297. Desire Paths

<p>Desire paths are trails left on the ground, by anything that frequently travels along a route. There are subcultures fascinated by desire paths as symbols of collective wisdom, disregard for authority, or mere evidence of existence. Desire paths are also celebrated as a design technique. Desire paths in their pure form are about what you <em>can</em> see, but the characteristics of desire paths – which you <em>can’t</em> always see – can help you optimize your life and gain clarity in your creative projects.</p> <h3><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --></h3> <h3>Desire path examples</h3> <h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --></h3> <p>Desire paths are also known by a number of other names: cattle trails, cow paths, elephant paths, just to name a few. In forests or grassy meadows, it seems pretentious to call them desire paths – they’re just paths.</p> <h3><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --></h3> <h4>Desire paths that question authority</h4> <h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --></h3> <p>Desire paths are most interesting when they show up in places where a man-made path has already been put in place. A sidewalk turns a corner at a ninety-degree angle, but as people cut the corner, a desire path develops at forty-five degrees.</p> <p>An overgrown hedge encroaches on a sidewalk. To avoid squeezing between the hedge and a tree, people walk off the sidewalk and around the tree, and a desire path develops.</p> <p>A landscape architect tries to get fancy by building a curved path, but people instead take a straight path, and a desire path cuts through the grass.</p> <p>These desire paths that eschew the suggestions of man-made paths are like visual jokes that show a disregard for authority.</p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --></p> <h4>Desire paths that acknowledge existence</h4> <p><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p>But some desire paths acknowledge the existence of a single being. A dog l