Sunday, June 29, 2008

Too Much Information

A computer hard drive has a limited memory. I often wonder whether like a hard drive, a human brain can just simply run out of space. This causes me to question what I know. There are so many things in life people have told me which were wrong. So many people have bored me with information I just didn't need to know, yet I still remember it. The brain records every bit of information from birth, every image, every sound, every feeling, every taste, every smell.

Is there a limit to the amount I can hold in my mind? Am I about to run out of space? Should I be more selective about the information I take in?

Should I stop talking with idiots?

Sunday, June 22, 2008

An Unexpected Conversation About A Long Neck

"That's why giraffes have long necks, to eat from tall trees," someone said to me. I can't remember why she said this, I think I only asked her for the time. An interesting topic nevertheless, and a thought provoking conversation ensued. My reasonably intelligent mind can see the evidence behind evolutionary theory, but not in the case of the giraffe, things just don't add up.

The aforementioned giraffe theory implies that once was a four legged mammal, who ate leaves and seeds from small plants and from the ground. This normal necked being one day looked up and saw some rather delightful things to eat in the trees. "If I ate them I'd be a much better person."

Negotiations with tree dwelling animals were fruitless, and poor old giraffe just didn't know what to do. He couldn't be arsed to climb about like everyone else so he had to simply eat what was on the ground. The animal gloomily looked up at the prized leaves which alas he could not reach. This gloom continued through generations over millions of years, until nature took pity and offered a longer neck...

Now this just doesn't work for me. There are plenty of other solutions to this problem. Like climbing, or adapting to other food. Why didn't the animal just grow proportionately taller? There just doesn't seem to be a good enough explanation for this ludicrously long neck.

A possibility somewhat overlooked by evolutionists is that the giraffe simply couldn't stand the smell of its own shit. A longer neck would certainly allow it to maintain a little distance from it's pungent waste.