Day 19: Talking

Last night, I'd also had my seminar (think discussion section but actually a discussion) for my philosophy class, and we talked about Plato's Euthryphro and the relationship between piety and the gods. One major question posed was, "Are actions pious because they are loved by the gods, or are these actions loved by the gods because they are pious?"

Needless to say, our unfortunate professor spent the better part of the seminar admirably restraining himself from strangling us all. In an effort to guide our snarled lines of thinking, he asked, "Name something that has a specific quality."

At this point in time, yours truly, who'd had more run-ins with Plato than she'd care to admit, was lounging away in the corner trying to look interested.

The silence stretched on.

I couldn't bear the awkwardness anymore, so I blurted, "All squares are rectangles."

Defenestration, unfortunately, was not an option for my professor, located as we were in the basement, but I'm sure he considered it.

I spent the next few minutes desperately dredging up the vestiges of the geometry I'd learned almost a decade ago.

The seminar went more smoothly after that, as if some human sacrifice had lubricated the wheels of cognition with her blood.

Anyhow.

Tonight was the second plenary lecture, and it was given by Lord Smith, whose first name is not actually Lord but Chris. Meaning he is, in actual fact, a Lord.

He talked about Brexit and its consequences.

It was thrilling.

Today being David Cameron's last day as PM, it still didn't really strike me what a huge deal it was that there would soon be an entirely new British government until someone ran up to the stage in the middle of the lecture to hand Lord Smith a note. He read it, then turned to us and said, "We have a new foreign secretary."

We stared.

"It's Boris Johnson."

 The entire lecture hall erupted.

I know I keep saying this, but I have never been in an environment in which so many people are so willing to think together and put actual weight into discussions on issues that people my age back home couldn't care less about. On the way back to King's after the lecture, I discussed the talk with a friend, weighing the consequences of an EU without the UK and the UK without the EU. Fascinating.