Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA18759 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 2 Apr 2002 13:27:24 +0100 Message-ID: <001101c1d82c$08d93da0$e2a0eb3e@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com> Subject: Wildebeest !! Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 21:46:05 +0100 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_000E_01C1D834.4B5141C0" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
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Hi all,
Reading something about altruistic suicide_ somebody kills/ sacrifies him-
self for the good and better cause // youngsters kill themselves because
they think that without them around things will get better in the household_
I was wondering !
What about the fact that if wildebeests/ zebra's have to cross a river, can/ may
we ' recognize ' the same characteristic lets say by the first animal that
jumps into the water and in most cases will/ can be eaten/ killed by a
crocodile !?
After all, what is the difference between the act of killing oneself to get
things better and killing yourself by jumping first in the river so that the
group you belong to can/ may cross easier/ savier !? ( If of course my
reasoning ends up !!)
Of course, and I agree, we can say that it is the wildebeest its instincts
that drives it along and the first who gets to the river has no luck_ can we
forsee a link with the boy who commits suicide in order to take away the
tensions that rages in the household !?
What makes an animal to go first !? Like we said, instinct !?
Ok, but all the beasts does have, I presume an equal characteristic, so
in a way, each of them can be the first to jump but only one does it.
And yes, we can ackowledge the fact that the one who actually jumps
first is forced/ pushed in to it by the group to take the lead, but can we
be sure !?
If so, how and why !?
We had such an discussion before covering why birds go in one direction
presumably all together at the same moment in time ( they follow a leader),
but in the case of the wildebesst, if it was the leader who goes first, where
is the gain for the group, left behind without its captain !?
I reckon it will all come down to instinct and internal behavioral aspects
but I can 't stop wondering how mush such behavior corresponds with what
we can observe by a human child.
Moreover, thinking about it, by ants the same behavior can be spotted_
some dive into the water to make a brigde/ a floating harnas to support
others so that those can cross, drowning themselves in the process of
doing so !
Anyone !?
Regards,
Kenneth
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