Human existence is a combination of accident and design
Design may be central to civilization, but it does not drive the entirety of our human experience. For example, New England country roads are mainly accidents – traveled today by cars atop hard pavement, and before that …horses on gravel…indigenous people on foot …and in the more distant past, by deer and other wildlife who for reasons of utter happenstance first broke these trails alongside streams and across even ground between sloping hillsides.
When a road is built from scratch, or when an old road is widened and straightened for some greater purpose, it becomes a matter of design because there is inherent intent. Other than this, they are mainly matters of happenstance.
In many places this sort of happenstance serves us well and despite our misgivings we tend to leave well-enough alone. The Hudson River. The Mississippi. The Oceans. These have great utility, and except in minor ways there isn’t much that can be done to improve their usefulness beyond a bit of dredging and the development of harbors. The natural features of the earth have been here since before the dawn of mankind and they will be here once we are no more.
In response to this reality, some design every aspect of their lives – trying to shove nature aside in favor of an entirely invented existence. For a time, and in very limited ways, this is largely possible. Yet, for the vast majority – no matter how much is invented and built – our human existence will always remain a combination of accident and design.
Ken Ramsley
