Big Jerossell's anecdote about brown hats

The Great Philosopher Russell had academic and some personal contacts with bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), the famous anthropologist who founded the "context theory". In November 1930, there were two correspondences between the two masters about brown hats that made people feel interesting and naturally associated with and pondered the possible scenes and cultural "contexts" of the time.

Malinowski's letter is as follows:

<b>Dear Russell:</b>

<b>On the occasion of my visit to your school, I left my only decent brown hat in your suite. I wondered whether it had the privilege of covering england's only brain since then, and I humbly thought that this brain was better than mine; or whether it had been used in some adolescent experiments with physics, technology, art, or prehistoric symbolism; or whether it had disappeared from the suite. If none of this happens, or if none of these assumptions happen, can you ship it to London in a brown paper bag or some other stowage and tell me on a postcard where I can retrieve it? I'm sorry for my carelessness, which is characteristic of high intelligence, but also exposes you to all these occasional inconveniences. </b>

<b>Your sincere Malinovsky</b>

Russell's reply is as follows:

<b>Dear Malinovsky</b>

<b>My secretary had found a nice brown hat in the hotel lobby, and I guess it was yours, and indeed, seeing it reminded me of you. On Monday (17th) I was on my way to the Faculty of Economics to give a lecture to the Student Council, and unless I have a bad memory and my wisdom is as good as yours, I will entrust your hat to the concierge of the Faculty of Economics and ask him to pass it on to you at your request. </b>

<b>Your sincere Bettelheim</b> <b>Russell</b> (quoted from Bertrand Russell: Autobiography, Routledge, p.414.)

Interestingly, without knowing the context of the situation at the time, it may not be easy for the reader to understand the full meaning of these two letters, such as Malinowski's "only brain in England", "this brain is better than my brain", "this is a characteristic of high intelligence", and Russell's statement that "my wisdom is as good as yours".

However, I suspect that these two masters must have consulted on other occasions on the question of context. One thing is certain, Russell was influenced by Malinowski to some extent. For example, Russell once claimed that in matriarchal societies, women "have the same freedom of debauchery as men," and this claim comes from Malinowski's writings. (Quoted from Rosalind Carey and John Ongley. 2009.Historical Dictionary of Bertrand Russell's Philosophy, Scarecrow Press, p111. <b>）</b>

<b>Originally published in Ding Zijiang, "Russell and Chinese Culture: A Direct Dialogue between Eastern and Western Thought", Peking University Press,</b> <b>March 2015</b>