Do butterflies remember when they were caterpillars?

Well, we humans do. As a kid you have no idea of the real meaning of male and female, and you may store up memories that need reanalysis in adulthood. I remember thinking that the words “boy” and “girl” simply marked genders, like a girl cat or a boy dog. I remember asking my parents, who said no, the words aren’t used like that.

A song on the radio yesterday brought back another one of these memories from across the metamorphosis. As a kid I loved Harry Belafonte’s record with the line “I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.” I remember thinking, how sad, that’s probably his daughter.

[15 April 2025]

Often at a meal among academics I marvel that we are 6, 7, or even 8 people all born in different countries. I don’t think I’ve ever reached 10 or more.

Here’s a variant of the same game, and surely my best score for a lifetime. I’m at a conference this week with 38 participants, and they all have different first names! I feel I’ve won the lottery.

Akil, Anil, Annan, Astrid, Barbara,
Cade, Chris, Daan, Dan, Evan,
Grady, Heather, Heike, Karl, Kaitlynn,
Keaton, Kyle, Levent, Lihong, Lucas,
Mark, Mike, Nick, Petar, Sam,
Sean, Simon, Serkan, Stefano, Steffen,
Tatyana, Tobi, Toby, Tony, Victor,
Vladimir, Yuji, Zoran

[10 April 2025]