At what point do the accepted scientific attitudes and perceptions of a certain age become irrelevant enough to be considered ‘quaint’ or ‘brutal’ or ‘amusingly perverse’ by the standards of a succeeding one? Will our present perceptions ever become discredited in such a way?

There has always been a great lack of explanatory evidence throughout the history of [European] thought, a fact that enables the comprehensively educated ‘free-thinker’ to regard old attitudes as inferior to the notions of the modern age. But I wonder? How close are we to collective omniscience? And what ideas are we still incapable of logically conceiving?

Ruminations such as this demand a portly form and a crisp white evening suit. An authoritative palm-flat, thumb-erect hand, encircled at the wrist by a ring of pink cuff...

“... One of the wonderful things about human knowledge of all kinds is that it is logically impossible to know how much we do not know... It is the case that whenever scientists have thought they have got to the end of a subject, it suddenly explodes into a whole new scene...”

Dr Colin Tudge (the eminent biologist/philosopher responsible for selecting and sorting the symbols of speech into the arrangement reproduced above), exemplifies the point by reminding us of Michelsen’s notorious assertion that physics was effectively “sewn up” shortly before Planck and Einstein came along.

But perhaps humanity is in the midst of a great development (of equal significance to the agricultural and religious developments of the past)? A rational, one-way progression from religion into science?

An abandoned concept in modern science is the idea of “insight-by-revelation”

No. Tudge envisions a ‘spiral’ of human thought. In his mind, the same basic ideas revisit each generation (or century) in different forms, and many get dashed and abandoned. An abandoned concept in modern science is the idea of “insight-by-revelation” and he suggests that the current trend of disregard for it may be extremely naive (and dangerous)...

By the book and from the lectern, Colin Tudge asks his audiences to look far ahead at the interlocked histories and destinies of humankind and the natural world. To swim in and out of fashion like the “supremacy of rationalism”. Perhaps you should give it more thought?

This article was originally published in Turtle Soup 1

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A steady hum, the sound of chopping, laughter. The door of cabin 21 opens and passenger 14A takes a short stroll to the on-board aquarium; a large tank which emulates the various oceans of the world. A cuttlefish mimics the colour in 14A’s jacket, whilst a moray eel recoils under an outcrop of coral, twisting sideways to reveal its profile and jutting jaw.

The modern-day aviator checks a series of dials and valves for leakages, and records the configurations. From the upper deck, a viewing panel affords excellent views of mountain tops and glacial scarring, steep sided valleys give way to forest, and as a balloon shaped shadow elegantly weaves over the canopy, it is even possible to make out a fast running river and a large brown object surrounded by smaller silvery ones. A whistle sounds, a time keeper clocks a glare and a shift ends.

The restaurant serves a complete range of exotic dishes, from alligator to songbird breast. The dress code is formal and all dining requirements are inclusive of the total package price.

The ant and termite farms are revealing; tracts and tunnels, re-routed around cave-ins lead to large chambers. Deads are carried through the man-made tubing to collection pans outside the nest, for a Keeper to sweep into the stratus at 1.15 each day. At 1:30, flora collected from the above arboretum is deposited on the surface of the farms, an immediate reaction, a buzz, a hum.

What possible harm could come of it? A boundary is crossed, the sun sets and the lunar globe wanes.

A slow jerk of the wheel at the fore, and a rudder moves in synchronicity, the airship leisurely rolls portside. Standing directly above passenger 14A, on the upper deck, is passenger 16C. After resting on a bench and engaging the rare orchids, lilies and laurels, she moves toward the aviary, a hornbill consumes a modest fruit, and a Chinese painted quail scratches behind a small clump of shrubs. The two-part aviary is connected by a bamboo and wicker tunnel allowing movement between. Another passenger approaches the gathering of monkey huts. No apes, the enclosed space is deemed a safety hazard, but still some interesting species of monkeys are on display in their natural environment, in the clouds. A simple request, ‘Might the passenger be allowed to entertain a small monkey in their quarters?’ What possible harm could come of it? A boundary is crossed, the sun sets and the lunar globe wanes.

