This seems like a decent follow up to yesterday’s post, not least because “climate change” is mentioned. Arnold Kling thinks our species no longer has to contend with the challenges of negotiating Nature, but instead with the challenges of living among so many of our fellow creatures.
For primitive people, the natural world is mysterious. Sometimes it is benevolent, and sometimes it is threatening. Weather can be pleasant, or it can be harsh and miserable. Food can be abundant or scarce, depending on factors beyond one’s control. Plants can supply nourishment or be poisonous. Other animals can be helpful or be predators. Diseases seem to come from nowhere, and cures are unreliable.
Most of us don’t come into direct contact with the natural world, especially not the wilder parts of it. But we’re in contact with each other more intensely than ever, at all hours, all around the world. That’s the innovation of the ever-accelerating communications revolution dating from the invention of the telegraph.
I believe that when we look at our thick culture, we are like primitive people looking at nature. We interpret phenomena by invoking “climate change” or “artificial intelligence” or “social media” or “the science,” much in the way our ancestors invoked spirits to explain drought or sickness.
Makes sense.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/japan-osaka-tennoji-zoo-hippopotamus-female-dna-test-reveal-4285686
Hippo in the news.
It's been a busy day and I haven't been to the office yet. I teach a client consulting course, and one of my clients is Goodwill Easter Seals of Miami Valley (GESMV). This morning I toured three Goodwill facilities. One was retail, nicely redecorated, very nice (but an hour from my house). We then drove ten minutes to a rougher edge of town, to see the "outlet store". Stuff that doesn't sell in the retail store sells here, $1 a pound. They load 14 bins (the size of two folding tables) onto the floor, then the crowd scours it for resale stuff. They hoot n holler when they find a gem (NARRATOR: there's very few gems in there). Much of it would good to a landfill, so they sold nearly $4 million in 2023 through the outlet store.
I then toured the backroom, where they have half a dozen forklifts scurrying about. Pallets stacked. Trucks going daily between there and stores. Chaotic yet fairly efficient given the low amount of automation.
Finally, I examined their on-line sales (shopgoodwill.com). They try to sell it on shopgoodwill.com, then on ebay or amazon.com (mostly used books), then back online, then back to the store, then salvage. I bought a nativity creche last week, as well as a three mini crockpot warming set. We used it Saturday for the family get together (the warming set, not the nativity creche).
I learned they prefer shipping goods to you, not having you pick them up. Old printers and computers are welcome: they get shipped to giant companies who mine them for the materials inside.
The biggest thing I learned is that one of their "bugs" is actually a feature. If they had time they'd try to sell each item at the highest price they can get, but with truckloads of donations, they cannot do so profitably (labor costs). So they look to move it as quickly as possible. But, and this but is bigger than Kim Kardashian's, by overlooking some great finds, it encourages people to shop, to look for them. I found a Lionel toy train set that sold for less than $30+ shipping, that is probably worth $300. Well, as word of that gets out, train collectors will search Goodwill for Lionel train sets, hoping to find another deal.
Our job this term is to help them build awareness of their online site--they want to sell more online, because it has greater profits. We don't want to remove all the bargains, gotta give people a reason to shop, but to find ways to increase sales. My students are on it!