Then, I made a trip to Barnes & Noble, because where else does a lost nerd go but to a place filled with information. I went there to pick up a bullet journal, but of course, left with a new book on the Silk Road. It's titled The Silk Road: A New History -- link takes you to B&N (I do not have sponsors; I get no personal gain from recommendations).
Normally, this would be an entirely unremarkable event. When I go to book stores, I typically scour their Asian history section/subsection to see what they have within my research wheelhouse. I have a decent digital archive, but I like actual books on real paper. I'm a highlighter and margin note taker. I can print out what I have digitally, but it's easier if it comes printed.
This time, though, it's caused a big shift. But first, a little background.
In my real life, I work in supply chain. I'm one of the many people who ensure that the products you want from a specific retailer is available for purchase in your area. Shipping, lead time, demand and vendor of origin are all concepts and challenges I contend with on a daily basis for our modern infrastructure. I love the intricacies of how products get from here to there -- manufacturer to end customer. It's one of my main draws to the Silk Routes -- studying how all these goods and peoples changed each other over time.
This book, though "study" could be as easily applicable a word, looks at it from the angle of my current job. The author looks at what moved along the Silk Roads in central and eastern Asia -- through sifting the old refuse pits for goods, wares and manifests.
It all unlocked at that point, for me. A specific focus on a specific hypothetical person is the wrong kind of narrow for me -- unfolding the character isn't what speaks to me. What I love are the things that make his environment: what language or languages did he speak - what did they sound like and how did they operate grammatically; what stuff would he consider normal and where did it come from; who would he had bought it from; what would be exotic and interesting but not entire abnormal?
I've decided a change in focus would do me good, at least for now. I'm going to dive into the operations of the Silk Routes and related trading routes. How did they work? How did folks typically travel before selling a good? What impact does political stability have on those distances?
I've already uncovered some clues -- the author of the book which kicked this off contends most traders traveled pretty exclusively between 2 to 3 cities (i.e. buy X, sell Y in New York; buy Y and sell X in Philadelphia). I want to see what other people who study this have seen to see if this is a prevalent or niche idea.
I'm gripped and fascinated in a way I haven't been for a while. This is a good sign to me, so I'm going to follow the road to see where it takes me.
This time, though, it's caused a big shift. But first, a little background.
In my real life, I work in supply chain. I'm one of the many people who ensure that the products you want from a specific retailer is available for purchase in your area. Shipping, lead time, demand and vendor of origin are all concepts and challenges I contend with on a daily basis for our modern infrastructure. I love the intricacies of how products get from here to there -- manufacturer to end customer. It's one of my main draws to the Silk Routes -- studying how all these goods and peoples changed each other over time.
This book, though "study" could be as easily applicable a word, looks at it from the angle of my current job. The author looks at what moved along the Silk Roads in central and eastern Asia -- through sifting the old refuse pits for goods, wares and manifests.
It all unlocked at that point, for me. A specific focus on a specific hypothetical person is the wrong kind of narrow for me -- unfolding the character isn't what speaks to me. What I love are the things that make his environment: what language or languages did he speak - what did they sound like and how did they operate grammatically; what stuff would he consider normal and where did it come from; who would he had bought it from; what would be exotic and interesting but not entire abnormal?
I've decided a change in focus would do me good, at least for now. I'm going to dive into the operations of the Silk Routes and related trading routes. How did they work? How did folks typically travel before selling a good? What impact does political stability have on those distances?
I've already uncovered some clues -- the author of the book which kicked this off contends most traders traveled pretty exclusively between 2 to 3 cities (i.e. buy X, sell Y in New York; buy Y and sell X in Philadelphia). I want to see what other people who study this have seen to see if this is a prevalent or niche idea.
I'm gripped and fascinated in a way I haven't been for a while. This is a good sign to me, so I'm going to follow the road to see where it takes me.
