Not Many Cared Why the World Exists

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The KH selection for May was Why Does the World Exist? an Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt.To begin with, “why” questions are often irritating. Think of kids pestering adults with their ceaseless “Why, why, why.” There are a few “why” questions that can be answered. Why does water evaporate? Why do I feel colder on a windy day? Even, why is the sky blue? Fine. Good. But “Why does the world exist?” “Why do I exist?” In the end, the KH book group voted with their feet. Most simply didn’t care enough to read the book and show up to discuss it. Either they knew they wouldn’t find an answer in the end, or they didn’t even care about the question. Some who might have made an appearance simply couldn’t attend, so we had just five people present.

However. Yes, there’s a catch: However, those who did show up managed to have a good discussion both about the question, about the format of the book, about why we did or didn’t finish the book, and about the final chapters revealing the answer that satisfied the author (and at least one of us), and about his thoughts at the time of his mother’s death.

Personally, I enjoyed the book when I first read it a year ago. I found that I was less excited about reading it a second time, however. I loved the replay of the conversations with assorted philosophers and scientists who make a living pondering the reason that we have something rather than nothing. No, I couldn’t really follow the various arguments, but I sort of knew which ones made a bit of sense to me and which didn’t. And, frankly, Holt’s conclusions resonated with me: Nothing is but one of many options related to existence, hence not probable, while mediocrity is more likely than either nothing or a perfect world.

So, the likelihood of something and the probability of mediocrity works for me for now. Think knees, for example. Or allergies. Clearly (ha, nothing was clear in this book), the world isn’t perfect, and we don’t even need to talk about evil. For me, the book was a bit a romp through territory I generally avoid.

Kelleher House 2015 List

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Current (to the best of my knowledge) as of August 18 2015.

January: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
February: When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
March: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Muiz
April: The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst
May: Why Does the World Exist by Jim Holt
June: Just food and voting. No book discussion.
September: Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
October: The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of Building the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
November: Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz
December: Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War by Amanda Vaill

Multiculturalism and Its Discontents

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Kenan Malik’s small book, Multiculturalism and Its Discontents: Rethinking Diversity After 9/11, is the first book I read from Seagull Publishing’s Manifesto series. I found that it addressed an issue that I’ve been pondering frequently in the last few years, and I’ve since gone on to track down some other books from the series.

I had not really thought about multiculturalism as policy. I’d considered it an attitude: openness to people of other cultures, curiosity about how others do things, different food, dress, customs, of a positive, enriching nature. But when Malik begins by recounting the Anders Brevik murders in Norway and relating them not just to concerns about immigration in Europe, but to the policy of multiculturalism and its implications, I needed to read further.

South African Apartheid might be the ultimate example of vigorous Multiculturalism. Message: we are different, you and I; we have our values, you have yours; we’ll put you in an enclave and let you alone except when we need your labor; and no, by the way, we’re not equal. In Europe, it has played out differently, but the focus on differences is not bringing people together. So you have conservative types who are aggressively trying to remove the different ones from their society, liberal types who think it’s not polite to express concern about denying women full freedom if their “chosen” community restricts it, and tension all around.

As policy, multiculturalism begins by defining groups; we all become “other,” including the group with claims of native status. The problem is that as groups gain status, individuals may lose it. If I am viewed by legal authorities as part of a certain group, where are my rights rooted? Only within my group or with the laws or constitution of the nation. For women, especially, this is a very big deal since women have only recently obtained official recognition of their basic human rights in some communities, but clearly not all.

As they say at the end of every research article, more work is needed. I’ll be reading more on this matter!

Rez Life

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This book will humble you if you think you understand tribal issues in contemporary America. Author David Treuer covers a range of issues while interspersing personal stories with a bit of background on laws and court rulings that have altered the landscape of life on reservations over the years.

Stories center on life on several Ojibwe reservations south of the Great Lakes, but the legal issues are common to tribes throughout the US. As Treurer fleshes out the meaning of “denominated domestic dependent nations,” we learn how tribal sovereignty has been the focus of legal hassles since treaties were first signed with over three hundred tribes around the country. Indians and non-Indians have sought control of fish, forests, minerals, water, and simply the land itself; states have tried to tax and regulate activities on reservations; the federal government has tried to force assimilation through various strategies; and now that casino money is changing the fortunes of many tribes, the matter of who is and who isn’t a member of the various tribes carries new significance.

The Spies of Warsaw

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As soon as I started reading The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst, I needed to consult some maps to get my bearings. A bit of clicking about the Web led me to this fascinating site, courtesy of Wikipedia, which shows the evolution of boundaries in and around Poland for the last 400 years. I love the Internet!

Mysteries are my fallback when I’ve maxed out on serious stuff. But this wasn’t just any old mystery. This was mystery plus history of the best sort. Good story, well told, while uncovering some of the complexities of the era between WWI and WWII in Europe. No one really trusted anyone, and for good reason. Everyone watching, scheming, developing contingency plans. Officials ignoring information from people closest to events as they unfolded.

History as told by historians can be fascinating. But I’m happy to get some of my history from Alan Furst and others who mix it with interesting characters, good plot lines, and a feel for the locale.