A Philosopher’s Adventure #15

Episode #15 - When Winter Refuses to Sleep

Fearlessness

In the first five minutes of the episode, we see Martijn setting up the temporary plumbing of the open area and adding batteries to the electrical system. There is an admirable fearlessness in this. It’s born of necessity, but how can we think about this fearlessness and the lives we lead? I’m going to ignore my own question and think about the asset of time that is built into this story. Hand-digging a trench or rolling out pipe for the plumbing system are both examples of time Martijn has in his day to experience the tools and materials that make his life possible. There is efficiency in trading money for service. If I call a plumber, the job gets done, but my knowledge advances zero. That doesn’t mean I am about to start working on all the plumbing things that happen in the house. What happens if I do something wrong? The margin of error I have for learning in a home that we live in is a risk I am not comfortable taking. This brings us back to the asset of time. Martijn has the chance to learn and research all he needs to, then go through the hands-on learning process of making these materials into a functioning plumbing system.

There are benefits to both kinds of living. We can’t all be jack of all trades people. Specialists are good for getting the job done correctly. What can we do as a species to keep ourselves connected to the tasks that fit our interests? It's like we are guided toward specialized employment in our youth, and hopefully, our hobbies are enough to maintain self-sufficiency skills. I don’t have to know how to knock a hole in the wall to fix a busted pipe, but I would like to replace a faucet without feeling like I’m going to leave the house without water for more than 12+ hours. I’m not speaking for everyone; you might have a set of minor skills that make you more apocalypse-proof than myself. I recognize this can come across as an excel jockey lamenting his lack of physical skills because it is. I don’t think my lack of skills is unique, and I want to use episodes like this as inspiration to grow my own skills while keeping my mind on how to avoid the same potholes for future generations.

The cinematics return with a drive to town and drone shots following the car over and through the tunnel of awakening trees. It’s sequences like this that have me excited for the spring changes to show themselves. The episode ends with the building of the outdoor shower. A lot of work has gone into this moment when we see the warm water flowing from the shower head. This is another one of the moments where I am happy for Martijn the character. I love the simplicity of the reward versus the amount of work that went into the reward. The same pipes being built into the mountain in this episode will pay dividends in the future, but we still get that little bit of progress that makes you want to keep putting in more effort.

Thanks for reading, see you next time.

CHR;)