Monday, July 16, 2007

What We See and What We Don't


My wife and I had to go to one of those artificial big-box office buildings near Portland last week. The owners of these buildings try their best to make their buildings look like they’ve been part of the neighborhood for a long time because they plant large, mature trees and fast growing trees, which may help some forget that only five years ago there were crops growing on that very spot. Now all that grows there are medical, legal and accounting bills.

This article is not about that urban growth stuff, but rather what the different sexes notice when they enter somewhere new. The office we were visiting was on the second floor, which looked out to a maple tree. It was a nice shady view on a warm summer day.

When we left, my wife asked if I noticed the ear rings the receptionist was wearing. I said no, being that I'm unable to see jewelry. It's like being color blind, I just don't see jewelry. I asked her if she saw the giant squirrel nest in the tree branches outside the window. She didn’t see it. I guess it’s a hunter/gatherer thing. She is a gatherer, and jewelry is something to be gathered. I don’t hunt, but I do find myself looking for traces of game when I'm outdoors. It must be so ingrained into humans that we may be tracking right up until the day our sun goes Nova.

6 Comments:

Blogger Auntie said...

Squirrel nest?

6:09 AM  
Blogger Beth said...

Hunter? Gatherer? Where do I fit in? I never notice somone's jewelry. Anyone with a honkin' new diamond has to shove it in my face to get a comment from me. (Which is hard to come up with because I'm not impressed.)

6:55 AM  
Blogger Auntie said...

Beth you would be a hunter perhaps? Or are you a vegetarian. Doesnt matter, like Guy maybe you are into you surroundings (i.e. not the flashy ostentatious stuff, but the furry things)

7:08 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Not what you're thinking Auntie...

Beth, you are a reader, so you hunt and gather good books.

12:03 PM  
Blogger Mike S said...

My wife never seems to notice the nature all around us unless I point it out, but she can spot a yard sale from miles away. Apparently I'm regaining the Maine accent, as a friend in Spokane, WA told me last week I've taken to saying "a-boot". Guess that comes from dual citizenship:)

8:32 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Mike, I absorb accents easily. I can talk with a a Canadian at Customs and I'll have an accent for two weeks.

5:10 AM  

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