Wednesday, February 3, 2010

So You Think You're Smart

Maybe the single most destructive thing to happen to the earth and its inhabitants is the Judeo-Christian-Muslim concept that man alone is blessed by God and the world and all of its creatures were created for us to do with and use as we will (followed closely by "Go Forth and Multiply.")

Centuries of collective knowledge and technical achievements has created an arrogance so comprehensive that most people have no clue as to the importance of the ecosystem to our own survival, and worse, has created an immoral apathy towards the fate of our fellow travelers on This Island Earth that is the farthest thing from any written word of God's intentions.

A couple of insights into the beauty and intelligence of Mother Nature.



Found at the NY Times:

A honeybee brain has a million neurons, compared with the 100 billion in a human brain. But, researchers report, bees can recognize faces, and they even do it the same way we do.

BUZZING The path of a bee as it learned the configuration of a human face. Researchers found that bees could also distinguish one face from another


Bees and humans both use a technique called configural processing, piecing together the components of a face — eyes, ears, nose and mouth — to form a recognizable pattern, a team of researchers report in the Feb. 15 issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology.

19 comments:

  1. Dominant cultures have always treated the ground around them as if it were of no consequence to destroy it. Now that the virus has gone global and the consequences of inaction are being felt by everyone we act. Too late for the most part.

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  2. I knew those damn bees were out to get me! Can squirrels do the same? No need to answer, I know the bastards can; they've been after me for years.

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  3. I'm fascinated by neural networks (geek, fair enough), but I reckon I'm better at recognising faces than bees any day. As for recognising bee faces, well I'm shafted, they all look the same to me.

    To be fair regarding the Judeo-Christian-Muslim thing, God did create A&E and ask them to 'care for' the garden and (I assume) the planet, so it's more of a fallen-man thing I guess.

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  4. I knew there must be a reason I adore honey bees so much! They are lovely creatures.

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  5. WM... I'm afraid you're right.
    Joshua... I know you're right. Ever see the movie Ben?
    Mo... I omitted the title of the newspaper article, which was... "Have you every slapped a bee? Beware, Bees never forget a face. As to A&E, the Devil made me do it.
    Dex... I'm with you unless, of course, they're killer bees, then... I'll just keep my distance, thank you.

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  6. That's very interesting - I learned a few things today!

    Kitty x

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  7. It's a shame bees can't hold pencils. They'd be great at doing police mugshots....

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  8. Great video, I didn't know dolphins could do that, they sure look happy.

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  9. I remember reading an article presenting evidence that bees were capable of perception on the quantum scale. It wasn't substantiated well enough to be considered proof, I don't think, but well enough that it shouldn't have been dismissed as readily as it had been by the scientific community.

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  10. Ok, a couple of things:
    1) When did fish begin to hunt fish and not fish for fish?
    2) When my brother says he is goin' hunting, can I expect fish for supper?
    3) Would the Fish and Game Commission call this hunting over a baited field?
    4) Could this possibilty be termed monkey fishing?
    5) Were these dolphins trained at Sea World or by the Navy or did they take self help training?
    6) Are they looking at expanding into mud boggin'?
    7) How long will it take the small fish to learn to stay put?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

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  11. Kitty... thanks for stopping by. Matt... it's just a matter of time. Tex... Even with their permanent smiles, these dolphins looked like they were having a blast to me too. JenJen... WTF? Oh, I forgot, PMS week. Sorry. TT... I have no idea what the quantum scale is, but thanks for sharing. I'll look it up. Punch... What am I going to do with you? Oh, I've got it... ship you to Sea World where you can learn to fish! You should make an interesting subject for their inquiring minds.

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  12. hey Mr. C, fascinating video about the dolphins! I never knew they did that. About the bees, they are just selective stingers aren't they?! I have wondered about the decline of honeybees here in our area for a few years now. Anyway, hope you are having a good week. You might need to redo my link as it is showing a month old post, don't know why.

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  13. I went to Sea World yesterday, the f*****g Bees, said my photo ID did not match my face.

    Screw you! and your fishing school!

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  14. Bella... will redo my link. Been wondering what happened to you. Honey bees are under great stress from some sort of foreign-induced fungus that is killing them off. It's actually one of the most serious environmental threats facing the world as, without bees, no pollination, no fruits and veggies, no food!

    Punch... Yeah bees. If they can recognize and single out pedophiles like you... wow, we should use them in airports.

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  15. Hmmm...maybe the dolphins can be trained to eradicate the bee fungus? Or better yet, to use their tails to slap some sense into the folks who are oblivious to the state of things?
    I was touched by your intro -- I'm so frustrated & infuriated that my Faux News-addicted elders do not care about the state of the world their grandkids are inheriting.

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  16. That's very weird! But I don't put anything past mother nature. Which is partly why I'm a vegetarian-- animals are a lot smarter than for what we give them credit.

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  17. I'm with intell. I find it extremely depressing what is happening to the planet due to human arrogance...and so many people just don't care.

    I recently watched, out of boredom, the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The line from the film that stuck in my mind was when the alien responded to a question about why he was here on our planet. His answer was, "it's not your planet". We have assumed and made a religion of ourselves vis a vis the earth. We have declared ourselves the master of the earth and all contained within, claiming divine right and blessing. And...that arrogance is destroying this beautiful sphere. We may be the worse species ever to evolve in the universe.

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