What You'll Learn:
Almost three-quarters of our planet’s surface is water. Forty percent of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of a coastline. Water is a universal human experience and we seem to be drawn to it despite the many inherent risks and dangers. Beyond mere survival value, the element that can manifest as floods and tsunamis, that houses sharks and yet-unknown creatures in its depths, is also a place of play. Bonnie Tsui travels the world to unfurl some of the paradoxes of our love-hate relationship with water.
Key Insights:
- Swimming well is a matter of life and death in some occupations.
- Swimming is almost a religious experience for some—a source of physical and mental restoration.
- Amidst democratizing efforts in Baghdad, a small, informal United Nations spontaneously emerged at Saddam Hussein’s palace swimming pools.
- There are water-based schools of martial arts, as well as land-based schools.
- Water will always draw us—whatever the dangers it poses.