Something about that is incredibly interesting to me. And for some reason it makes me sad:
You cannot fully understand even a city. It takes too much time -- as soon as you understand one piece, the other pieces have changed.
Cities are small, in the grand scheme of things. When it comes to larger things-- states, nations, planets, there's no way you could ever fully understand them. All you can get is a tiny, ephemeral snapshot, stuck in time.
It's humbling to think about, and I don't really know why it makes me sad.
This comment reminds me of a book by Italo Calvino. Probably my favorite of his. It's a collection of stories told by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan about cities in his domain. Somewhat fantastical, but strikes deep to the heart to transitory nature of cities and perception itself.
A few dazzling lines on wanderlust from Invisible Cities:
... Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches. ...
And Marco's answer to that: "Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveler recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have."
Likewise, you can't fully understand yourself, your friends, family or partner. As with the city, you gain what understanding you can from your experience with them.
A related thought is what an unfathomable amount of information is being created all the time. For instance just on YouTube 300 hours of video are now uploaded every minute. Even if all you did was consume 24/7, you can never catch up and will always be falling hopelessly behind.
The dynamism of cities is one of their primary draws.
Most people don't want to live in an environment they fully understand. They want to live in one that is constantly developing, progressing, and providing fresh stimuli.
You cannot fully understand even a city. It takes too much time -- as soon as you understand one piece, the other pieces have changed.
Cities are small, in the grand scheme of things. When it comes to larger things-- states, nations, planets, there's no way you could ever fully understand them. All you can get is a tiny, ephemeral snapshot, stuck in time.
It's humbling to think about, and I don't really know why it makes me sad.