Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Lately I’ve been pondering the difference between ‘strange’ and ‘unfamiliar’. In our hasty world, I suspect we label anything we’re not familiar with as strange when it probably isn’t so.  The more likely assumption is that the person, place, thing, or idea simply hasn’t come across our radar before.  We don’t know what to think, so we think it’s strange.

Is the label ‘strange’ counterproductive?  Well, what if I tell you I saw a strange thing in downtown St. Joe today; would that already bias your understanding of what I saw?  I think so.

Perhaps I should say it was strange to me or it was a new experience or simply that I saw something for the first time. Would you have a different opinion of what I was about to say?

Something to think about.