WYSIWYG-What You See Is What You Get.
But Not in Thailand. Take a look at this short true story. And Join the Conversation.
Enjoyable Thai party last night. Everyone brought some homemade northern Thai food to share. And the karaoke really got going after a few drinks. Got up late this morning.
Had to go into Chiangmai for some garden plants. Came back and there was no sign of my dog.
Where had Talley gone this time? Cycled round for an hour or so trying to find him. Eventually found my pet playing with some of the dogs at the local wat (temple).
My neighbour, Khun Fon, had lit some candles in our spirit house and was praying for his safe return.
At what time did you actually find Talley?
Ten minutes ago.
That was precisely when I lit the candles.
Fon said we must go to the wat tomorrow with some gifts for the monks as a token of thanks.
It will give you merit. That’s why you must go.
Actually, I think whistling and calling out Talley’s name was how I found him. But best to go along with some of the more interesting Thai traditions.
The word Anthropology can frighten readers off.
As a matter of fact, he looks a bit like me, except that I have very little hair, certainly have no beard or whiskers, and don’t have such a stern appearance. Apart from that, it’s a good likeness!
The Father of Cultural Anthropology.
Sir Edward Burnett Taylor (1832–1917) was born in a London Quaker family, and became Professor of Anthropology at Oxford. I adopt the same techniques and procedures as he did. I strive to obtain factual data and to give my readers and followers a sense of the cultural differences in other countries. Because my goal is to bring the standards of the natural sciences into my work, I talk to and observe as many people as I can, and critically examine what I learn from them.
For example, I found this quote by Cliford Geertz a little difficult to read.
“Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning. — Clifford Geertz (1973)” (My version has partly been created using AI, but the majority of the story is in my own words.)
My version.
“I totally agree with Max Weber on this one — I picture humans as creatures tangled up in a web, partly created by themselves and partly created by the cultural environment in which they find themselves.
Now, let’s dive into culture. It’s not a rigid science of anthropology. It’s a living example of how people live their lives and react within their communities. Think of it more as a journey into understanding life, like solving a captivating puzzle.
So, here I am, accepting Weber’s notion that we’re all in this intricate web of significance. It’s not a dry experiment; it’s an adventure into the heart of what makes us tick.”
