When I was little I did a school report on the Loch Ness Monster. I think that I wanted it to exist. I wanted something that mysterious to still be 'out there'--to still be elusive to mankind's ability to know this world in which we live. I get excited when I get my National Geographic Adventure magazine. I am excited to see what is out there that I didn't know about.
Recently two big discoveries have been made in the animal world. For the first time a giant squid has been video taped in its own natural habitat. Also, a once thought extinct (almost mythical) woodpecker has been rediscovered in the wild. Read the original Cornell paper here and a Minnesotan birder who is still skeptical here.
I am not sure what excites me about these things. I am not a naturalist, birder or wildlife expert. I got excited last week watching a PBS episode on the effects of global warming on polar ice caps--I got excited because they discovered a species of worm that is living in the freshwater melting ice.
Sometimes I want there to be limits to our knowledge so that there are opportunities for our creativity...for our imagination. It is amazing to me that the largest squid and the largest woodpecker can be so elusive. It amazes me that Osama cannot be found.
When I watch the news I get the feeling that mankind has permeated every once of the planet. It is refreshing to know that we have a long ways to go. I am encouraged by the infinite nature of our lack of knowledge.
If the monster of Loch Ness does exist I hope that she escapes discovery for a while longer. Hopefully our often reckless inhabitation of the planet will not unknowingly steal away opportunities for discovery (as in the case of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker).
New opportunities for discovery are evolving all around us--that is somehow refreshing. What else is out there?
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