PROPHETS

In early television days, a local weatherman always concluded his forecast with a cartoon figure called "the vice president in charge of looking out of the window." It was a classic juxtaposition of prediction and reality, almost metaphysical in nature. I have retained memory of that example as I consider the many speculations offered by many people regarding climate change and its assumed effects.

Recently, an article was published under the caption "Climate Change Could Exacerbate Inequality"* Since "inequality" is a hot button issue these days, my eyes perked up. The article reported that, using climate change simulation, researchers have predicted that by the year 2100 counties in the southern portion of the United States will have a greater risk of economic decline due to climate change than those in the north. Thus, they concluded, climate change will make worse wealth disparities.

The reality is that daily weather forecasts, which are based on models or simulations, frequently miss the mark on predictions of rain or snow or sunshine, for example. Likewise, longer term forecasts, several days or even a week forward, prove even less reliable or even speculative. So, how accurate are climate change predictions over the next 83 years to 2100 and resulting conclusions about economic and wealth conditions?

How are we to respond to climate change prophesies founded upon climate change simulation assumptions? Perhaps best have an umbrella and sunglasses handy and keep looking out of the window.

____________________________________________
*Temming,Science News,August 5, 2017, p.13

© Daniel J. Kucera 2017

`ANTIQUES HAVE THEIR PRIVILEGES

Probably the most common and most ongoing question among antiques dealers is "how do we induce more people, particularly younger ones, to purchase more antiques for their homes?" Of course, there is nothing new about this question. It has been asked and unanswered for decades since at least the 1970s. It has become a dealer's lament.

Over the years, many sages have offered a variety of reasons why people should buy antiques: for investment; for trendy design; for quality of wood, metal or workmanship; for historic value or interest; and for culture are some of the reasons. Sometimes one or more of these reasons will stimulate a sale or two, but not necessarily in the quantity that will sustain a dealer's business or interest.

By accident recently, I uncovered in my clutter a book published in 1889--itself an antique--that may offer some insight to answering this question.* The author's premise is : "man is an aesthetic being." Elaborating, man has an implicit duty to adorn and beautify his house. The author states: "The best characters and the noblest men come from the modest homes which taste, refinement, and labor have adorned and beautified."

The author adds: "But it is not alone in nature that beauty may minister to our souls...art may serve this purpose. Nature hangs no landscapes on our parlor walls, nor does she set bouquets in our windows....The beauty of art is not alone for the mansion of wealth. Artistic and tasteful adornments are the products of ingenuity and not of wealth."

Art, of course, is not limited to paintings. An antique by its design, or by its age and ancestry, or even by its placement within a home by itself or in conjunction with other antiques can be art.

So, there you have it. Perhaps the most important reason to buy antiques is to adorn and beautify one's home, so as to "minister to our souls."

______________________________________

* Sargent, "Our Home", King, Richardson
& Co., 1889, pp. 287-290.

© Daniel J. Kucera 2017