I’ve been chugging along with this vanity project for nearly five years, but now and then, I have to bring the room’s mood down. Sadly, this blog post is one of those times, with the last one being nearly eight weeks ago.

Jane Goodall and Nigel Latta, two people I have admired for years, recently died, so I thought I had better acknowledge them and pay my respects.

From what I understand, Dr Jane Goodall died in her sleep on 1st October, in Los Angeles, California. She was 91 years old. Goodall was famous around the world for various reasons, but mainly for her decades of research on chimpanzee behaviour. I’m likely underselling her, but Goodall was a scientist, author, and advocate for the natural world, including animal rights.

I love animals, especially pets; however, Jane Goodall was one of these people who helped me to understand that if you have a love for animals, why would you eat them? It’s one of the reasons why I have almond milk now, as well as being a semi-vegetarian, which means I eat meat, but only chicken and fish. I don’t eat mammals any more, and one day I’ll go full vegetarian. I’m working on it.

Goodall came to New Zealand, not long ago, where she was on tour. I saw the tickets advertising the event, and I really wanted to go. I’ve admired her work for years, but I couldn’t justify spending a small fortune on tickets, flights, and accommodation, which would only be for me, and not my family.

Because of that, I decided I couldn’t afford to go. I was disappointed about it, but I accepted it. Looking back on it now, I am filled with regret. Goodall spoke about many different things, as she reinforced the notion that if you wanted the world to change, you needed to change first; she was very inspiring.

For my international community, you may not have heard of Nigel Latta, but my New Zealand followers would have. Latta died from cancer on 30th September, aged 58, in Auckland. Now, for those of you not in the know, Latta was an author and broadcaster, but he was also, arguably, the most famous psychologist in the country.

Latta helped people across the community through his books and television shows, to help us better understand ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically, but also our loved ones, and how to pick ourselves up and keep trying.

Understanding why and how people make decisions has helped me, not only in figuring out other people, but also myself, especially as a parent, raising two geeky boys.

I remember I was in Napier on holiday, when I was walking along, and I saw Latta with his family having lunch. By then, he was a household name, and I had really enjoyed his TV shows. An idea suddenly popped into my head that I should go over and say hello and thank him for his work.

I got a few steps towards him when I fully took in the scene. He was spending quality time with his family, so I quickly changed my mind, since I didn’t want to break up that scene for him, so I turned around and kept on walking.

It would have been great to have met him, but I don’t regret my decision. Latta was very relatable with his commentaries and greatly helped so many people.

Both Goodall and Latta, like many others, have influenced my nerdy and geeky life in subtle ways, and I feel extremely lucky to have lived when they did, having heard their various messages of hope and change.

In my usual memorial blog posts, I typically spend more time talking about the person’s achievements and their impact on the world; however, instead of that, I think it would be far better if Jane Goodall and Nigel Latta did it for me. So, because of that, I have collected some of Goodall and Latta’s quotes and messages, as they are a far more fitting tribute than what I could ever come up with.

Jane Goodall

“Young people, when informed and empowered, when they realize that what they do truly makes a difference, can indeed change the world.” 

“Lasting change is a series of compromises. And compromise is alright, as long as your values don’t change.”

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.”

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

“You cannot share your life with a dog, as I had done in Bournemouth, or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings.”

“Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans have been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest, living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment.”

“Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do – like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language – sign language – and they can use the signs. But when you think of our intellects, even the brightest chimp looks like a very small child.”

“I’m always pushing for human responsibility. Given that chimpanzees and many other animals are sentient and sapient, then we should treat them with respect.”

“We can’t leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world’s people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.”

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”

“Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?”

Nigel Latta

“Most of the time life is pretty unfair. Good people get cancer, while bad people live to a ripe old age.”

“I think more of us want fairness. I think more of us want to see that everyone really is afforded the same opportunities.”

“What’s becoming really clear to me as I’m wandering around and looking at all the stuff that I would normally buy…it’s not so much that sugar’s hidden, but it’s kind of hidden in plain sight because it’s in almost everything.“

“We have this illusion that life will go on forever, so the joy gets buried in all the everyday stuff. What we’ve learned is, and I wish I’d done this earlier in my life, connect with the joy earlier. Don’t wait for the catastrophe.”

“We live in a culture that measures our worth based on pounds, dollars, hours clocked at work and social media likes… Rewiring this mindset takes practice. Practice counting the relationships that add meaning to life, your qualities and aspirations, the trials you have overcome, the lessons you have learned.”

“Science is one of the greatest things the human race has going for it. It has given us the things that now make our lives easier, healthier, more interesting, and longer. Yet our policy makers seem to ignore good science when it doesn’t suit.”

“Things like alcohol being a group-one carcinogen, and the sobering fact that 40 per cent of households living in poverty have at least one adult in paid employment. These seem like things we should all just know. But we don’t.”

“There are a lot of people out there who think poor people are lazy, people in prison are all bad buggers, and anyone who wants to make something of themselves can. I hope this series has helped people to see that these things aren’t necessarily true. It’s important for all of us to look after all of us.”

“We are a nation of people who care about each other. Yes, there are divisions, and factions, and cynical opinion-piece writers, and toxic bloggers, but the rest of us really do care. That might seem a little hokey to some people, but it makes me feel better about it all. It confirms what I’ve always believed about us as a people: We might have our moments, but underneath it all there beats a good heart.”

“We’re all busy trying to put food on the table, pay off mortgages, and keep our jobs. Because of that there’s a lot going on that many of us simply don’t pay attention to. Things like supermarkets threatening local councils with expensive legal action if they try to restrict the hours alcohol can be sold. We’re busy trying to get ourselves signed up to free-trade agreements that have huge implications for all of us, and we’re not allowed to know what those implications are.”

All I can do is thank them and continue to implement their ideas into my life. They will be missed.

And that brings the latest entry of New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website to a close. Do you have any thoughts or comments about Jane Goodall or Nigel Latta? As always, please let me know.

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, tell your cat I said “Pspsps”, and I’ll see you next week.

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