The Downfall of Condorcet

The well known story about the capture of the Marquis de Condorcet during the French Revolution is one of my favourites. Condorcet enters an inn to eat. The waiter asks him his order, to which Condorcet responds that he would like an omelette. The waiter asks how many eggs, to which Condorcet replies "a dozen". The waiter then asks him his trade. "Carpenter". But only the aristocracy would order a 12 egg omelette. The downfall of the Marquis de Condorcet.

Terrapins want more.

Yesterday I went for a walk near my home, taking a route never taken before (certainly not by me). I saw a reptile shop and an aquatics shop next to each other, and decided to have a look in the latter. Though the fish were beautiful, overall it was a sad experience. So little space for so many fish. I was particularly saddened to see the musk turtles, who had little room for manoeuvre, as did the small terrapins. I put my finger up to the glass tank and moved it along from left to right and back again. One of the terrapins followed my finger, trying to bite at it when I stopped moving. Then another joined in. I soon stopped this, feeling that I was exploiting these little creatures. But it did prove one thing - that the terrapins are looking for more in life than what this tank offers.