Monday, February 9, 2009

Fossils

Just finished Bill Brysons 'Short History of Nearly Everything' which I enjoyed but I am amazed at how often the experts get it wrong! Not necessarily in the exact sciences like how many atoms there are in a sugar cube (I guess when you count to a trillion trillion no one wants to count again to see if you are out by one!) but in sciences like palaeontology it's amazing how each fossil find seems to fit each 'finders' theories. In other words it is coloured by their interpretation and there really is so little concrete evidence of where we came from. All the discoveries of old 'human' bones in our history would only fill the back of a pick up. The conditions for a fossil to be laid down had to be so incredibly right very few have survived.
So now when I hear of the discovery of a 'Mongolese man' or whatever, I will take it with a grain of salt until they can get it right. Or do we want to know?
Off to get my yacht from up north today. I'll be flying down the coast with a good nor wester. Na, na, na, na, na....

4 comments:

BBC said...

Be careful out there, women and the ocean scare the hell out of me, ha ha ha.

I bought an outboard motor last week so I will get to do a little boating this summer also.

I read on a news site that the NZ economy isn't doing so well either. The whole world is pretty much going to hell, you may have to live on that boat.

chook said...

Half of us are women Billy and 90% is ocean so you must have to change your underpants often!!
Stop reading the news and look out your window. Do you see people starving or shooting one another? Here in NZ we can go fishing or shoot a rabbit or grow a garden. We are well off.

SHUBHAJIT said...

yes somehow i agree there is no exact science.. as you know i'm little bit metaphysically inclined and when i hear people saying that all metaphysical talking are only theories, i sometimes think that even 90% of science is also theory.. when people hear something that is not quite amiable with the sense receptors they suddenly apprehensive and say all those metaphysics are trash. I dont know about you people but india most of them are so illogical. for example,we talk about gravitation, we erected statue and pay our severance to the great man, but actually that theory was there before the birth of Newton, shouldn't we more gratitude towards nature for that? there are so many things happening every moment around us, we can't understand it,we don't have the power and when someone talk, we say this is bullshit.

Yes, I agree NZ people are more enjoying life because they are not much bother about economics and power...that is why from the standpoint of peace villagers in India have more sound sleep than we urban people.

chook said...

Sure Shubhajit, if we knew all the answers what a boring old world it would be.
I have no problem with a life force but don't 'believe' in religion because I can see why it was invented. To give peace to those who are afraid of dying and of course to stop the poor from murdering the rich!
Of course we have a lot of people worrying about economics but we are very practical and resourceful and willing to find a different way