This blog is about fairness; about looking at objects from multiple perspectives. Stable transformation comes only slowly; and only if the environment is free of sporadic jitters of passion and anger that destabilize growth. I strongly believe that the path to peace crosses through the battle with self.
Monday, August 13, 2007
A Lesson for the King
18 comments:
Anonymous
said...
nice find naj... very nice.. an interesting coincidence too... just today at work spent some time talking about animals and some of our fav moments from videos we have seen... I have heard that the water buffalo are the most dangerous animals in Africa... but what drama!
I have a feeling that the lions were probably not hunting seriously...perhaps a practice of sorts for the younger ones... but i am no expert :) [wonder if there were any male lions.. they don't hunt anyway.. they are protectors...and much stronger than the females... have you seen them kill Hayenas to protect the pride?! hard not to get goosebumps... ]
I got this from my husband; I joke with him and call him an an(imal)thropologist :)
Iris, for me, the most powerful instance of this event is the "pause" of the buffalo herds ... you see, it took them a while to come back, so they didn't react instinctively ... instinctively they ran away from the lions ... it's their coming back, their unity, and the fury with which they were tossing the lions around that fascinated me.
Speaking of male lions, you may want to see this one too
thanks for the other link too naj. I remember having seen this particular one on tv...
wish we don't have to philosophize the wild :) [and, don't animals kill the weakest, even if they are serious about killing for food? In this case the calf(a little baby)? That is their best chance for food...] ah well, guess we can't help seeing ourselves in many things...
and... I like Iris... my choice has its origin in a few distinct places[and it being a flower is not one of the reasons, although later I came to know the flower and liked it too]... I changed it in order to spare an explanation: 'Iris is a pen name and I am not a girl'... Although i kept saying, what is in a name, it seemed to mislead people :( [recently i found that sojourner is also a famous name that belonged to a lady.. but it seems more gender neutral... and i have a few reasons to choose that name too ]
Craftsmanship, to the aesthetized level that humans are capable of, is un-natural; it is "natural" to the human quality, but it is anti-natural in the sense that it is not a necessity for the ecosystem. (as a matter of fact, human is the one species that the nature would have been happier withOUT ;))
Do you know any animals that decorate their house, for example?
I am happy that you asked that question - do i know of animals that decorate their homes?... (mr. an(imal)thropologist might answer this better, but i will take a shot at it)...
Whatever I have seen on National Geographic says that there a whole host of species (especially birds) that engage in some sort of decoration (their own bodies or their nest) to attract a mate...we might argue that that is an essential element to their survival...
rather loosely (if only for argument's sake), I could say that since such things (like decorating homes) seem essential to keep humans happy (and happy means better living and hence good for the species), it is natural for a human to decorate his home (or cave wall)... or may be it is just another remnant of an animal behavior like... marking a territory!! you make and define your own space - sounds very natural to me :)
Birds ... yes birds ... some of them stay with one partner for life!
I agree with you, we do territorialize with decoration; and then we engage in wars to protect our territories. And I agree with you that making a territory with decoration appeals more to my taste than pissing around it like I would do if I were a tiger :)
:) sorry I feel silly these days! Work stress! And I intend to remain silly until at least January!
The act of decorating as you have understood it is an expression of something much deeper: Beauty.
One can ask oneself why one percieves the Sunset to be beautiful, or the pattern of colors on a malard, or the song of a bird. Indeed, the apprecation of beauty in any of these cases has no survial value for mankind; it cannot therefore be explaiened by Evolutionary Biology.
You see, just like Mathematics, a human invention, describes Reality but is not Reality itself, so is the Sense of Beauty enables us to grasp something of the Grandeure and Excellence of the Universe as God has made it.
18 comments:
nice find naj... very nice..
an interesting coincidence too... just today at work spent some time talking about animals and some of our fav moments from videos we have seen...
I have heard that the water buffalo are the most dangerous animals in Africa... but what drama!
I have a feeling that the lions were probably not hunting seriously...perhaps a practice of sorts for the younger ones... but i am no expert :) [wonder if there were any male lions.. they don't hunt anyway.. they are protectors...and much stronger than the females... have you seen them kill Hayenas to protect the pride?! hard not to get goosebumps... ]
Naj,
A powerful lesson. Just curious: where did you find this?
I saw this video also. I believe it was on the Discovery Channel or perhaps National Geographic.
This time the baby lived, however in the wild this is the reality of life for the animals.
Just think about this, man is the only animal who hunts and kills for pleasure. In the wild they only kill to eat and survive.
That really says a lot about the human race now doesn't it?
