Re: Fish and pain

[Dale Brenner <brenner at apk_net>]

Here's my two cents worth.

I am a retired HS Science Teacher. I believe that a number of the people who have
fallen into the same fallacy that people did when the had to confront the
Heliocentric Solar System: Man must be more important than all of the other
animals, only he can think etc.

I have seen the Bonobo Chimp Booie recall the man who taught him to sign. I have
trained dogs for 40 odd years and I know they think. As an owner how his dog
switch from birds to bunnies or squirrel, or how my present dog taught us to get
his toy (which he plays with and talks-whines-to as he does that a particular high
pitched yelp means he needs help to get it from under the couch. I know my fish
come to the front of the tank if I stand there expecting the treat of microworms.
They learned that. I have a dog who watches an insect that flies around after she
got hit by a bunch of ground bees. She hasn't figured out that a fly isn't a
menace, but she takes no chances. She also looks around for fliers when I go
"Bzzzzt" I have seen another figure out that a ball has been in a box and solves
the puzzle of getting it out.

I wish I could quote more specific research to prove that my position is correct.
Fish think, sure they are very, very dumb. Chimps and Great Apes think and even
have culture (see Scientific American sometime in the last two years. The
dinosaurs were wiped out by a big meteor strike 65 million years ago.. (see Osmium
concentrations in earth deposits formed at that time) It took 20 or so years
before a large number of scientists accepted Alverez' theory.

Ps:

There was a Big Bang. Our solar system resulted form an higher concentration of
heavy elements caused by stellar evolution. There are known to be over 20 other
solar systems with planets. How can you presume to believe that we are the Crown
of Creation. The human name doesn't mean shit to a tree. Hide which, hide! The
good folks come to burn you!

PPS:

Is it not a much more omnipotent and omniscient God that sets up the rules of
Physics (which subsumes Chemistry and Biology) and sets of the Big Bang and
watches it all work out as he envisioned.

Widen your viewpoint. We are not alone....here or there.

Humbly, with respect,

Dale



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