Mrs. Darth Vader
04-29-2010, 05:28
Sagan begins chapter nine with the question; why do people want to live? Despite all kinds of adversities, people still wish to live. Then Sagan gives the atheist reason why life is a gift that should be cherished. “Life is a gift that, of the immense number of possible but unrealized beings, only the tiniest fraction are privileged to experience”. When Sagan asked these questions and talked about how hard people cling to life it was before America noticed terrorism(before 9/11) and the Muslim willingness to die.
Sagan then compares the desire to live with the hap-hazard way sex is engaged in. People do not plan to pass their DNA like they balance their check book. It just happens. Sagan then says; “Passions for life and sex are built into us, hardwired, pre-programmed.” We act unconsciously. Natural selection is in the drivers seat. Then Sagan gives the example of how ticks reproduce. Sagan then tells what a tick’s brain would be like. A tick is blind, deaf and smells very little. It can sense light but not see it. It knows butyric acid, it knows about 2,6 dichlorophenol (tick pheromone). It can feel the warmth of a mammal’s skin. A tick does not think much. As a tick you do not get to experience the world as the mammals do. The tick has evolved to have all the abilities for it’s purpose. It has all the tools necessary for survival and to make more ticks.
Sagan then compares us to moths. He starts by telling how moths will fly into a window and even after hitting the glass the moth like other insects will do this same action again even if it is destructive to them. Moths do this repeatedly. There is nothing in the moth brain to tell them “If I hit object I should fly around it.” The moth has been around for hundreds of millions of years. Glass windows have only been around for thousands of years. Until recently, by evolutionary time scales, there was no penalty for moths that do not fly around glass windows. The moths are unprepared for a world with glass windows. If we could see into the mind of a moth we might not think it has much mind. Then Sagan reminds people that there are times when humans do the same action despite evidence that it is getting us into trouble. People also do repetitive actions that are destructive as well.
Sagan then switches from moths to honey bees. Honey bees upon death release a death pheromone which signals to the colony to take it out of the hive. This way it will not decompose in the hive making other bees sick. Insects do not have big brains. They are more like organic robots that just runs programs. So far to date there is no evidence to prove other wise. Evolution usually chooses the simpler form of life as long as it works. Life forms get more complex as need presses on it. Change or die. Of course this process takes millions of years. Yelling at an organism such as the moth who keeps hitting the glass window will not speed up his evolutionary process. If millions of years from now glass windows still exist than by then the “new” moth might have developed a mechanism to avoid glass windows. Sagan then talks about varying organisms to bring home this idea of simple is chosen until complex is needed.
Sagan describes how the bee scout does elaborate dances to tell the other bees where the food supply is. Sagan then tells us how robots of today can read and play sheet music. They can play chess and win most of the time. Sagan asks in this chapter about the animals. Are they biological robots? How much of human behavior is pre-programmed? How much control do we really have? Sagan then lists traits like falling in love, jealousy, hunger, thirst, horror, and suspicion of strangers to name a few of his list. This list is an example of traits that are considered pre-programmed in us. Sagan shows how a being could have these traits but not to be a thinking being but just running programs. This chapter is mostly filled with the question of how much of life is just running programs. This chapter definitely makes you think of “The Matrix” series because everything was portrayed as being a computer program.
Sagan then tells you in great detail how a spider catches it’s prey. Sagan introduces you to a man named Huxley who came up with the theory that animals as do we just run programs. Sagan ends this chapter by naming each person from the past and quotes them showing their position on whether animals are machines or having a soul/ spirit. Sagan starts with Descartes (1600’s) who believed animals to be biological machines. Voltaire (1700’s) defends animals, there feelings and their ability to learn. Huxley (1800’s) animals are biological machines. Huxley is different because he takes it a step further by saying that humans are also biological machines. Sagan then ends with James L. and Coral G. Gould (1900’s) humans are biological machines that just run programs.
Sagan then compares the desire to live with the hap-hazard way sex is engaged in. People do not plan to pass their DNA like they balance their check book. It just happens. Sagan then says; “Passions for life and sex are built into us, hardwired, pre-programmed.” We act unconsciously. Natural selection is in the drivers seat. Then Sagan gives the example of how ticks reproduce. Sagan then tells what a tick’s brain would be like. A tick is blind, deaf and smells very little. It can sense light but not see it. It knows butyric acid, it knows about 2,6 dichlorophenol (tick pheromone). It can feel the warmth of a mammal’s skin. A tick does not think much. As a tick you do not get to experience the world as the mammals do. The tick has evolved to have all the abilities for it’s purpose. It has all the tools necessary for survival and to make more ticks.
Sagan then compares us to moths. He starts by telling how moths will fly into a window and even after hitting the glass the moth like other insects will do this same action again even if it is destructive to them. Moths do this repeatedly. There is nothing in the moth brain to tell them “If I hit object I should fly around it.” The moth has been around for hundreds of millions of years. Glass windows have only been around for thousands of years. Until recently, by evolutionary time scales, there was no penalty for moths that do not fly around glass windows. The moths are unprepared for a world with glass windows. If we could see into the mind of a moth we might not think it has much mind. Then Sagan reminds people that there are times when humans do the same action despite evidence that it is getting us into trouble. People also do repetitive actions that are destructive as well.
Sagan then switches from moths to honey bees. Honey bees upon death release a death pheromone which signals to the colony to take it out of the hive. This way it will not decompose in the hive making other bees sick. Insects do not have big brains. They are more like organic robots that just runs programs. So far to date there is no evidence to prove other wise. Evolution usually chooses the simpler form of life as long as it works. Life forms get more complex as need presses on it. Change or die. Of course this process takes millions of years. Yelling at an organism such as the moth who keeps hitting the glass window will not speed up his evolutionary process. If millions of years from now glass windows still exist than by then the “new” moth might have developed a mechanism to avoid glass windows. Sagan then talks about varying organisms to bring home this idea of simple is chosen until complex is needed.
Sagan describes how the bee scout does elaborate dances to tell the other bees where the food supply is. Sagan then tells us how robots of today can read and play sheet music. They can play chess and win most of the time. Sagan asks in this chapter about the animals. Are they biological robots? How much of human behavior is pre-programmed? How much control do we really have? Sagan then lists traits like falling in love, jealousy, hunger, thirst, horror, and suspicion of strangers to name a few of his list. This list is an example of traits that are considered pre-programmed in us. Sagan shows how a being could have these traits but not to be a thinking being but just running programs. This chapter is mostly filled with the question of how much of life is just running programs. This chapter definitely makes you think of “The Matrix” series because everything was portrayed as being a computer program.
Sagan then tells you in great detail how a spider catches it’s prey. Sagan introduces you to a man named Huxley who came up with the theory that animals as do we just run programs. Sagan ends this chapter by naming each person from the past and quotes them showing their position on whether animals are machines or having a soul/ spirit. Sagan starts with Descartes (1600’s) who believed animals to be biological machines. Voltaire (1700’s) defends animals, there feelings and their ability to learn. Huxley (1800’s) animals are biological machines. Huxley is different because he takes it a step further by saying that humans are also biological machines. Sagan then ends with James L. and Coral G. Gould (1900’s) humans are biological machines that just run programs.