Awaking my first morning in London, I heard a distinctive noise outside my apartment window. It was a plodding of sorts, and my mind immediately sought to understand why such a large number of horses were outside.
Was there a parade? Where was I actually living? Are there a lot of police officers who ride horses in my Shoreditch neighborhood? I hopped out of bed and pulled open the blinds to take a peek out the window. And, unsurprisingly to most city people, the noise was simply a continual stroll of women walking by in their high heels.
Conclusions to which a mind jumps are dependent upon the cultural background and experiences of an individual. For me, it’s fully reasonable that my slightly sleep-deprived and jet-lagged mind would instantaneously believe that there were horses outside my window. Although an urbanite, I have most recently lived in rural Minnesota (USA) communities and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Such a distinctive high heel noise wasn’t created on the gravel roads dominating my locales in these two landscapes.
The London School of Economics is a unique location at which there are many bright minds initially jumping to a variety of conclusions. We’ve all had a wide range of experiences in the 152 countries from which we come, and it’s a privileged opportunity that such a diverse student body is able to unite in one environment, share and challenge initial conceptions, and grow and learn together.
Was I correct about the horses outside my window? Absolutely not; it’s now just a funny (and slightly ridiculous) short story about which I can think and laugh. The anecdote does, though, exemplify some of the principles by which I seek to live as a LSE student. Here’s my Top 5 personal intellectual reminders in descending order for a prosperous academic year:
(5) Talk, understand your thoughts, and share perspectives
(4) Question assumptions: what percentage of knowledge is culturally dependent?
(3) Reflectively admit erroneous patterns of thought and mistakes
(2) Be open to new ideas
(1) And, as the LSE motto says, ‘rerum cognoscere causas,’ or, in English, to know the causes of things; continually and persistently seek to understand
If these are principles by which I am able to consistently live as a postgraduate student at the London School of Economics, I think it will be quite the successful year. I look forward to the journey. Cheers to all!
