The Tulip Break

I'm reading a book, The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, he is also the author of the The Omnivores Dilemma, another book I've referenced in previous posts.

The chapter I'm reading is all about the Tulip frenzy of the 1600's in Holland. A few things I noted are of particular interest, and relate to beauty.

The picture you see is of a "broken tulip." Most tulips are pure colors of yellow, red, purple, white and even black. When partial colors started to appear like brushstrokes of flamed hues, the European frenzy called, Tulipmania occured.

What they didn't know way back then, was that the cause of this color break was a virus spread by the peach potato aphid. Prior to this, Dutch farmers tried many different techniques to cause breaks to happen. Gardeners sprinkled colored paint on the base of the flower, others sprinkled plaster dust. Anyone who happened to grow a broken tulip was rewarded for their efforts.

One reason for the frenzy is because of how the broken tulip was viewed. "Beauty always takes place in the particular," writes Elaine Scarry, "and if there are no particulars, the chances of seeing it [beauty] go down." It's like when you go to the tulip fields and see a blanket of red tulips with one yellow tulip beckoning to be noticed. Beauty in the particular.

Isn't it interesting that the virus which caused the break, garnered more followers who planted more flowers, thus spreading the virus that would eventually kill the species? Is there something to learn from this now?

How about the way we eat? The way we tan our bodies? Our lack of exercise? I'm not preaching to you...I love Red Robin french fries, Snickerdoodles, Sugar cookies, laying out in the sun, oh and pizza...but I do want to make better choices about these things. A chocolate truffle looks so beautiful with its swirls of milky cocoa and yummy flavors, but am I supposed to eat them en masse while reading?

So, I am going to notice beauty in the particular, then take a closer look at the long-term benefits, or lack of benefits, and maybe just eat one tuffle...maybe two.