Wednesday, January 01, 2020
New stupid thought about old stupid question
Noisemakers are running rampant tonight. The good part is that the fireworks-loving idiots have learned to restrain their idiocy on July 4, when their idiocy can start wildfires. There's no danger of fires with snow on the ground.
Got me thinking again about natural responses to booms. Whether you call it design or evolution, a panic response to booms is almost universal, and seems to include a full-fledged specialized sensory system.
Many critters anticipate earthquakes and move to a different place before the quake happens.
Everything in life has a purpose. What was the purpose of this response? It doesn't save nearly enough lives to justify its existence.
If you're thinking in "evolution" terms, the threat isn't nearly frequent enough to develop such a complex system. If you're thinking in design terms, a complex system that doesn't save lives should have gradually faded out through epigenetics and selective mating. Cold places rarely have thunder, and even in warm places thunder is only occasional. Earthquakes are even less common, both spatially and temporally.
The instinctive response is correct for thunder and wrong for quakes. Seeking a cave gets you away from rain and hail and lightning. A cave is the worst place in a quake. You're always better off in the open.
New thought: Was the response designed for something else? Was there a common threat signaled by booms and flashes, which was present in all climates? Were meteor barrages common? Is a fireworks display an echo of a meteor barrage?
Second new thought: Seeking shelter would also make sense if you're escaping a BIG predator. Did dinosaurs make booming sounds when on the prowl? Or is the response explicitly seismic, sensing giant footsteps?
Labels: Asked and unanswered, Grand Blueprint
¶ 1:22 AM
