS">towards</span> <span class="VBG">removing</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">embracing</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">seek</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class="IN">around</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Otherness</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">see</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">spark</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">original</span> <span class="NN">thought</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJR">greater</span> <span class="NN">appreciation</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">while</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">paradoxical</span> <span class="NN">goal</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">encounters</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="VBP">need</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">ourselves</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="RB">clearly</span> <span class="VB">see</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">need</span> <span class="RB">otherness</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">build</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">encompassing</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">panoramic</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">self</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="VBD">ignored</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">know</span> <span class="PRP">himself</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="JJS">Most</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="VBP">ignore</span> <span class="NNS">ourselves</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="RB">eloquently</span> <span class="VBD">expressed</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">loss</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">being</span> <span class="VBN">carried</span> <span class="RB">away</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">demands</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBZ">brings</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">self</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">We</span> <span class="VBP">think</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">conformity</span> <span class="RB">rather</span> <span class="IN">than</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="JJ">unique</span> <span class="NN">identity</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="JJ">blur</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NNS">individuals</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Thoreau</span> <span class="VBD">captured</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="NN">well</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="PRP">he</span> <span class="VBD">exclaimed</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="``">``</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">one</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">important</span> <span class="IN">than</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="CD">million</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="''">''</span> <span class="WDT">That</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">only</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="DT">each</span> <span class="RB">individually</span> <span class="VBP">appreciate</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">nature</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NN">part</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="MD">can</span> <span class="VB">achieve</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJS">best</span> <span class="JJ">individual</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">thus</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="NNP">’</span> <span class="VBD">s</span> <span class="JJ">hut</span> <span class="NNP">Walden</span> <span class="NNS">stands</span> <span class="RB">still</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NN">light</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">heart</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">forest</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">small</span> <span class="NN">cabin</span> <span class="WRB">where</span> <span class="CD">one</span> <span class="MD">can</span> <span class="VB">sit</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">think</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">read</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">wonder</span> <span class="IN">about</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">reasons</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="NN">living</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Jungle</span> <span class="NNS">nights</span> <span class="VBD">were</span> <span class="DT">this</span> <span class="NN">light</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">my</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">sat</span> <span class="IN">around</span> <span class="NNS">campfires</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">talking</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="JJ">hard</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="PRP">me</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">learn</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Albert</span> <span class="NNP">Camus</span> <span class="VBD">said</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJS">biggest</span> <span class="NN">mystery</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">philosophy</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="WRB">why</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="NN">everyone</span> <span class="NNS">commits</span> <span class="VBP">suicide</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="RB">honestly</span> <span class="VBG">contemplating</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">futility</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">As</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">possible</span> <span class="NN">answer</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="NN">question</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNP">Camus</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">essay</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Myth</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNP">Sisyphus</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBD">held</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="JJ">poor</span> <span class="NNP">Sisyphus</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="NN">example</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">good</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Sisyphus</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">after</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBD">had</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">objective</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CD">one</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBD">entailed</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJ">measurable</span> <span class="JJ">daily</span> <span class="NN">activity</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="RB">always</span> <span class="VBD">ended</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">accomplishment</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="VBG">getting</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="NN">rock</span> <span class="RP">up</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">hill</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">But</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class="VBP">perspective</span> <span class="NNS">rejects</span> <span class="NNP">Camus</span> <span class="POS">'s</span> <span class="NN">analysis</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">He</span> <span class="VBD">saw</span> <span class="DT">no</span> <span class="NN">reason</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">count</span> <span class="NN">familiarity</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="NN">predictability</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">social</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">foods</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="NNS">accomplishments</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="IN">among</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">goals</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">life</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="VBP">teach</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="JJ">little</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">change</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">behavior</span> <span class="RB">insignificantly</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">His</span> <span class="NN">example</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">learn</span> <span class="RBS">most</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">insert</span> <span class="PRP">ourselves</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NNS">aliens</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="JJ">conceptual</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">cultural</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">social</span> <span class="NNS">environments</span> <span class="(">(</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="PRP$">his</span> <span