Shark Words

Something strange in society that is never mentioned is how the reality we face as adults does not correspond in important ways to the one we learned about growing up. Since this discrepancy remains unacknowledged, each of us discovers and must investigate its length and breadth alone.   The irrational nature of the bias held against sharks in Western society became evident to me during discussions on the Internet discussion list, Shark-L from 2002 to 2008. Being familiar with the behaviour of several species of wild sharks, I found that the members seemed to be talking about a different animal. While a large proportion of those posting on the list were apparently in thrall to the great white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) , a variety of shark scientists and shark fishermen from many countries were also members; membership at that time was between 450 to 500 people. The subject of shark attacks commonly generated avid discussion, and during the year that Discovery Channel presen...

You are freed from the spell of the primate drama when you understand human behaviour in its correct context. But unfortunately, science has a blind spot that for centuries has caused it to stand in the way of the search for the true understanding of life. T rue science began with the work of Aristotle, in an effort to systematically analyse our surroundings—the lines, the curves, the way a stone would fall—for the understanding of our environment and from there, the universe. Through observation, measurement, and reflection, a detailed picture of reality and its mathematical underpinnings emerged over the centuries, independent from the folklore of the times . Thus the edifice of science was built in tiny increments, as facts that could be mutually verified accumulated through pure research done in the quest for knowledge . The Mechanical Philosophy In the 1600s western society was making swift progress in the invention of machines, and some intell...