Animals

Bees see the world differently. They will go to hell...

As you know, bats rely on ultrasonic waves in order to understand the world.  In fact is is all they can use to understand the world.  If you were to ask a bat about what they "see" they would describe it rather differently than the way you and I would "see" something as we use a small bit of ultraviolet light to "see".  

Bees on the other hand use ultraviolet light, but they see differently than humans do.

What humans see and what bees see.
Snakes use infrared light.
 
A tick picks up on butyric acid and temperature, while ghost fish picks up on electrical fields. 

We have this assumption that if human beings were given the "proper" information then they will "see" the correct and most logical conclusion.  So people on different sides try to lay out arguments so that others can "see" where they are coming from in order to come to the same "logical" conclusion.  When the other person does not come to the same conclusion, they are idiots, or wrong, or going to hell (the punishment is related to your level of religiosity it seems).  

But no one thinks bees and bats and snakes are going to hell because they do not see the world like we do.

So just two things: 1) who is to say that there is more out there to be seen and we just cannot observe it yet (we did not even know that these animals "see" the world differently until very recently and with the use of technology) and 2) bees, bats, and snakes see the world differently - that does not mean they are idiots, wrong or going to hell.  

What Party Animal are you?

There is the popular movement each election season to move to be less blue and/or less red and be more purple.  For those who appreciate the nuanced voting patterns, states are not so much blue or red but they are purple.  You can pull up your own map and see the 'purple nation'.  Recently I was turned on to a movement to have "more party animals".

While I am sure this will not 'take off' in the mainstream, I think it is a wonderful way to talk with young people about their political stances.  While not perfect, I think this sort of innovative and creative thinking is a good thing.

So I ask you to consider, what party animal are you right now?