Filko: A ‘BGO’ can be enlightening
0
11
One of this column’s favorite acronyms is “BGO,” a Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious. In my own usage, it refers to those times when I encounter a surprisingly simple idea or statement that makes me stop in my tracks and say to myself, “Of course!” Often, it’s about something that I had missed entirely, and at other times it’s the key to understanding something that has puzzled me for a long time. In a column written a few years ago, I described the clarity I enjoyed after puzzling for a long time about why we think certain things, such as sunsets, are beautiful. I had been asked that question by one of the guidance counselors where I had been teaching, and I could not come up with an answer....