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 Paying Attention to What You See
I took the picture on the right while flying over the alps from Italy to Munich on November 9, last year. What puzzled me were the patches of white against the dark ground. It looks as though this is snow on a hiking trail, or perhaps on a ski run, but it is only the beginning of November. Yet if it is snow, why would there be only white in these lines but not in the deep valleys Why are there breaks in the white, as though there is a deep hole filled with snow? But there wasn't much snow on the mountains as a whole, so why did the "snow" create a pattern like this? There are other areas that are in the shadow more than these appear to be and I assume they would continue to have snow, so what makes these areas special?
I am puzzled by this and offer it here in the hope that someone who reads this page will explain it. My interest in it is a little like that of members of the Google Earth Community who examine Google Earth pictures to find anomalies that are interesting to them.
Look at an enlarged picture if you think that would help.
There are many who would look at this and only think of it as a beautiful mountain scene. If they noticed the white at all, they would ignore it or file it as an-unknown-thing-not-worth-pursuing. Yet doesn't it puzzle you? Don't you wonder what it means?
So the question for this week is intended to help you look with a bit more questioning eyes at the world around you, including pictures in print and TV. And then, when you see something that is a puzzle, that you try to find out what it is. There are a zillion things that I don't know the why of, but whenever I take the time to see what they might be, when I ask questions about "why" they are the way they appear—even if I don't find the answer—the mere fact that I've tried enriches my life.
If you know someone who might have an explanation for this picture, please let me know how I can get in touch with him or her. And if you have a puzzle picture, send it on using the Contact Us page.If you like, I'll post it in a special section.
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