She found the first panel that had no dialogue at all, and an early image of Snoopy, laughing hilariously at a stupid human trick.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841 The human trick in this century is to foster practices and policies that result in us FALLING FORWARD without falling down.
From showcasing the spoils of empire to smoothing our current trade relations, zoos have continued the age-old human trick of resolving the social order through the abjection of an animal.
Letterman, born in Indiana but implanted in New York, was edgier and zanier, inventor of such routines as the Stupid Pet Trick and the Stupid Human Trick (sample: a girl who played violin on a pogo stick).
(Did I mention how ticked off monkeys get if they find out they're getting cucumbers while somebody in the next cage has a grape?) The real human trick is to get past the quid pro quo and try to focus on the common good.
The whole human trick of culture depends on this very fine balance of innovation and imitation.
