Towards the beginning of every year in my World Religions Class at the U of W, I have the students engage in an exercise. I bring an inanimate object into Class and “hide it” under the lectern so that the students can not see it. I then ask for a volunteer to come and look at the object (even touch it), but to leave it hidden from the Class. The volunteer is instructed to try and describe the object to his/her classmates until the Class “knows” and/or identifies the object. In all the years that I have done this, no Class has ever identified the object. Sorry, not even close enough to SMELL the cigar… Read More...