THALES OF MILETUS (624 – 548 A.C.)

Some anecdotes about Thales

Thales of Miletus learnt more about maths and astronomy from Egyptians. Fascinated with his pyramids and culture he spent some time with Egyptian priests, to acquire information to other sources. Thales visited also the Babylonians and Chaldeans .- As Plato made the point : "the Greeks took from foreigners what was of value and developed their notions into better ideas".- As a result of this travels he had access to the astrological records which enabled him to predict the solar eclipse of 585 BCE. Thales is acclaimed for having foretold this eclipse to the Ionians who were having a battle against their enemies, The Medes.  As all became dark in the middle of the day the combatants saw the eclipse as disapproval of their warfare, and as a warning. They ceased fighting and a peace agreement was reached between the two kings.

Finally I will narrate an anecdote about Thales' mule that was almost as clever as its owner. Coming back to the times in which he was a merchant, a day he was carrying a charge of salt over his mule's back. Then the mule slipped and dropped into the river; as salt  dissolved,  the animal realized that his burden had decreased. So that after a few minutes it plunged into the water, on purpose, several times until it lost all the weight. In order to solve the problem, in the next journey the mule was loaded with sponges. When it jumped into the river, it comprehended that it was wrong. In this way Thales shown how to sort out even a quotidian problem in the most effective and harmless manner. Another man in this situation would had reacted hitting the animal.

It is said that he was asked about what he would like in exchange of his achievements he answered: "I would like that when you speak of them to others, you tell that are mine".

A COUNTRY OF CONTRAST

There are great differences in our country despite the fact that it is rather small compared to others. This diversity is shown  in some aspects, such as climate, landscape, inhabitants' personality and even gastronomy, all of them related to each other.

 For instance, there is a big divergence between the north and the south in Spain: the weather in the north is usually colder and wetter than in the south, where in contrast we have a lot of hours of sunlight per year.

As a consequence, the landscape is certainly greener in the septentrional  areas than in the meridional ones.  However, not only can we notice this variety between distant zones, but also into the same region. It is very well shown in Almería, where in a few kilometers we can find the tropical coast, the desert and the snowed mountain.

In the same way, habitants' personality is influenced by all these factors. Por instance, northern people are believed to be melancholic an reserved, while south's dwellers are said to be upbeat and extrovert.

Similarly, traditional foods have its peculiarity in both areas :on the one hand, heavy meals are common in cold places  (red meat, legumes, fat fishes); on the other hand, in the hottest ones the most appreciated are salads and little warm dishes (paella, gazpacho, and so on).

A TURN OF MIND

The cold rain dripped over Joe's face slithering on his coat; he strode frowning, pale and jaded, concentrated on his miserable existence to the office. As far as work was concerned, he felt stuck in a rut, without hope of promotion; his social life was just as awful as his job, since in his view, most of his friends and colleagues were snob and two-faced people. He was so obsessed with his thoughts that he did not realize that he was crossing the road. Suddenly, he heard a squeal; as he turned a flash blinded his eyes, and after a crash all became dark.

No sooner had Joe woken up than a sweet voice whispered :” Hello, my name is Pam. Thanks God, you are awakening;  you have been on the verge of dying because an accident, but fortunately you are over the worst and you will recover.” She was a gentle, middle aged nurse whose smile lit up the hospital's room.

As days went by Joe got to admire Pam's patience as well as her generosity. Even he dared to tell her :”You are a lively, blissful woman. I suppose you should have a cheerful family and an exciting life; it’s for this reason that you show always so kind.”  Pam's answer was :” I regret to disappoint you; my husband disappeared two years ago, and I have a rebellious, teen son, and a weak, old mother after whom I look. So that I work from dawn to dusk in order to earn a ridiculous salary. However I am lucky of being healthy and strong enough to cope with all my troubles.”

Finally, Joe returned home. It was a warm spring morning; Joe strolled grinning and stirred, self-confident and convinced that neither niceness nor ugliness exist :     " beauty is on the eye of the beholder".