Wade Davis's One River

Wade Davis writes about his own ethnobotanical explorations, but he also outlines the life and work of Richard Evans Schultes, whose trajectory took a turn with a course offered by a Professor Ames: Biology 16, Plants and Human Affairs.

There were six students in the class, and in the introductory lecture Ames outlined the course requirements. In addition to the basic readings, examinations, and written assignments, there would be a practical laboratory during which the students would experiment with various plants products. They would make paper and ink, mix essential oils to create perfumes, extract sugar to produce molasses, turn fatty oils into soap, dye clothing with leaves and roots, sample rare and exotic spices, and practice the art of herbal medicine. And naturally, Ames continued, they would brew beer and distill alcohol, just as his students had done every year throughout Prohibition.

I wish I had taken this course in university.

I'm enjoying One River. Davis talks about a group of Indigenous people in Colombia who see knowledge as the goal of life. It stopped me in my reading. It reminded me of how much I love knowledge, love learning. During this COVID-19 pandemic, I feel ambivalent, though. What should I focus on learning? Even as I become a teacher, it's unclear. What will I teach? Where? What will education look like in the coming months or years?

For now, I will continue to enjoy the books I enjoy.