Naturally, we know that it revolves. But does that fit in with our feelings? Have we any sensitivity to the fact that we live on a gigantic plum that revolves daily around its own axis? Does something within us tell us anything of the breathtaking speed – 1670 km/hr at the equator – at which we race around? And this even when we are asleep? As for the sun, whose system we are believed to live in, isn’t everything in our language and speech so organised that it seems as if the sun revolves around us, and not the other way around. In the morning the great golden roast appears before us, and not we that appear before it. In the evening it is again the sun that sets, not we who go under. That the earth is no longer (considered) the fixed centre of the universe is a triumph for science and a blow to our pride – but our feeling for the world is hardly affected by this knowledge.
The fishing village Yobuko, lying in the north-west part of the southern Japanese isle of Kyushu, is famous for its squid, which is processed locally in all imaginable ways, as well as consumed live in local restaurants. And, this local creature goes through so many experiences that we humans are spared, fortunately.
First Publication: 23-4-2013
Modifications: 28-6-2013