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“It’s not what you look at that matters; it’s what you see.”
- Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), American naturalist
I recently encountered this quote by British writer Alan Watts (1915–1973): “Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.”
Let’s take a couple examples.
Not long ago, on March 23, during a sandstorm, a huge (400 meters long) cargo ship named Ever Given became lodged at the south end of the Suez Canal. That in itself would have been bad enough. Worse was the consequence: the ship blocked passage of other ships through the Canal. 15% of the world’s shipping passes through the Canal.
The alternative for ships headed for the Mediterranean Sea was to go all the way around Africa, a considerably longer and more expensive trip.
The Canal is a vital shortcut between the Red and Mediterranean Seas.
It took 6 days to dislodge the Ever Given. When it was freed, it ended up in the Great Bitter Lake, at the midpoint of the Canal. There it remains to this day, because Egypt wants the owners to pay over $900 million. Estimates for loss were $400 million per hour during the time the ship was stuck.
The owners say almost $1B is far too much.
