BOC#018 Box of Chocolates

Patagonian Giants, Windows, Hoi Polloi, and Les Brown

May 05, 2025

4 MINUTE MUNCH

WHEN PORTUGUESE EXPLORER FERDINAND MAGELLAN VISITED PATAGONIA IN 1520…

…his chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, wrote of giants occupying the southernmost region of the South American continent. Due to the supposed large footprints of the Patagonian natives they came across, Magellan referred to them as ‘Patagones,’ which came to mean ‘land of big feet.’ The words actual origins are still up for debate, but it is thought to derive from the word ‘Pata’ meaning ‘foot,’ or ‘paw’ in Spanish and Portuguese. If it wasn’t obvious enough that Magellan’s chronicler had indeed exaggerated the extraordinary size of the people they encountered, English explorer Francis Drake later described them as having been taller than average, but ‘nothing so monstrous, or giantlike as they were reported.’ Magellan went on to lead the first expedition around the southern tip of South America, thus discovering the maritime passage that linked the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, aptly named the Strait of Magellan. The route remained of importance until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.

WE ALL HAVE A PSYCHOLOGICAL ‘BLINDSPOT’ AS DESCRIBED BY THE JOHARI WINDOW…

…an idea named after U.S psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham (a combination of their first names Jo-Har). Think of a two-by-two window in which one quadrant represents all the things you know about yourself, that others also know about you - known as the ‘open area.’ A second quadrant, the ‘hidden area,’ represents the things you know about yourself, but keep private. A third, or ‘unknown’ quadrant captures the things that nobody knows about you, including yourself (i.e. a hidden talent yet to be discovered). The final and most important quadrant associated with this idea, however, is the ‘blind spot’ which captures the things that your peers know about you, that you're yet to discover about yourself (i.e. you interrupt often, blink a lot, or make people feel nervous). The point of this thought experiment is to help with self-awareness by closing the gap between self-perception, and the realities that other people observe. Much of what we think about other people’s views of us depends on guesswork, meaning we’re often very wrong. The model encourages us to decrease the size of our ‘blind spot’ through honest self-assessment and feedback, often by expanding our ‘open area’ making people feel more at ease with offering constructive criticism.

WINDOW #2 : THE OVERTON WINDOW…

…is a kinetic model of idea acceptance and policy change. Ideas that fall inside the ever shifting window are considered to be publicly safe, and may be readily accepted by a population, also known as public discourse. Ideas outside of the window, however, are considered too risky for public acceptance at a given time. The window of acceptable ideas may be manipulated and shifted over time by way of media influence, entertainment, think tanks, and historical events. The window may shift away from government control in favour of reduced regulation, or towards government control and increased regulation. Politicians are highly skilled at detecting the Overton Window, helping them gauge future policy.

PASSAGE FROM YOU’VE GOT TO BE HUNGRY BY LES BROWN*…

“Imagine this: You’re on your deathbed and standing around your bed are the ghosts of the dreams and ideas given to you throughout life. Imagine that, for whatever reason, you never pursued those dreams. You never acted on those ideas. You never used those gifts. Imagine they all are standing around your bed with large, angry eyes looking at you, saying, “We came to you and only you could have given us life and now we must die with you forever!” The question is: If you died today—what dreams, what ideas, what gifts, what inventions, what innovation, what voice, what story would die with you?”

ON THIS DAY: 5th MAY:

…In 1994, Tony Blair won the British general election for a third term, while in 1921 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel launched her first perfume, Chanel No.5. One-hundred years earlier in 1821, at the young age of 51, Bonaparte Napoleon died while in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena.

On the 5th of May 1980, the SAS stormed the Iranian embassy in London bringing an end to the six-day siege which saw 26 people held captive by six Arabistan revolutionaries. While images of four SAS soldiers entering the Kensington building via a flaming balcony window remains a powerful reminder of the days events, it took a sixty-man team to secure the building. Two hostages were killed by the assailants, and a third died during the rescue.

WORD OF THE WEEK: HOI POLLOI

While the Greek term has been thought to refer to ‘the elite’ it in fact refers to ‘the masses’ or ‘common populace,’ and is often used in a snobbish or derogatory way to imply the inferiority of the masses relative to the elite. As ‘hoi’ means ‘the’ in Greek, it is technically incorrect to say ‘the hoi polloi’ which translates as ‘the the masses.’ Nevertheless, ‘the hoi polloi’ will suffice.

”THE WEALTHIEST PLACE ON THE PLANET…

…is not in the Far East where there is oil in the ground. It’s not South Africa where there are diamond mines. The wealthiest place on the planet is the cemetery. For there you will find leaders who have never stepped up, innovations the world has never been exposed to, talent and potential never realized.” - Dr Myles Munroe

Missed last week? Read Here.

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