Here I use the word shit symbolically, a perfectly legitimate one in the English language, rather than as the vulgar form of fecal matter or to defecate. It is versatile enough to capture the flavour of lives lived at the deepest end of the socio-economic valley. The joke where an optimist says we will all soon be eating shit only to get the pessimist’s response that there won’t be enough to go around nicely, if somewhat loutishly, demonstrates how framing can alter how we view this particular form of bodily effluvia: From a waste product to a foodstuff that becomes desirable when there is not enough of it. I’m of course stretching what is basically low humour into convenient metaphor, but if it conveys how framing can change perspective then it has been a useful exercise.  Continue reading Making Shit Look Good: It’s all about Framing →