Different Smarts

"These findings set the United States apart from all other industrialized nations, said Dr. Jon Miller, director of the Center for Biomedical Communications at Northwestern University, who has studied public attitudes toward science. Americans, he said, have been evenly divided for years on the question of evolution, with about 45 percent accepting it, 45 percent rejecting it and the rest undecided.

"In other industrialized countries, Dr. Miller said, 80 percent or more typically accept evolution, most of the others say they are not sure and very few people reject the idea outright.

"In Japan, something like 96 percent accept evolution," he said. Even in socially conservative, predominantly Catholic countries like Poland, perhaps 75 percent of people surveyed accept evolution, he said. "It has not been a Catholic issue or an Asian issue," he said."

The article on birds says scientists are learning that bird brains are organized differently from mammalian brains (that includes homo sapiens = us), but achieve similar results. I have often described this situation as 'you can run Windows on a computer made of mousetraps.' I also see in this a further proof of the notion that convergent evolution occurs at every level.

When I look at a bird, I not only see the thriving remnant of those long-extinct dinosaurs, but also an ET. Birds have developed an alien intelligence right under our noses. So have a lot of other animals. In our search for the 'other,' we neglect to look at what's right in front of us.

I recently acquired an aquarium, which costs more than I planned, and needs more attention than I expected. In keeping a bunch of tropical fish alive, I have noticed their behavioral patterns. The fact is, some of our "advanced" human habits are not so different. Fish are a hungry, greedy bunch. Most mature males spend more time on sex, and driving off challengers, than eating. Some of the vanquished, however, find things to keep themselves busy, biding their time until the dominant jerk is worn out. Very often the females drive off the victorious hero, sometimes viciously, as either they aren't interested or are busy eating. So, all in vain. I am reminded of much that I saw every day of my public life.

For myself, it is very difficult not to see human behavior as the extension of patterns in other animals. Our close relatives, the chimpanzees, are so like us as to be embarrassing. We, of course, share 98-99% of our genome with the chimps. I don't feel uncomfortable about this, nor do the parallels and similarities make me feel less than I am. Au contraire, the wonder of it is how Nature somehow evolved creatures such as ourselves; yet, there is no wonder at all in it. The little steps from them to us are visible before our faces, all the time, everywhere, even in the Bible Belt.

All you need to do is look.