Comments on: Another forgotten book title.

Question: Another forgotten book title.

mudpuppie — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 14:44:28 -0800

Help me remember the name of a book about walking...

I heard the author interviewed on NPR in 1997 or 1998, I think. I think he was a professor (and I want to say he was from Harvard or another Boston-area school).

He wrote about how we don't pay attention when we walk. The one tidbit I remember is that he went for a stroll and consciously tried to notice things around him, and one thing he observed is that every telephone/light/utility pole in the country is labeled with its own unique number.

I want to read this book. Anyone know what it is?

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:00:19 -0800

Sounds also like a posted MetaFilter thread.

By: silusGROK

silusGROK — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:21:10 -0800

I haven't read it yet (it's in my wish list, though)... but your request made me think of The Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe, by Chet Raymo.

Hope you find it... sounds like a great read!

(Aside: and speaking of utility pole numbers... I guess the folks over at Marginal Revolution are right: there _is_ a market for everything!)

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:27:59 -0800

silusGROK -- that sounds like a good one, but I don't think that's it.

By: silusGROK

silusGROK — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:29:41 -0800

Sorry, mate... it was worth a try! Someone here is bound to know it, though!

By: hwickline

hwickline — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:10:42 -0800

I remember seeing the same (or similar) piece on tv- I think the person you're looking for is Harvard Professor John Stilgoe, whose classes involve walking around Cambridge paying close attention to the "built environment." His book is called Outside Lies Magic (amazon) . Hope this helps.

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:29:21 -0800

Bingo! Thanks so much, hwickline.