Article February 3, 1997 Issue

Putting down destructive curiosity

Mark Swinney

"How can you decide what it's like unless you try it?" That's what a friend said to me the first time I went to a restaurant that served sushi. "Actually put it in my mouth?" I asked with a slight squirm. The raw tuna wrapped in rice and seaweed looked, to me, like something more appropriate for a fishhook. That was a few years ago, and since that very day, sushi has been one of my favorite things to eat.

Is this an article designed to convince you to try sushi? You can be glad that it's not. Hopefully, however, it will help keep you from being preoccupied with or trying things that are harmful or destructive.

Nothing teaches like experience, people sometimes say. That can certainly be true. Instead of using a recipe, it's possible to discover for yourself how to make a cake. When Thomas Edison was working tirelessly to develop a working light bulb, he experimented with thousands of different filament materials until he found one that worked effectively. When asked about it, he said that after all that work he not only knew what filament materials worked, but he also knew of thousands that didn't! Although no one really thinks about it much, whenever we turn on a light we are profiting from Mr. Edison's experience.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors