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          In Thursday's group discussion with Professor Dalke, we continued to discuss how the person telling the story is reflected within the text, and therefore there is no such thing as "the view from nowhere". That is, the "self" that Zadie Smith talked about in "Fail Better" is as apparent in nonfiction as it is in fiction. 
       I found myself continually thinking about this while reading chapters 4-8. A reason why we can never find "truth" is because we can never be told the truth; we have no perfect way of expressing genuine information. Mayr's words are his own, and his intentions are completely evident, and while his story is obviously opinionated, to a degree all stories are. In this way, we can never arrive at a complete story. There are differences in the way that each individual sees things and reports information, from the way that we view material in class to completing a police report. Therefore, variations exist as much in nature as they do in literature, and furthermore, in all aspects of human observation. 
         Even our own observations are as variable as hearing about those observations from others. I find this whole concept very frustrating. I suppose, as much as I don't want to admit it, I do want to know the "truth", and this view of never reaching it seems completely cynical.