The Elegant Solution of the String
Posted by quinncreative on September 29, 2007
My brother writes from Switzerland, where he lives. Occasionally, he writes of amazingly elegant and simple solutions that I believe are out of the realm of coming out of the American mind. I don’t mean this to be demeaning, it’s a wonderful awareness of different problem-solving abilities in different cultures. Here is the story:
“I was coming home [riding a bicycle] on a paved, two-lane-wide road without lane markers, common around here. I saw a road sign that signaled ‘cow crossing,’ but it was in an odd place and beat-up looking. I mistakenly assumed it had been left there by accident until I came upon the cows blocking the road and coming toward me.
I’ve mentioned before that the Swiss stake out fields that have been turned into pastures by putting frail poles strung with a single thread of electrified fence. The cows could easily walk through, but because
of the shock, won’t. Thus, when farmers herd them down a street, they block of side streets with string, and the cows, mistaking it for electric fence, respect that.
Well, this herd was being herded down the street with string. The shoulder of the road was lined with electric fence. The farmer and his wife carried some string perpendicular to the road and to the fence
lining it. The farmer formed the corner, and his children and a farm worker brought up the rear, shaping the line of string into a rectangle. The cows carefully stayed within it as the group walked down the street toward the barn.
As they saw me coming, they narrowed the rectangle, freeing one lane for traffic, and I, and then one or two cars, passed through. The cows carefully stayed within the string.”
–Image: courtesy lowridavies.co.uk
–Quinn McDonald is the sister of a clever observer and a bicycle rider, who is pretty damn smart and is teaching her to overcome her fear of word problems. Quinn is a writer and creativity coach. (c) 2007 All rights reserved.
October 1, 2007 at 6:45 pm
If you want to read an amazing book about an autistic woman’s knowledge of animal behavior…get any book written by Temple Grandin…it will rock your world…she is really amazing…
October 2, 2007 at 5:57 am
Autistic people see the world in a special way we can only guess at. I was introduced to Temple Grandin by Oliver Sacks and his sympathetic review of her in a book I think is incredible: An Anthropologist on Mars. It describes the strange world view of a number of people, conventionally listed as brain-damaged or -diseased, who have very special talents.
As for herding cows with string, maybe cows and some people simply follow convention and the herd. Would it occur to an observant person that these people are handling the ‘electric fence’ with their bare hands, and risk just one touch to see? Thereafter, freedom!
October 2, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I think I understand what you mean by the “American mind.” An American, especially one driving a car near the cows would probably harumph, “How inefficient!” Or worse, would try to market the string method, taking this simple solution and turning it into the “Swedish Cow Management Kit,”–that would eventually morph into (new and improved!) bacteria-resistant, “designer” string in personalized colors and with an assortment of accessories for an “improved cow handling experience.”