If I’m being completely fair and objective, not all birds eat “bird seed” and not everyone is well-informed about the diets of various types of bird. But also, at least where I live, some parks have signs that specifically say not to feed the ducks/geese at all, and I can totally understand how that might lead people to conclude that it’s not safe to feed them.
On the other hand, I’m reminded of the time that I was at an insect exhibit when one of the educators running the booth referred to “these animals” and the woman behind me asked something like “bugs is animals?” And it still leaves me perplexed that otherwise seemingly fully functional people make it to adulthood thinking that insects are not animals.
I’ve met a few who don’t know humans are animals. But I have met a ton who do not believe that humans are animals. They are generally far less pleasant people to deal with than the first group.
When I was in highschool, a student I was sat next to found out I was an athiest. He rotated a full 90 degrees in his chair at me, and with an excitement shared only by inventors and engineers finally getting to see their ideas actually working in the real world, he asked me: “Where did dirt come from?”
I told him, “I don’t know what dirt is.”
Quizzically, “Dirt. Like, in the ground.”
I tapped my shoes on the floor. “Home Depot.”
This was, apparently, as far as his anime-villain machinations could take him. He quietly rotated back to the table and drew a school bus or something—I don’t remember what we were doing in art class.
Far from the worst encounter a person could have, but I think about it all the time.
I recall in a high school biology class, a classmate asked whether atoms were alive. The teacher was kind, but perplexed. She went into detail about how cells, which we do consider to be alive, are built out of molecules (not alive), which are built from atoms (not alive), etc. I’m not sure the question asker had ever considered that cells are not the same as atoms 🤔
I can see where some confusion might come from with a student who doesn’t really pay attention or care. Both cells and atoms are tiny and contain a “nucleus” so If you are working with barely understood half remembered facts it might get confusing.
If I’m being completely fair and objective, not all birds eat “bird seed” and not everyone is well-informed about the diets of various types of bird. But also, at least where I live, some parks have signs that specifically say not to feed the ducks/geese at all, and I can totally understand how that might lead people to conclude that it’s not safe to feed them.
On the other hand, I’m reminded of the time that I was at an insect exhibit when one of the educators running the booth referred to “these animals” and the woman behind me asked something like “bugs is animals?” And it still leaves me perplexed that otherwise seemingly fully functional people make it to adulthood thinking that insects are not animals.
I’ve met people who don’t know humans are animals.
I’ve met a few who don’t know humans are animals. But I have met a ton who do not believe that humans are animals. They are generally far less pleasant people to deal with than the first group.
Ok, so you say humans come from monkeys, right?
But then, who put the monkeys there in the first place, uh?
Have you ever thought of that?
/s
If I had a nickel for every time I had that conversation…
When I was in highschool, a student I was sat next to found out I was an athiest. He rotated a full 90 degrees in his chair at me, and with an excitement shared only by inventors and engineers finally getting to see their ideas actually working in the real world, he asked me: “Where did dirt come from?”
I told him, “I don’t know what dirt is.”
Quizzically, “Dirt. Like, in the ground.”
I tapped my shoes on the floor. “Home Depot.”
This was, apparently, as far as his anime-villain machinations could take him. He quietly rotated back to the table and drew a school bus or something—I don’t remember what we were doing in art class.
Far from the worst encounter a person could have, but I think about it all the time.
I did. I am the monkey king. You will never financially recover from this.
Honestly, I can see how someone would think insects and animals are different things given that we never call them animals like 99% of the time.
Plus they’re so different than say, a cat or bird or fish, it almost feels like they shouldn’t be called animals.
Of course, insects are animals, but I’ve heard people say way dumber things than that, things like, “Trump is not a pedo.”
I recall in a high school biology class, a classmate asked whether atoms were alive. The teacher was kind, but perplexed. She went into detail about how cells, which we do consider to be alive, are built out of molecules (not alive), which are built from atoms (not alive), etc. I’m not sure the question asker had ever considered that cells are not the same as atoms 🤔
I can see where some confusion might come from with a student who doesn’t really pay attention or care. Both cells and atoms are tiny and contain a “nucleus” so If you are working with barely understood half remembered facts it might get confusing.
A confused question but actually it’s not stupid… the line between living and non-living isn’t 100% clear.
you need remarkably little wisdom to contribute to modern society