People You Should Know About: An Occasional Series

Volume I: Introductory Remarks

When I was in about third grade my parents gave me a book called “The Golden Book of Quotations.” I still have that book, and still remember a lot of the quotations in it. One of them, attributed to Alexander Dumas, I have found both funny and true since the first time I read it. (“All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.”) I have always enjoyed having little aphorisms like this at my disposal, so I look for them, and I usually remember who said it and where I read it. So I guess I’ve always been curious not just about information, but its source as well. I cannot imagine, for example, loving a book, telling someone about it, and then not knowing the author’s name. In fact, I’m more likely to correctly remember an author’s name than a book’s title.

Now, as a curious adult who has both the time to be curious and easy internet access, I am able to dig a bit deeper when I read a pithy statement or hear an interesting idea, and often I’ll try to learn something about the sources of things I find intriguing. I don’t dig as often as I should, arrogantly assuming that my not having heard of someone is a reflection of their lack of fame or their unwillingness to retain a proper PR firm. Other times, my curiosity gets the best of me and I dig; what I find out is always rewarding.

So that brings me to People You Should Know About (PYSKA). In the coming weeks, prepare to meet some interesting people here at Sodcutter. The folks I plan to write about came to my attention in a variety of ways – including what appeared to be junk mail in one case. I make no claim to have discovered these people, and they have no need of the meager “publicity” an appearance in this blog will provide. So this is really about appreciating the special, unique intelligence that is all around us. I learned about these folks only because I took the time to respond to one tiny jolt of curiosity, and then found that my appreciation of their work grew as a result of knowing a bit more about them. I think the same will be true for you, and I hope over time you’ll share some of you discoveries with me.