Mermaids do not
exist, and five other important things people should, but do not, know about
the ocean
By WhySharksMatter, on June 5th, 2012
Last week, Animal Planet aired a fictional mockumentary
about mermaids. From an educational perspective, it was a disaster that was
rightfully described as “the rotting carcass of science television” by Brian
Switek. As Dr. M on Deep Sea News pointed out, one of the troubling results of
this TV special was the discovery that some people believe that mermaids are
real.
When I pointed out on Facebook and twitter that mermaids do
not exist and that I hoped none of my friends believe otherwise, it inspired a
long and interesting discussion. Someone asked why it matters if people believe
in mermaids, as they felt that a sense of whimsy among the public is a good
thing. Someone pointed out that scientists are discovering amazing new species
all the time. More than a few people said “anything is possible.”Sure,
scientists discover new species all the time, but while finding a new species
of monkey, orchid, or jellyfish can be interesting, it is not proof that
“anything is possible” and it is not the same thing as finding a species of
talking, thinking humanoids with fish tails on the lower half of their bodies. There’s a big and important difference
between enjoying fantasy novels and wishing that certain fantastical creatures
exist (i.e. having a sense of whimsy) and genuinely believing that those
creatures really do exist.
Read rest here: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=13199
No comments:
Post a Comment