It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.
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Man always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.
- Douglas Noel Adams
Dolphins, such as this individual caught and used by the US Navy, could be granted personhood rights that protect them from such abuse. Image: United Press InternationalIn Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy it turned out that dolphins were super…
Where I grew up, lakes were important. We would spend considerable time driving to them, and once there, camp next to them for a couple of weeks. Every now and then we'd go and camp next to the really really big lake. The one with England on the other side, or so my brother would tell me. All…
Geoffrey Pearce sent me this argument he uses with creationists, and I thought others might find it useful, too.
I am regularly approached by young Earth creationists (yes, even in the bedlam of sin that is Montreal...) both on the street and at home. If I have the time I try to engage them on the…
That cartoon reminds me of one of the more disturbing manuscripts ever to cross my desk, by a man who had a real thing for dolphins, with graphic descriptions of how he consummated his, uh, relationships, with the dolphins. Apparently intelligence is not their only endowment by nature. As far as I know, the book never got published.
So long and thanks for all the fish!
Miss Sheril,
A couple of key points -
1) Douglas Adams is really one of the 20th Century's best philosophers. He should eb required reading.
2) As you well know cats would probably wrestle dolphins any day for the title of most intelligent life on Earth. After all, they enmass significant staff resources (consisting of willing humans) to care for their every whim - and we do it fo rthe mere price of a purr. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Actually Mister Philip, your consideration more makes me wonder why you aren't blogging...