This article was originally published in Turtle Soup 2

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acid rain/snow, 15, 31
adaptation, 4, 8, 18, 21
algae, 6, 12
anoas, mountain, 10
apes, 11

Barlow, N.24, 141
Bateson, G., 154
Beardslee, D.C, 149
Beretier, C., 143, 150
Binet, A., 13-14
Bloom, B.S., 152
Brandwein, P.F., 60
Brimhall, D.R., 162
Brown, J.A.C., 20
Bugelski, B.R., 16
Burt, C., 54, 127
Butlin, M., 135

Camponotus pennsylvanicus, 32, 33
Carpenter Ant, 32-33
Caterpillers tended by Ants, 97-99, 178-181, 240 242
Chalkhill Blue Butterfly, 179, 241
Chapman, Dr., 180
Chichlid Fish, 227, 228
Compound Nests, 71-78
Crocodiles (behaviour after death), 159-160

Diseases, 8, 34-5
Drones, development, 7, 8
            duties, 5-6, 27
            killing of, 30, (21)

Each, peach, pear, plum, 115
Eachy, peachy, peary, plum, 386
Eaver Weaver, chimney sweeper, 20, 21
Een, twee, drie, 313
Eenty, teenty, tuppenny bun, 10
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo, 96
Eexie, peeksie, pearie, plum, 116
Eh?-B (or straw), 51
Empire Day, Empire Day, 263

Fish and Fishing, 10, 124, 206, 325, 378, 403
Food and drink, 6, 9, 10, 17, 22, 23, 25, 30, 31, 32, 35, 37, 43, 51, 53, 59, 72, 74, 75, 78, 81, 90, 91, 97, 101, 103, 104, 112, 113, 123, 130, 138, 146, 148, 157, 161, 214, 229, 230, 231, 233, 245, 262, 263, 276, 277, 282, 285, 289, 295, 298, 302, 312, 328, 331, 332, 338, 342, 346, 349, 350, 354, 356, 357, 364, 365, 371, 373, 374, 380, 384, 385, 393, 395, 400, 410, 417, 418

Gardenerís Chronicle, The, 71
Gentlemanís Magazine, The, 213
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) 71, 241; (71)
Ginkgo biloba (maidenhair tree) 109, 118, 194, 242; (108)
Ginkgo family, 109
Glasnevin (see National Botanic Garden, Dublin)
Global warming, 81
Gloucestershire, 96, 187, 213
Goodwood, Sussex, 86, 241
Gothick style, 201
Graffiti, 223
Grand fir (Abies grandis) 61
Grant, John of Rothiemurchus, 46
Graveyard, 178, 196
Grey, Thomas, 50
Great frost of 1740, 85
Great wind, 226
Greece, 92
Greendale Oak, 161
Greenfly, 62

Hamburger American/German, 164
hammock Amerindian/German, 160
helicopter Greek, 39
heliograph Greek, 38
helium Greek, 38
Helvetica, Celtic, 46
hepatitis Greek, 38
herald French/Germanic, 74
herpes Greek, 38
hierarchy Greek, 38
hip American/African 164
Hogmanay Scottish/French, 172
holocaust Greek, 39
horde Polish/Urdu, 20, 183
horizon Greek, 38
house Old English, 151, 160
hurricane Amerindian, 160
hussar, Hungarian, 199
hydronautics Greek, 39
hydrophobia Greek, 39
hyperkinetic Greek, 39
hypocrite Greek, 38
hypothermia Greek, 39

Industrialisation, 4, 39, 44-45, 68, 81, 86, 100, 101, 107
Iseult, 8

Japanese, Naturalist, 52
jellyfish, 51

kin-directed altruism, 158-60, 162, 163-65, 166, 168, 170, 173-74, 201, 308
kin-recognition mechanisms, 160-61
kin selection, 156-65, 166, 169, 170, 174, 182, 183,185,208,212, 234, 324, 328, 359,
            homosexuality and, 384, 385
            reciprocal altruism and, 201-2, 308
            war and, 390-91
Kitcher, Philip, 149-50
Knobs of human nature, 9, 82, 213, 348
            in Darwin, 316-18
 Kohlberg, Lawrence, 212
Koran, 367
Kuhn, Thomas, 6
!Kung San, 38, 68, 138, 176
            female infidelity in, 70

Lacewings, 8-9
Ladybirds, 4-7

mending, 83
mobility, 71, 243-4
music, 58-61, 210

Nap (Napoleon), 184
Newmarket, 274
Nine-card Brag, 289
Ninety-Nine (arithmetical game), 188
Ninety-Nine (trick game), 241
Nomination Whist, 185

Odysseus, 46, 162-3 164
Ofanto, river (formerly Aufidus), 124
Orange, 62, 63
Orvieto, 122

Part Three (of Four), 1, 2, 14
Peacock (Topiary), 8-9, 14
Pig, 14; (4), (10)
            Sticking, 4, 5-7, 14; (5), (7)
Ping, Miss, 3, 14,
Pork burger, 14; (10)

