Article February 25, 2013 Issue

Start with the solution

Malcolm Jackson

In the part of Australia where I lived when I first emigrated from England, the order of the road markings is reversed. “Ahead Lane Bus” and “Street Way One” had me scratching my head. Of course, by reversing them you get “Bus Lane Ahead” and “One Way Street.”

My confusion was primarily the result of education. Having lived in England most of my life, I was used to reading road markings as you read a book. You start with the top line and work downward. In that part of Australia, the order is reversed—the first word or line of a sign starts, as it were, at the bottom, and the next word on the line above, and so on.

A similar change in outlook was one I had to adopt as I began to study Christian Science. Just as I had to reeducate myself regarding the road markings, I had to unlearn the generally accepted premise that matter is both primary and causative.