Reading 1 By Veronica Kittle (04/21/13 19:52:19)
The Man who talks to Whales
Ch.1
An interesting point brought up by the author in the first chapter was the idea of anthropomorphism. It’s describes the act of applying human characteristics to animals, such as the ability to walk upright, think human thoughts, and speak human languages. He gave the example of Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, who is given all three of those abilities. Another point that stood out in this chapter was the introduction of the idea of natural wisdom. He claims that nature is too unsystematic to be completely entrusted by scientists, and that we should instead embrace “natural wisdom” which is based off of the interconnectedness of species. Science attempts to quantify and categorize nature so that we may better understand it. I’m not entirely sure what he expects to replace the scientific process other than the feeling of bonding with other species. He had a meaningful “collaboration” with a turkey in which the turkey produced gobbling noises while he played a flute. While he went on to produce a popular song incorporating the turkey’s noises, I’m not sure that we learned anything from this encounter about turkeys that could not be understood from science. At least with science, facts are repeatedly tested by isolating variables to understand exactly how and why an animal behaves the way it does.
Ch. 4
In chapter four, the author discusses the idea of interspecies protocol. This describes the relations between individuals, such as when two individuals of the same or different species come to some understanding between the two of them that allows them to coexist. This is distinct from symbiosis, which describes a mutually beneficial interaction between entire species. Symbiosis is the result of coevolution, in which two species evolve such that their interaction benefits both species. Symbiosis is what occurs between clownfish and anenomes. The author suggests that interspecies protocol could be occurring between some individual clownfish and anenomes. While it is not impossible, I highly doubt that the anemone, which has no centralized nervous system, could produce thoughts about a fish.
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