Peter Rhodes on first-world problems, pricey plinths and an infinite challenge for monkeys
Dictionary compilers struggle to define the term “first-world problems,” but here's as good a definition as any: “A usually minor or trivial problem or annoyance experienced by people in relatively affluent or privileged circumstances.”
As for a living, breathing example of a first-world problem, look no further than the Great Aga Plinth Catastrophe. Beneath large headlines, the Daily Telegraph reports the “costly and arduous task” faced by Aga owners planning to replace their old oven, standing on a concrete plinth, with a new one (prices £5,000 to £15,000). The new ones, being built to different dimensions, do not require a plinth. Some owners have paid about £350 to have their plinths removed, others are reportedly “having to put in a whole new kitchen.” Yup, if you're going to have a problem in life, this is definitely the sort to have.
Talking of privilege, teachers taking school trips to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool are being advised to “acknowledge your own lack of lived experience and limited perspective (especially if you come from a white privileged background).” I shudder at the term “white privilege” with its implication that all white people enjoy advantages at the expense of other ethnic groups. In some settings - a multicultural school classroom, for example - talk of white privilege can surely breed suspicion and envy and drive a wedge between white kids and the rest. There is a grave danger, in the process of understanding our yesterdays, of making things worse today.
