So what is it that makes us...well...human...

[DJKillaQueen]

should say that I'm currwently as pissed as a newt (or frog)...

That was me yesterday.....spending today sobering up!

[SeanMacGabhann]

Ah yes. Revolution. That historical harbinger of equality, peace and harmony

[DJKillaQueen]

Ha ha.....although I didn't allude to what might replace it, only that it's the only act that would change anything in any kind of radical way....albiet not necessarily for the better.

[waynetta]

I think that one day insects wuill inherit the earth. I have just been watching a David Attenborough documentary about African ants. These ants are farmers. They take grass back to their mounds and a special fungus is grown on it. It's the only place in the world that this fungus grows and these ants eat it. However, it produces dangerous carbon monoxide so the ants have built their mounds to have air conditioning so that harmful fumes are got rid of. It's amazing. Individually the ants have no intelligence, but collectively they are like cells in a massive brain.

[Ladymuck]

waynetta Wrote:

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However, it produces

> dangerous carbon monoxide so the ants have built

> their mounds to have air conditioning so that

> harmful fumes are got rid of. It's amazing.

> Individually the ants have no intelligence, but

> collectively they are like cells in a massive

> brain.

Blimey - so ants are contributing to global warming?

[katie1997]

Ladymuck Wrote:

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> waynetta Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> However, it produces

> > dangerous carbon monoxide so the ants have

> built

> > their mounds to have air conditioning so that

> > harmful fumes are got rid of. It's amazing.

> > Individually the ants have no intelligence, but

> > collectively they are like cells in a massive

> > brain.

>

> Blimey - so ants are contributing to global

> warming?

Noooooo LM they aren't.

[waynetta]

Yes lol I suppose you could say that

[Ladymuck]

Isn't carb. mon a GH gas?

[Ladymuck]

ooops another x-post.. previous post in response to lady Katharina Van der Wotsit-poos

[Ladymuck]

*dashes back to guests pretending has been for yet another pee*

[katie1997]

Ladymuck Wrote:

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> Isn't carb. mon a GH gas?

Y-es. It is also a naturally occuring substance and has been around for a very long time.

*thinks probably as long as LM's guests have been wondering where she is*

[Ladymuck]

Yes but so is C02...it's still causing probs though as it re-radiates the sun's heat and contributes to global warming.

*thinks...not bad for half a frog*

*disappears back to guests/another top up of cider*

[Ladymuck]

Huguenot Wrote:

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> I often find it helps to break down these

> questions into smaller fragments - in this case

> before deciding what makes us 'human', you have to

> decide what 'human' is.

>

> This isn't as simple as it sounds. It's difficult

> to define what 'human' is in any consistent way.

> For example we could argue that humans have two

> arms and two legs, but we're all agreed that

> losing a limb in an accident doesn't make us less

> than human.

>

> Likewise we're familiar with anatomically perfect

> people being described as 'inhuman', so apparently

> defining a 'human' must somehow revolve around a

> set of values - not a physical form.

>

> We're into the realm of many great philosophers

> here, particularly concerning whether these values

> can be defined or expressed in particular actions,

> or whether the thoughts themselves are what

> defines our humanity.

>

> In other words, if we think nice thoughts but are

> unable to put them into action then are we still

> nice? More pointedly if we think nasty thoughts

> but do good deeds are we then good?

>

> For most people, a person thinking nasty thoughts

> but doing good deeds would be described in

> unpleasant terms - for example 'two faced'.

>

> So possibly we could conclude the generally

> accepted definition of 'human' lies within

> thoughts and beliefs, not in actions or

> appearances.

>

> Those thoughts and beliefs considered most

> 'humane' are generally altruistic ones - a process

> which requires abstract reasoning, an

> understanding of cause and effect, and

> collaboration for the greater good.

>

> In other words what makes us human is the ability

> to do things such as watching the wildlife,

> drawing insights and parallels, and using these to

> inform our decisions about the future on both a

> moral plane and a physical one.

Blimey Mr. H - that post (almost) sobered me up...beautiful.

[waynetta]

Are you really hosting a dinner party and abandoning your guests at regular intervals to post messages here ladymuck!?

[Ladymuck]

:-$...yes

[DJKillaQueen]

LM the earth's atmosphere is a greenhouse atmosphere and always has been. We breath in Oxygen and breathe out CO2, plants abosorb it and release oxygen and so on. The issue is the over prduction of CO2 above and beyond the normal balance of life on the planet and in that regard we are mostly responsible.

[Ladymuck]

Blame Mark...I'm just an addict

[waynetta]

Maybe you should pose your question about life to your dinner party guests so that they could then get your full attention

[katie1997]

Ladymuck Wrote:

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> Yes but so is C02...it's still causing probs

> though as it re-radiates the sun's heat and

> contributes to global warming.

> *thinks...not bad for half a frog*

*thinks...then decides against it*

> *disappears back to guests/another top up of

> cider*

*wonders how many moles of CO2 are in LM's cider* :)-D

[katie1997]

PS. And rice cookers LM. They contribute to what makes us....well...human ;-)

[Ladymuck]

katie1997 Wrote:

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> *wonders how many moles of CO2 are in LM's cider*

> :)-D

*checks cider for moles*

[katie1997]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> LM the earth's atmosphere is a greenhouse

> atmosphere and always has been. We breath in

> Oxygen and breathe out CO2, plants abosorb it and

> release oxygen and so on. The issue is the over

> prduction of CO2 above and beyond the normal

> balance of life on the planet and in that regard

> we are mostly responsible.

No it hasn't. Earth's atmosphere has changed throughout the history of the planet. For example, there was much less oxygen in the atmosphere 2400 million years ago. Oh and there are far less rare gases in the atmosphere now than existed a very long time ago too.

PS. *warns moles to leave LM's cider alone*

[DJKillaQueen]

That's true but in the modern lifespan of the planet it is a greenhouse atmosphere and it's that greenhouse atmosphere that has given us the ecosystems we have. Without it, life would not exist.

[katie1997]

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

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> That's true but in the modern lifespan of the

> planet it is a greenhouse atmoshpere and it's that

> greenhouse atmosphere that has given us the

> ecosystems we have.

I'd like to know what you consider to be the 'modern lifespan of the planet'. The trouble is.....this often varies from person to person. Makes it very difficult to accurately demonstrate scientific facts. So your earlier comment about the Earth's atmosphere having always being a greenhouse environment is completely inaccurate, to put it politely.

When do you think the 'greenhouse atmosphere that gave us the ecosystems we have' came into existence?

The planet used to have a reducing environment and then it became an oxidising environment.

[DJKillaQueen]

No those greenhouse gasses are what have allowed the earth to have the range of temperatures necessary for life. Without them too cold, too much of them too hot. It's called the 'Goldilocks Principle' and is why we are the only planet on our solar system with life. The main gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide and they trap sufficent solar energy to create the right temperature ranges.