class="NN">case</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">absence</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class=")">)</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">I</span> <span class="VBP">am</span> <span class="VBN">convinced</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">lives</span> <span class="VBP">become</span> <span class="JJR">richer</span> <span class="WRB">when</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RBR">less</span> <span class="JJ">predictable</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">not</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">say</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">lives</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">always</span> <span class="JJ">predictable</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">absence</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">Otherness</span> <span class="NNS">renders</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">expectations</span> <span class="RBR">less</span> <span class="VBN">fixed</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBZ">requires</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">thinking</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">planning</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">learning</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="MD">would</span> <span class="VB">disagree</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="VBP">believe</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="NN">homogeneity</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">gives</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="NN">comfort</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBZ">keeps</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="JJ">strong</span> <span class="RB">physically</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">psychologically</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Otherness</span> <span class="IN">vs.</span> <span class="NN">predictability</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="WDT">which</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">desirable</span> <span class=".">?</span> <span class="IN">In</span> <span class="NN">essence</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">need</span> <span class="DT">both</span> <span class="RB">even</span> <span class="IN">if</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">’</span> <span class="JJ">d</span> <span class="NN">construct</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="JJR">greater</span> <span class="NN">sense</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">embraces</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">unexpected</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="CD">two</span> <span class="JJS">greatest</span> <span class="NNS">forces</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">preserving</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">constructing</span> <span class="NNS">cultures</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="NN">imitation</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WRB">When</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">environments</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">culturally</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RB">physically</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="JJ">constant</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="RB">rarely</span> <span class="JJ">useful</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">Like</span> <span class="JJ">biological</span> <span class="NNS">mutations</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="JJ">cognitive</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">cultural</span> <span class="NNS">innovations</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">usually</span> <span class="JJ">unsuccessful</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NN">effort</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">invent</span> <span class="MD">will</span> <span class="RB">usually</span> <span class="VB">isolate</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="NN">strange</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="RBR">less</span> <span class="JJ">successful</span> <span class="IN">than</span> <span class="DT">those</span> <span class="WP">who</span> <span class="RB">merely</span> <span class="VBP">imitate</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="JJ">Failed</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">society</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="JJS">most</span> <span class="NNS">values</span> <span class="NN">imitation</span> <span class="VBZ">emphasizes</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class="NNP">‘</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBZ">provides</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="JJ">little</span> <span class="NN">advantage</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">As</span> <span class="NNS">environments</span> <span class="VBP">change</span> <span class="RB">–</span> <span class="JJ">such</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">ecology</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Pleistocene</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="RB">so</span> <span class="VBD">shaped</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">Homo</span> <span class="NNS">ancestors</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">climate</span> <span class="NN">change</span> <span class="NN">today</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="VBG">shifting</span> <span class="JJ">political</span> <span class="NNS">boundaries</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">intrusion</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="IN">into</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">environment</span> <span class="NN">–</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class="VBZ">becomes</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">important</span> <span class="NN">force</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBG">providing</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">solutions</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">problems</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBP">imitation</span> <span class="RB">alone</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">unable</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">provide</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">The</span> <span class="NNP">Pirahãs</span> <span class="NN">live</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="NN">environment</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">has</span> <span class="VBN">changed</span> <span class="RB">little</span> <span class="IN">over</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">centuries</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">They</span> <span class="NN">value</span> <span class="NN">conformity</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">imitation</span> <span class="IN">over</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Consequently</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="VBZ">has</span> <span class="VBN">changed</span> <span class="RB">little</span> <span class="IN">over</span> <span class="NN">time</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNS">Records</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">18th</span> <span class="NN">century</span> <span class="VB">show</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="JJ">identical</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">encounter</span> <span class="NN">today</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CD">three</span> <span class="NNS">centuries</span> <span class="RB">later</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">In</span> <span class="NNS">environments</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="RB">especially</span> <span class="RB">culturally</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">change</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="JJ">light</span> <span class="NN">speed</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">need</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">learn</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">think</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">speak</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">act</span> <span class="RB">differently</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">innovate</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="JJ">multiple</span> <span class="NNS">areas</span> <span class="RB">simultaneously</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">changes</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">encounter</span> <span class="VB">transform</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">familiar</span> <span class="NN">environment</span> <span class="IN">into</span> <span class="NNP">‘</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NN">’</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">Every</span> <span class="NN">day</span> <span class="VBZ">brings</span> <span class="NNS">problems</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="RB">never</span> <span class="VBD">faced</span> <span