List of things I've often wondered:

[capri0mni]

1. Cats hate getting wet. So how in the world did they evolve such a strong appetite for fish?



2. Laughter has a strong part to play in social bonding. So does weeping, perhaps. We think of these two things as being on opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. So if they are so different, why do they sound exactly alike? Why didn't they evolve into different sounds, or why didn't we evolve the ability to tell them apart, except when we are right next to each other (and, sometimes, not even then)?



3. What good are sweaty palms? I mean, right at the point when it would probably be a good idea to bung a rock at something, our palms get too slippery and wet to throw said rock with any accuracy. WTF, evolution?



4. Has there ever been a culture whose religion supports the belief in individual souls that continue to live after bodily death without including some sort of deity?


• If not, why not?



5. Why do arrangement of even-numbered things (groupings of food on a plate, flowers in a vase, items in a list like this) always seem incomplete compared to arrangements of odd-numbered things?

Comments

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

1. Cats like to watch fish because of the way they move. Maybe we interpreted that as "cats like fish" and started feeding them fish even if they wouldn't normally try for it in the wild.

4. I have wondered this myself quite often. Alternately, are there any systems of belief that have an actual personified deity (as opposed to a non-anthropomorphic Higher Power, or a Buddha-type prophet/teacher with divine qualities) that does not also promise life after death?

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

1. Well that hypothesis doesn't answer the question of why domestic cats, who've never, in their lifetimes, ever seen a living fish, still get beside themselves with excitement every time a human opens a can of tuna (as in climbing up your face, and running in circles, excited).

4. Regarding your alternative question: Yes. Judaism.

In Judaism, the dead are simply dead, and it is the responsibility of the living to remember them and honor their memory. When the Messiah comes, and The Kingdom of God is on Earth, and the dead are returned to life, they will be returned to bodily life.

(edited for accuracy, since, in the First Century, followers of Jesus were Jews)

Belief among First Century Jews that Jesus was the Messiah would have been nearly universal if all the dead had risen from their graves three days after his crucifixion. [/recently watched a documentary comparing the religious connections between Passover and Easter]

[gordon-r-d.livejournal.com]

1. Or how they appear from nowhere whenever someone enters the house with a fish supper from the local chippy.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

So if they are so different, why do they sound exactly alike?

They don't. If they sounded exactly alike, you'd never hear someone doing either in another room and be able to tell which it is. But you can. Generally, it's not that difficult, even, though sometimes you might have to stop and listen. But the sounds are really quite distinct.

[indefatigable42.livejournal.com]

1. Are cats naturally scavengers enough that they'll get excited about any kind of smelly meat that someone has on hand?

4. Judaism still has the return to life, even if it's not an "afterlife" in the sense that you have consciousness while you're not alive. I'm trying to figure out if there are any gods that don't promise any kind of resurrection or continued existence at all.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

1) Yes, cats get excited about any kind of meat. But every cat I've ever known gets the most excited about fish, over any other option. As a matter of fact, if you have kitten stuck in a tree, and want to get the kitten down safely, put down an open can of tuna at the base of the tree. Even a cat that would otherwise be paralysed with fear will forget that fear in order to get to the fish. It's wild.

4) Ah, yes. I see what you mean.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

But they're also similiar enough for them to be often confused one for the other (especially in the first seconds of hearing the sound), especially if surrounding cues are missing or ambiguous.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Kitty-Cat Teleportation!

:::Nods:::

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

1) I've known three cats who prefer eggs to any other protein treat.

Perhaps cats are attracted to fish simply because, even when raw, it tends to smell more than other meat?

/doesn't know or care about felines

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Which is why I said sometimes you have to stop and listen to make sure you're hearing what you think you're hearing. They may be somewhat similar, but they are by no means *exactly the same*. For one thing, most people would much prefer to listen to laughter than to crying, and that's not a matter of conscious choice based on determining which one they're hearing.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

That's definitely a possibility. I've known cats to go ga-ga over sweaty, stinky, feet... especially men's feet.

Then again, my cat Amanda begs to smell cheese when I open a bag of it ... but then runs away when I offer her some.

/was weaned on shed cat hair, as an infant.

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

2. A thought that occured to me this morning is that crying and laughing don't even always mean what we think they mean; tears of joy, nervous laughter.

This doesn't help answer the question, though. If anything, it makes the whole thing more mysterious...

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly, which suggests to me that although both laughter and weeping both signify something important is going on, the reasons they're important have nothing to do with the explainations our rational brains can invent.

hmmmm.....