Geoff W. Sutton Blog

Are You Happy Yet?  UP and DOWN metaphors It’s common knowledge that news sources thrive on negative news. Afterall, we are hardwired to respond to threats as a matter of survival. Unfortunately, a torrent of bad news can produce sadness or even depression. Depression as a word fits the up-down metaphor as if our brains had a vertical structure for moods where up is good and down is bad. In banter with my cousin Stan (RIP) his response to “how are ya” was “still above ground.” On leaving, I’d say “I’m going underground” as he delivered me to my London tube station. Religious folks use up and down metaphors for heaven and hell, which I always thought was funny for those DOWN under (Aussies). When things are DOWN, we often characterize them as LOWER, CUT, NOT WORKING, BROKEN, AT THE BOTTOM, and ON THE GROUND. When people in important positions leave, they STEPDOWN. And naysayers warn the arrogant that they should watch out for a FALL. If you consume news, check out the DOWNPOUR in re...

George Washington Out of Context, 2025 Geoffrey Sutton and Artspace.ai How Do You Interpret the News? How Do We Put Today's News in Context? When asked what something means, we usually respond based on our context, which involves an interaction between ourselves, other people, and our location. By location I mean our geographic place and our historical timeframe. For example, the words ‘Civil War’ evoke different associations if heard in England or the USA, or through media from different nations. These two events occurred some 200 years apart. There is a connection. President George Washington’s great-grandfather John Washington was a royalist who supported King Charles I against Parliament. Thus, context is not just about spatial location but also time. President Washington and the Continental Congress likely considered the issues of the Civil War (the English one). When significant changes occur in a nation, as reported in the news today, we try to put them into context. Unfortu...