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Re: Sometimes I Wonder



> Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 18:15:22 -0500
> From: "Tom Wood" <tomwood2 at flash_net>
> Subject: Sometimes I Wonder 
> 
> We kidnap living organisms, hijack them and thrust them into a totally
> synthetic environment, and then expect them to behave according to totally
> fabricated expectations. Fish from Africa, plants from South America, water
> from the local tap. Do these life-forms care about our expectations? Do
> these life-forms dance to a different beat? Do the plants from Africa that
> are suddenly plunged into a Texas aquarium still 'remember' the
> gravitational forces a half a world away that told them when to blossom?
> Does a South American wild-caught Cardinal Tetra 'know' that it is not in
> relation to the center of the planet or the stars in the same way any more
> when it is moved elsewhere? Sometimes I wonder...

Many years ago when I moved to Seattle, I kept a small (20g) unheated 
saltwater tank, with critters I found at low tide.  For about a month after 
their relocation to my living room, the anemones would open and close in 
time with the tides.  Interesting stuff, but eventually they adapted to 
indoor life, and stayed open all the time. 

I'm not really sure what you mean by "fabricated expectations."  I have 
pretty low expectations for my fish - I expect them to eat when I feed them, 
but other than that, it's pretty much up to them.  :) 

 - Erika