Participants: Kenzie Neiderer, Haley Myers, David MacMullen
Leader: Makaya Medycki did not show
In this discussion group we responded to the prompt of what could change an experience for someone based on Percy’s The Loss of the Creature. Percy uses the example of the Grand Canyon to explain that seeing a landmark is the best for the first person who sees it. For those who see postcards and tourist books of a landmark, form a preconceived idea of what it will look like, therefore not making it a good experience when they see it for the first time. Having background information on the place will make you create a preformed opinion in your head of the place you are going to see. He also says that the experience is the best for the first person who discovered the Canyon because they did not go with a tourist guide, where you can only take a certain path. The first person to discover a place can go off the beaten track and get the most out of the experience. The location of where you live also affects your experience of seeing a landmark, because if you see something everyday, it will not be as great as someone who sees it for the first time. Percy also stresses that the problem with seeing is not other people or the world, the problem is inside the seers mind.
