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Why are manhole covers round?
The common answer is obvious once you hear it: A circle is the only shape of cover that can't accidentally be dropped into the manhole.
But there's a problem with that answer: It's not true. You can't drop a triangular cover through the hole, either.
So what is the advantage of a circle over a triangle? Even more obvious: You can roll it. Since manhole covers can weigh 150 pounds or more, the ability to roll them is advantage enough, with the added benefit that they can't fall down the hole.
But there is another shape that meets both criteria, which is our latest addition to the Ethical Lexicon:
The Reuleaux Triangle (Reu*leaux tri*an*gle/ ROO-loh TRY-ang-guhl) noun
A curved shape made by rounding out the sides of an equilateral triangle, i.e., a plump triangle with rounded edges.
If you're old enough, you'll remember when Mazda introduced its rotary automobile engine in the 1970s. The spinning rotor that replaced the gasoline piston was a Reuleaux triangle. And although Mazda eventually abandoned the design, the carmaker had good reason for hoping that its innovative model would catch on.
The shape predates the 19th-century German engineer for whom it is named, Franz Reuleaux. Gothic window makers used it in medieval architecture, as did Leonardo da Vinci for map projection. Guitar picks, fire hydrant nuts and drill bits that produce square holes all take the shape of the Reuleaux triangle.
You also find the shape at the center of Venn diagrams, incorporated into the antennae of Hawaii's radio-wave observatory on Mauna Kea and used to make pencils that are more comfortable to hold and won't roll off the table. But what does it have to do with ethics?
If you can recall those Mazda commercials, you might also remember a 1971 animated movie titled "The Point." The young hero, Oblio, finds himself banished from his kingdom for the crime of having a round, rather than a pointed head. What he learns along the way is that "you don't have to have a point to have a point."
In our polarized society, we're increasingly threatened by anyone not exactly like us, often because we can't clearly articulate the point of our own existence, even to ourselves. So we distance ourselves from anyone different, afraid of either being reminded of our own insecurities or eliciting disfavor from our own tribe for fraternizing with the enemy.
But seeking common ground does not mean surrendering our values. The Reuleaux triangle is not a compromise between a triangle and a circle; it's a hybrid, integrating the advantages of each and thereby transcending the sum of its parts.
A well-intentioned fool once approached the saintly Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (d. 1933) to complain about the many different customs found throughout the Jewish community. "Why can't we all observe our tradition in the same way?" he asked.
The rabbi smiled and replied: "Imagine you are the general of an army. An efficiency expert comes to you and says: 'General, look at your troops. They're a mess! You have infantry over here, cavalry over there, artillery on the hill, sailors off the coast. You need to get all your men organized and consistent.'
"You would laugh in this person's face," the rabbi continued. "An army needs different types of soldiers to operate in different types of terrain and respond to different situations. It is the differences that make any operational system stronger."
In a healthy, differentiated society, radicals on the left and reactionaries on the right find no standing. A culture of mutual respect creates a self-correcting system that disenfranchises extremists and disempowers their corrosive rhetoric.
There will always be those who exploit diversity by attacking outsiders for being too extreme and crucifying insiders for not being extreme enough. But they can only control the narrative if the rational majority remain silent.
A functional pluralistic society works to maintain -- or restore -- balance and harmony in words, ideas and all interpersonal exchanges. When we take from the best of the right and the best of the left, we can channel our passions in a way that builds up our world rather than seeking to tear it apart.
Rabbi Yonason Goldson graduated from the University of California at Davis with a degree in English, which he put to good use by setting off hitchhiking cross-country and backpacking across Europe. He eventually arrived in Israel where he connected with his Jewish roots and spent the next nine years studying Torah, completing his rabbinic training as part of Ohr Somayach's first ordination program. After teaching yeshiva high school for 23 years in Budapest, Hungary, Atlanta, Georgia, and St. Louis, Missouri, Rabbi Goldson established himself as a professional speaker and advisor, working with business leaders to create a company culture built on ethics and trust. He has published seven books and given two TEDx Talks, is an award-winning host of two podcasts, and writes a weekly column for Fast Company Magazine. He also serves as scholar-in-residence for congregations around the country.
Previously:
• The real-world tragedy of Inexcusable Educational Malpractice
• Why do the willfully ignorant mutate into the most intransigent ideologues?
• More Dangerous than FOMO: The Fear of Not Being Missed
• Eyes wide shut
• Increase performance by turning into the wind
• Balancing the Equation of Intentions vs. Outcomes
• To be Human is to be Exceptional
• If You Get Where You're Going, You've Taken the Wrong Road
• Think Twice Before You Take Advice
• Taking intellectual humility seriously
• What are we?
• Are we Pillaging our own Moral Depository?
• Why Sharp Tongues Lose the War of Words
• Good Intentions Never Prevail Over Cold Reality
• Sarcastic Wit Carries Too High a Cost
• Character, not as a bank account. Rather, an investment portfolio
• Are We Programming Ourselves Out of Existence?
• The bigger they come, the harder we try to make them fall
• How to Transform Fallacies Into Actionable Reality
• How to make life worth living --- no, REALLY!
• What Do Opposites Attract? Truth and Wisdom
• Groucho Marx and Embracing Tension
• Toward a more civil civilization
• Break Down Barriers of Thought to Build Towers of Innovation
• 'Tis the Season for Reflecting Beyond your Reflection
• Why Antisemitism Is Not Just a Jewish Problem
• The rank stupidity of 'Just let it go'
• To create a functioning, biblically-based civilization
• The difference between optimism and hope
• The Next Piece of the Puzzle Might Fill the Hole in Your Heart
• Self-Esteem Isn't Given -- It's Earned
• Remember the Past to Promote a Successful Future
• Are We Making Failure the Price of Success?
• Demoralization Is More About Culture than Feelings
• The Lesson We're Missing From the Death of Charlie Kirk
• Invest in Your Own Success by Building Up Others
• The Most Valiant Heroes Fight on a Different Battlefield
• How Pundits Came to Give Punditry a Bad Name
• The Wisdom of Knowing What You Don't Know
• Success Thrives in the Light of Purpose and Passion
• When Seeking Peace, Don't Release the Dogs of War
• Greta Thunberg Sails Toward Moral Hypocrisy
• Checking More Boxes Is Not the Solution
• Why Sometimes NOT Seeing Is MORE Believing
• A Healthy Diet for the Brain Promotes Ethical Clarity for the Mind
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