Monday, July 18, 2016
In Babylon
Totally personal, just recording this for my own reference.
Was reading again about Babylonian legal and social structures. Interesting in terms of Natural Law, and interesting to see how little has changed in 7000 years.
Question popped up. What job would I have held in Babylon? Strip off all superficials of technology and tools, and get down to raw SKILLS. When I was young, what joblike activity really held my attention? Not what I enjoyed, or what I seemed to be good at. What job intrinsically compelled me to DO IT THE RIGHT WAY? What skill automatically forced me to COMPLETE THE TASK with good quality?
The answer caught me by surprise. Grading papers and processing McBee Cards for my father. For about two years he had me do all of his mechanical grading and record-keeping. I dug into that task decisively, pushing for PERFECTION. Both the grading and McBee-keying involved punching and clipping paper, which was a satisfying and decisive physical action.
Reminds me of ..... CUNEIFORM!
No doubt about it. In Babylon I would have been a Scribe, recording debts and transactions on clay. More or less a bookkeeper in modern terms.
(Later sidenote: A few months ago I pictured Polistra as an ancient scribe when discussing the history of math and writing. I wasn't thinking consciously about this personal connection with the act of engraving or incising, but it was obviously there.)
Labels: Experiential education, TMI
¶ 11:11 AM