Quince(s)
            bottling, 89
            cheese, 42
            conserve, 23
            jam, 23
            jelly, 40
            marmalade, 32
            marmalade or paste, 44

real accounts, 67
receipts and payments accounts, 247
record keeping, vii-viii
reducing balance depreciation, 135-6
rent, 22,23,120-2, 126, 127
returns accounts, 18-20, 54-5
returns day books, 104-11
revenue expenditure, 189-93
running balance accounts, 32-3

scale of life, 20, 47-8, 60
science, 23, 72, 109 ff.;
history of___, 162
sense-perception, 48-52, 63, 65;
common sense, 50-2, 55
Sicilian school of Medicine, 63
slavery, 144
sleep and dreams, 47-8
Socrates, 89, 99, 131-2
Soul, 21, 45ff.; defined, 49-50 , 84, 93-4
Speusippus, 3, 5, 15, 69, 65; common sense, 50-2, 55
spheres, celestial, 19, 37, 40, 90, 94
spontaneous production, 86
state, see political science
Stoicism, 20-1, 66, 143, 164
subject, substratum (of change), 13, 26
substantial, the, 74, 79, 82,-9
sun, 43
syllogism, 103ff.

 

Tasker, 84
Tilling-Stevens, 97, 99
Torquay Regatta Fair, 48, 85
Tubs, 119
Twigdons Riding Machine, 16

Unidentified persons, 407

Vanity publishing, 126, 15-8
Verbs, 42-3
Verse, 120, 122-4
Volume rights, 148

Waldorf Schools, 129-131
want, 12, 160, 161, 171, 177
war, 146, 148, 149, 151, 153, 195, 199, 207, 218, 231
            Angolian Civil, 233
            Old, 200
Who You Are/Who You Really Are, 20, 28, 34, 43, 52, 56, 58, 66, 69, 135, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 177, 205, 210, 214, 224, 244, 246,
wisdom, 241, 244, 249
            see also knowledge vs. wisdom
workersí Rights, 226-227
world peacekeeping force, 196, 206
Worldwide Compensaton System, 186
wrong, see ìrightî and ìwrongî

Xerox 6500 color copier, 130-31

Youatt, Mr., on selection, 22
____, on sub-breeds of sheep, 25
____, on rudimentary horns in young cattle, 381

Zampa Rd. SE16. 4F, 79
Zangwill Rd. SE3. 1C, 96
Zealand Rd. E3. 2A, 66
Zennor Rd. SW12. 1C, 104
Zenoria St. SE22. 3D, 93
Zermatt Rd. Th. Hth. 3B, 118
Zetland St. E14. 3D, 67
Zion Pl. Th. Hth. 3C, 118
Zion Rd. Th. Hth. 3C, 118
Zoar St.1B, 78 Zoffant St. 1E, 45

Originally published in Turtle Soup 3

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Aluminium & Glass
7.49am, 1958

Moving in a pool of amber the olive fingers of a man are prodding an assortment wooden blocks and broken watch faces around the base of a gold biscuit tin. As the morning clouds shift, and sunlight floods the courtyard, he thoughtfully stacks the blocks into a neat column.

He had become distracted by the memory of a giant structure made from steel that he had seen on a brief excursion to Brussels. The structure, that supposed to represent the concept of an atom, inspired him to build something. Something that would perhaps occupy twenty-three years of his life. Something quite possibly composed from the detritus that lay before him…

Bauxite & Bakelite
Within the confines of a white walled room, the collection of discarded artifacts were being formed into the hull of an obscure mechanical contrivance.

‘…The sound of artificial bird-calls from brass sockets… A red glow emits from behind a complex network of steel scaffold… The machine has no choice but to continue as the found detritus is converted into new contraptions… The machine swells as a new world is shaped from the found discards of the old and silver motors multiply…’

Mistitled, lacking in structure, drowned in a confusion of ornamentation, devoid of a useful function. It should be dismissed as a worthless and detestable fantasy, constructed by a somewhat naive engineer.

Flint & Fire
9.43pm, 1774

Twitching in a stalk of crimson the beige fingers of a man are crumbling soft pieces of chalk and soil onto the page of his notebook. As the evening clouds draw in, and darkness descends upon the courtyard, he thoughtfully rolls the chalk into a smooth ball.

The chalk-covered notes before him.

He had become distracted by the memory of a giant structure made from iron he had seen on a brief sally into the capital. The structure, which combined fire and water to produce steam, had instilled in him the need to write something. Something that would perhaps occupy twenty-three years of his life. Something quite possibly composed from the chalk-covered notes before him.

Pressure & Parchment
Within the pages of a book, a collection of ideas regarding the earth as some kind of machine were being formed into an obscure geological tome.

‘…The sound of lava bubbling in rock sockets… An orange glow emits from behind a complex network of subterranean supports… The machine has no choice but to continue as the continental debris is converted into new sedimentary strata… The machine swells as a new world is shaped from the ruins of the old and black silt gathers…’

Mistitled, lacking in form, drowned in a confusion of words, deficient in field evidence. It should be dismissed as a worthless and indigestible fantasy, written by a somewhat dated armchair geologist.

Originally published in Turtle Soup 4

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