[PREV - NATURE_OF_THE_WALLS] [TOP]
September 14, 2004
Additions from: March 19, 2003
Ed and Ted talk while
I do the dishes.
Ed says, in disgust
"Oh, the kitchen is
full of monkeys!"
Ted looks puzzled,
and says "I can't --"
He turns to me and says
"Do you have anything
to say to that?"
So I go into this spiel:
"It is not strictly true that
the kitchen is full of monkeys,
it might be more correct to say
that it's full of primates.
But in any case, I think you're
being reductionist --" Ed throws up his hands
"I'm being *reductionist*, right."
"It's like 'Oh, who cares about
*that* stuff, it's only made of atoms.'" He made a face
and waved the
subject away.
The point
being: so?
Understanding something
What's wrong about the nature of things
with being a doesn't change that nature.
primate?
A disdain for the physical world,
It would indeed an expectation that the spirit should
be extremely be above such things.
weird if
humanity had The golem may be made of mud,
*nothing* in but the spirit that animates
common with any it is not.
other animal.
But it's pretty clear
that human beings
really *are* a pretty
weird kind of animal.
The question is how So... what kind of
weird, and in what ways. primates are we?
And: what There's a fair
would it amount of variation
take for us in behavior among
to become the different primates.
even better
primates? It's often
claimed that
To be the best apes have
primates less to be
primate-kind embarrassed In many a "Planet
has ever known, of than human of the Apes" movie.
to be the best beings.
possible And there's the Mark Twain:
primates... "Man is the only animal
that blushes. Or needs to."
First one considers
"Beware the ape that humanity has
with the crooked infinite potential,
thumbs!" and then one
considers network
television.
Millions inside,
and we spend
pennies.
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