class="IN">before</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NN">Diversity</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">experiences</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">encounters</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NNS">others</span> <span class="VBP">inspire</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">ways</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">thinking</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">forms</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">living</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">If</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="VBP">look</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VB">talk</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">value</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class="NNS">things</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="VBP">paint</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class="NNS">pictures</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">dance</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class="NNS">dances</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBP">hear</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">same</span> <span class="NN">music</span> <span class="RB">then</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="RB">simply</span> <span class="NNS">imitators</span> <span class="VBG">falling</span> <span class="IN">behind</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNS">challenges</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">world</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="DT">This</span> <span class="VBZ">applies</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="IN">whether</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="NNS">hunter-gatherers</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Amazon</span> <span class="CC">or</span> <span class="NN">advertising</span> <span class="NNS">agents</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NNP">New</span> <span class="NNP">York</span> <span class="NNP">City</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP">It</span> <span class="VBZ">blinds</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">forms</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">beauty</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="WP">What</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">see</span> <span class="IN">around</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">rise</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">anti-immigration</span> <span class="JJ">political</span> <span class="NNS">movements</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NNP">Europe</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">USA</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="IN">at</span> <span class="JJS">least</span> <span class="RB">partially</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">a</span> <span class="NN">fear</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">Our</span> <span class="NN">preference</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="NN">conformity</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">imitation</span> <span class=":">;</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NN">fear</span> <span class="RB">then</span> <span class="PRP">itself</span> <span class="VBZ">arises</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">that</span> <span class="NN">preference</span> <span class="IN">in</span> <span class="NN">contrast</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">otherness</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJR">greater</span> <span class="NNS">steps</span> <span class="IN">towards</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="RB">ever</span> <span class="RBR">more</span> <span class="JJ">encompassing</span> <span class="NN">oneness</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">type</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBD">motivated</span> <span class="NNP">Thoreau</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">However</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">ultimate</span> <span class="NN">engine</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">innovation</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="JJ">otherness</span> <span class="NN">–</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">food</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NNS">environments</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="NN">art</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">culture</span> <span class="VBP">–</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBZ">strengthens</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NNS">prospers</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PRP$">Our</span> <span class="NNS">languages</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">cognitive</span> <span class="NNS">abilities</span> <span class="VBP">expand</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">learn</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">vocabularies</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">new</span> <span class="NNS">values</span> <span class="IN">by</span> <span class="VBG">talking</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="NNS">people</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VBG">experiencing</span> <span class="PRP$">their</span> <span class="NNS">relationships</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">nature</span> <span class="DT">that</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="IN">unlike</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">own</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Human</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="VBD">emerged</span> <span class="IN">within</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NNP">Homo</span> <span class="NN">line</span> <span class="IN">because</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBD">was</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">only</span> <span class="NN">creature</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">embrace</span> <span class="RB">otherness</span> <span class="IN">as</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="RB">actively</span> <span class="VB">explore</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">sake</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">exploration</span> <span class=":">;</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">seek</span> <span class="NNS">encounters</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="NN">otherness</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="IN">As</span> <span class="NNP">Homo</span> <span class="NN">erectus</span> <span class="VBD">sailed</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">islands</span> <span class="IN">beyond</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">horizon</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="VBD">invented</span> <span class="NNS">symbols</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">cope</span> <span class="IN">with</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJR">greater</span> <span class="NN">need</span> <span class="IN">for</span> <span class="JJ">communal</span> <span class="NNS">efforts</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">expand</span> <span class="NNS">experiences</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Language</span> <span class="NN">change</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">an</span> <span class="NN">indication</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="JJ">cultural</span> <span class="NN">change</span> <span class="(">(</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="JJ">cultural</span> <span class="NN">change</span> <span class="MD">will</span> <span class="VB">change</span> <span class="NN">language</span> <span class=")">)</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="RB">Together</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="PRP">they</span> <span class="VBP">amplify</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="NNS">species</span> <span class="NN">ability</span> <span class="TO">to</span> <span class="VB">innovate</span> <span class="CC">and</span> <span class="VB">survive</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="PDT">All</span> <span class="IN">that</span> <span class="PRP">we</span> <span class="VBP">are</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">result</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJ">human</span> <span class="NN">embrace</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class=",">,</span> <span class="DT">the</span> <span class="NN">love</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="NN">alterity</span> <span class="WDT">that</span> <span class="VBZ">makes</span> <span class="PRP">us</span> <span class="VB">distinct</span> <span class="IN">from</span> <span class="DT">all</span> <span class="JJ">other</span> <span class="NNS">creatures</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="NNP">Alterity</span> <span class="VBZ">is</span> <span class="CD">one</span> <span class="IN">of</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJS">greatest</span> <span class="NNS">fears</span> <span class=".">.</span> <span class="CC">And</span> <span class="RB">yet</span> <span class="PRP">it</span> <span class="MD">should</span> <span class="VB">be</span> <span class="PRP$">our</span> <span class="JJS">greatest</span> <span class="NN">treasure</span> <span class=".">.</span>
|