Physics students get a bit annoyed when they learn that an object moved back to its original location has a displacement of zero. No work. Yet that's what a commute is. Hopefully an uneventful round trip. There is: joy, temporary connection to the life of the planet going on past your window, some increase in fitness, and a sense of accomplishment, but there is no work. I'm unlikely to ride the rest of this week, so for the year I traveled 3082-some-odd miles by bike, total displacement - zero.
I was listening to a "great course" on tape (one of the old testament studies) just to study what I normally don't consider. One analysis is straight out of folklore study- what story pattern does this biblical story fit. I remember reading once that Cinderella belonged to a folk tale group (step mother, challenge, wicked step sisters...) that had hundreds of variations. The old testament's most memorable stories come down to a handful, travel on a mission..., meeting women at a well..., the actual details become important as the plot. To understand you need to note what is said and what is left out. One of the most difficult passages, the binding of Issac, is a trip to wherever. For three days they walk to get there, but don't seem to have a goal. Christmas is a travel story, but the destination isn't the point. Everyone seems up and wandering about, peregrinations seem detailed, the long stretches of home and stability for anyone (take long lived Abraham for example) don't warrant a note while trips to Egypt, travel to the mountain, settling again elsewhere all are detailed. Travel is vital, travel to a particular place doesn't matter.
Safe travels in 2010.
