The center gets a lot of attention, but the fringes are more interesting.
James Geary | May 2009 issue
The center, we are told, should be our goal, both our starting point and our destination. But the fringes are more interesting. It is here, on the periphery, where friction produces its most startling effects. It is here where everything rubs together, where boundaries blur, merge, become extended. Think of it. From the tips of our tongues to the soles of our feet, we are all edges. The slightest touch sets off tremors, which ripple out in ever-widening orbits—reminders that the universe does not revolve around us; we have to go out to meet it. As that great ancient philosopher Anonymous once said, “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”
James Geary is the author of The World in a Phrase
Turning words
