Illustration by Ming Lin.

We were looking at birds the other day when my daughter asked me, “Why are you less excited to see a sparrow than a goldfinch?”

“Well, sparrows are fairly common—you see them every day in Montreal. Goldfinches are more rare.”

“But sparrows are pretty birds, too.”

“They are, I agree.”

“If sparrows were rare, you would find them more beautiful.”

“No doubt I would.”

“Sparrows are brownish, and goldfinches are yellowish…”

“Yes…”

“But there’s no reason yellow is a more interesting colour than brown.”

“For sure. Except I see brown birds all the time.”

“It’s like rarity creates a hierarchy? A scale of values?”

“Yeah, in a way.”

“That’s not fair.”

“You’re right. It’s not fair. And it’s not that a goldfinch is worth more than a sparrow. But it may interest me more.”

Art knows no justice. It ...