I'm still in Kamloops
Reading Pollan’s Botany of desire tends to make me nervous as his writing style can either come across as witty and fun or slightly drawn out and boring. Starting off this chapter I began to worry as his first metaphor well, let’s say it was not my favorite. Pollan begins by using a lot of religious symbolism and analogies, which I though was odd and slightly out of place. It was not until he started talking about cannabis that I began to understand what he was eluding to. I’m by no means religious, however I gather he is making a connection between the temptations of an ex illicit drug such as cannabis and picking the apple off the tree in the bible (or one of those books, genesis?). Even though his metaphor made more sense to me, I still didn’t like it. My feeling began to change however when Pollan described his interaction with the police chief while buying some fire wood; I did something I had not yet done while reading Pollan, Laugh. Later in this chapter Pollan introduces us to Nietzsche and a quoted him saying “ art and the power of forgetting” and describes this power as a mental state used by “artists, athletes, gamblers, musicians, dancers, soldiers in battle, mystics, mediators and the devout during prayer”. This reminded me of an interview I watched with a pro golfer where he stated what separates a professional who makes millions from an amateur at a local course is not what occurs during their shot but rather between shots. An individual’s ability to put aside a poor shot and can be present minded is really what makes a good golfer. Maybe this is true or all these pros are smoking a lot of the plants from Pollan’s garden. What I find amazing about wat Pollan is describing is that he emphasizes that plants have this ability to trick and play with our consciousness. Earlier in the chapter Pollan had described how many plants would invest in sweetness if they wanted to be eaten, bitterness if they didn’t. Occasionally it begs the question who is controlling who?
Reading Pollan’s Botany of desire tends to make me nervous as his writing style can either come across as witty and fun or slightly drawn out and boring. Starting off this chapter I began to worry as his first metaphor well, let’s say it was not my favorite. Pollan begins by using a lot of religious symbolism and analogies, which I though was odd and slightly out of place. It was not until he started talking about cannabis that I began to understand what he was eluding to. I’m by no means religious, however I gather he is making a connection between the temptations of an ex illicit drug such as cannabis and picking the apple off the tree in the bible (or one of those books, genesis?). Even though his metaphor made more sense to me, I still didn’t like it. My feeling began to change however when Pollan described his interaction with the police chief while buying some fire wood; I did something I had not yet done while reading Pollan, Laugh. Later in this chapter Pollan introduces us to Nietzsche and a quoted him saying “ art and the power of forgetting” and describes this power as a mental state used by “artists, athletes, gamblers, musicians, dancers, soldiers in battle, mystics, mediators and the devout during prayer”. This reminded me of an interview I watched with a pro golfer where he stated what separates a professional who makes millions from an amateur at a local course is not what occurs during their shot but rather between shots. An individual’s ability to put aside a poor shot and can be present minded is really what makes a good golfer. Maybe this is true or all these pros are smoking a lot of the plants from Pollan’s garden. What I find amazing about wat Pollan is describing is that he emphasizes that plants have this ability to trick and play with our consciousness. Earlier in the chapter Pollan had described how many plants would invest in sweetness if they wanted to be eaten, bitterness if they didn’t. Occasionally it begs the question who is controlling who?
Michael Pollan (2001). The Botany of Desire, A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. Manhattan, New York: Random House.
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