God Bless.
Marc,
I got this from my husband; I joke with him and call him an an(imal)thropologist :)
Iris, for me, the most powerful instance of this event is the "pause" of the buffalo herds ... you see, it took them a while to come back, so they didn't react instinctively ... instinctively they ran away from the lions ... it's their coming back, their unity, and the fury with which they were tossing the lions around that fascinated me.
Speaking of male lions, you may want to see this one too
Anon,
Yes I agree about what animals do. But here's my philosophoical conclusion (deeply influenced by my animalthropologist's assessment :) )
If these lions WERE hungry, they should have been serious about killing, i.e. have killed the prey instantly instead of molesting it.
If these lions (the so called kings of the jungle) were after food, they should have hunted a more substantial buffalo, instead of a little baby!
If they were after playing, and wer acting like sporting humans, they got what they deserved: a nice kick on the butt! :))
Good find you have made Naj.
thanks for the other link too naj. I remember having seen this particular one on tv...
wish we don't have to philosophize the wild :) [and, don't animals kill the weakest, even if they are serious about killing for food? In this case the calf(a little baby)? That is their best chance for food...] ah well, guess we can't help seeing ourselves in many things...
naj:
There is no such word called "animalthropologist". The name of the science is Ethology - the Science of Animal Behavior.
pen Name
Pen,
Work on your sense of humor!
Thanks!
Iris,
(sorry I like this flower and this name so much I cannot switch to sojourner, please tell me if you mind me calling you Iris)
Nah, the point is not philosophizing the animal kingdom; this video works metaphorically for me, not ethologically!
Frankly, I have little interest in animals other than humans, and even in humans what I like most is their most "unnaural" feature: craftsmanship ;)
unnaural? what does it mean?
and...
I like Iris... my choice has its origin in a few distinct places[and it being a flower is not one of the reasons, although later I came to know the flower and liked it too]... I changed it in order to spare an explanation: 'Iris is a pen name and I am not a girl'... Although i kept saying, what is in a name, it seemed to mislead people :(
[recently i found that sojourner is also a famous name that belonged to a lady.. but it seems more gender neutral... and i have a few reasons to choose that name too ]
Iris ... well I thought your choice had its origing in the Camera!
You are not a GIRL?
I am SHOCKED :)
Sorry about my typos, unnaural = unnatural!
I have a bad keybord and buttery fingers when I am typing.
well... One reason was the camera :)
and yes, I did have an impression that you thought I were girl... :)
Unnatural craftsmanship? hmmm... I don't think it is unnatural, but I guess that is beside the point here...
Craftsmanship, to the aesthetized level that humans are capable of, is un-natural; it is "natural" to the human quality, but it is anti-natural in the sense that it is not a necessity for the ecosystem. (as a matter of fact, human is the one species that the nature would have been happier withOUT ;))
Do you know any animals that decorate their house, for example?
Okey, from now on, you are Sojourner ... :)
sojourner? if you wish :)
I am happy that you asked that question - do i know of animals that decorate their homes?... (mr. an(imal)thropologist might answer this better, but i will take a shot at it)...
Whatever I have seen on National Geographic says that there a whole host of species (especially birds) that engage in some sort of decoration (their own bodies or their nest) to attract a mate...we might argue that that is an essential element to their survival...
rather loosely (if only for argument's sake), I could say that since such things (like decorating homes) seem essential to keep humans happy (and happy means better living and hence good for the species), it is natural for a human to decorate his home (or cave wall)... or may be it is just another remnant of an animal behavior like... marking a territory!! you make and define your own space - sounds very natural to me :)
Birds ... yes birds ... some of them stay with one partner for life!
I agree with you, we do territorialize with decoration; and then we engage in wars to protect our territories. And I agree with you that making a territory with decoration appeals more to my taste than pissing around it like I would do if I were a tiger :)
:) sorry I feel silly these days! Work stress! And I intend to remain silly until at least January!
naj & sojourner:
The act of decorating as you have understood it is an expression of something much deeper: Beauty.
One can ask oneself why one percieves the Sunset to be beautiful, or the pattern of colors on a malard, or the song of a bird. Indeed, the apprecation of beauty in any of these cases has no survial value for mankind; it cannot therefore be explaiened by Evolutionary Biology.
You see, just like Mathematics, a human invention, describes Reality but is not Reality itself, so is the Sense of Beauty enables us to grasp something of the Grandeure and Excellence of the Universe as God has made it.
pen Name
The video made me shaken for hours. I saw it 10 time back to back.
Nice post title. I understand what you personally felt
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