Our giants

Standing on the shoulders of giants. Taken at face value, the expression reminds us that present-day achievements rest on the past work of great minds.

It makes me think of Galileo, Newton, Einstein — individuals who delivered the various truths we hold as fundamental today. And it makes me consider again the simple, yet profound statement: Things are like they are for a reason.

This holds true, whether the pursuit is serious or frivolous.

On the serious side, we take penicillin because a handful of thinkers, over the period of a decade or two, got serious about refining and fermenting beneficial mold.

On the frivolous side, my girlfriends and I wanted go-go boots in the 1960s because Nancy Sinatra told us “These Boots Were Made for Walkin’,” and we all had someplace to go, not to mention someone we’d like to “walk all over,” if we could.

I’m not wise enough to appreciate all the ways in which theoretical physicists have elevated my day-to-day existence (I wanted go-go boots, remember?), but I’ve been reminded lately how much my personal giants, and the giants in my community, have enriched my life.

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