Current life questions

[ginny-ROX]

Are humans the only creatures that see in colour?

Why can no one be perfect?

[Siniri]

This one's been bothering me since I was little. Do we all perceive colors the same? What if your orange is the same as my green, and your purple is my blue? We'd never know because we'd still call them the same thing... but if I could see through your eyes and vice versa, it might be very psychodelic.

[Blue]

I would imagine yes, that is entirely possible. I heard of someone who saw the world "upside down", and it was totally normal for them. Somehow it was discovered and proven out, but it still seems odd that it would even be discovered because all spatially "normal" things and descriptions would have been normed out from birth.

Hmmmm.

[shapu]

This one's been bothering me since I was little. Do we all perceive colors the same? What if your orange is the same as my green, and your purple is my blue? We'd never know because we'd still call them the same thing... but if I could see through your eyes and vice versa, it might be very psychodelic.

Siniri...I have often wondered the same thing. I asked a biology professor that question once, and she said, "Does an unanswerable question with no earth-shaking answer matter?" Her response makes it clear she never considered philosophy as a field of study.

Are humans the only creatures that see in colour?

Nope. With only a few exceptions, all mammals can discern red, and most mammals can discern the same basic shades of light - red, green, and blue (note that the primary colors of light are different from the primary colors of pigment). Reptiles often can only see red, green, black, and white, and different species of birds see different shades of light (some see blue better than red, for example).

When it comes to the visible spectrum as we think of it, humans have the best color sight that I'm aware of, but bees can see ultraviolet light, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some animals can see infrared.

[Siniri]

Nope. With only a few exceptions, all mammals can discern red, and most mammals can discern the same basic shades of light - red, green, and blue (note that the primary colors of light are different from the primary colors of pigment). Reptiles often can only see red, green, black, and white, and different species of birds see different shades of light (some see blue better than red, for example).

When it comes to the visible spectrum as we think of it, humans have the best color sight that I'm aware of, but bees can see ultraviolet light, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some animals can see infrared.

Now see, I learned these things in biology class, too, and asked the teacher "how'd they figure this out?" None of my science teachers could ever tell me. Same with figuring out space distances, orbits, etc. There's a big difference between science teachers and (future) scientists, and the former hate having the latter in their classrooms.

Why does science education (at least primary through secondary school) have so little to do with science in this country?

[shapu]

Nope. With only a few exceptions, all mammals can discern red, and most mammals can discern the same basic shades of light - red, green, and blue (note that the primary colors of light are different from the primary colors of pigment). Reptiles often can only see red, green, black, and white, and different species of birds see different shades of light (some see blue better than red, for example).

When it comes to the visible spectrum as we think of it, humans have the best color sight that I'm aware of, but bees can see ultraviolet light, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some animals can see infrared.

Now see, I learned these things in biology class, too, and asked the teacher "how'd they figure this out?" None of my science teachers could ever tell me. Same with figuring out space distances, orbits, etc. There's a big difference between science teachers and (future) scientists, and the former hate having the latter in their classrooms.

Ooo! Ooo! I know this one, too!

We can determine what colors animals can see by separating the chemicals in specific cells in their eyes. You have two kinds of cells in your eye: Rods, and cones. Rods detect the presence of light. Cones detect specific colors (but don't work in low light, which is why in the dark everything looks grey). Cones contain certain chemicals which, when struck by certain wavelengths of light, change their shape, creating a cascade of signals that eventually results in a signal being sent to your brain that something out there, is, say, blue. People have only three transmitters, which detect blue, green, and red. Some animals have two, some have one, some have their choice three out of five (spider monkeys come to mind).

Anyway, toss an animal's eye into a blender, separate what you get out, and figure out which ones are the photodetective proteins.

Space distances are calculated using, basically, simple trigonometry. If you look at a point on your computer monitor, and cover one eye, that point looks like it's a specific angle from your eye. Now, uncover that one eye and cover your other - you have a different angle. You know the distance between your eyes (one side of the triangle), and you know the two angles that were measured from eye to point, so you can calculate the other two sides of the triangle (distance from each eye to point). Use THOSE two distances to calculate the distance from the point to the spot between your eyes (on most people, the nose), and you know the distance from your face to the point.

Astronomers use that same technique to calculate distances in space. They call it "parallax."

Why does science education (at least primary through secondary school) have so little to do with science in this country?

A question that has been asked frequently for the last 50 years or so.

[Siniri]

Space distances are calculated using, basically, simple trigonometry. If you look at a point on your computer monitor, and cover one eye, that point looks like it's a specific angle from your eye. Now, uncover that one eye and cover your other - you have a different angle. You know the distance between your eyes (one side of the triangle), and you know the two angles that were measured from eye to point, so you can calculate the other two sides of the triangle (distance from each eye to point). Use THOSE two distances to calculate the distance from the point to the spot between your eyes (on most people, the nose), and you know the distance from your face to the point.

Astronomers use that same technique to calculate distances in space. They call it "parallax."

I finally got this one answered by, of all people, a history teacher!

Why does science education (at least primary through secondary school) have so little to do with science in this country?

A question that has been asked frequently for the last 50 years or so.

I loved my cell biology, biochemistry, immunology, and history of infectious disease classes in college -- where we actually learned about the experiments that gave us our present understanding. If you ever want to read a great science book, check out Microbe Hunters. The chapter outlining the series of consecutive experiments to prove/disprove spontaneous generation is amazing, but it's a great read even for non-scientists. van Leeuwenhoek and Pasteur are two of my favorite "characters," and I really think Pasteur is the basis for Albus Dumbledore (among his many projects: chirality, wine, beer, silkworms, spontaneous generation, germ theory, immunizations...).

[ginny-ROX]

Can anyone answer my second question?

Why can no one be perfect?

[dragon]

Aww Shapu I was doing so well on the game, I haven't lost in over 2 hours!

*kicks Shapu's shin*

[shapu]

Can anyone answer my second question?

Why can no one be perfect?

Perfection is boring.

[Siniri]

Can anyone answer my second question?

Why can no one be perfect?

Because perfection does not exist. It is an abstract quality that is defined differently by each person; however, no one is able to fully define what that concept really truly encompasses for themselves. Just look at how what one regards as someone's strength is, in other circumstances, viewed as a weakness/flaw: she's determined --> she's stubborn.

That being said, I'm pretty darn close! (jk, jk) Seriously, though, instead of driving yourself crazy trying to be perfect, just try to be your best -- not your best ever, but the best you can do today. Ganbatte, grasshopper!

[ginny-ROX]

Good answers now heres another one

Why was philosophy created?

[Siniri]

Good answers now heres another one

Why was philosophy created?

Philosophy was not created. It has always existed even before mankind learned it and used it, just like pi has always been present in circles and spheres even before man identified it.

Seriously speaking though, I think philosophy can be used to help explain why we are here, to provide a framework for identifying what is right and wrong and why (so it can be applied to all those gray areas), and to give people something to talk about for which there are no absolute answers -- and thus the discussion can be never-ending.