The Straight Dope 03/12/2004

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 03/12/2004

Dear Cecil:

Regarding memes (What is a meme, The Straight Dope, February 13), why is
it so important to deny me even the tiniest crumb of a consciousness,
self, will, Geist, Seele, soul, or whatever the heck you want to call
it? What is so threatening about my having a little bit of choice? What
is so terrifying about acknowledging my ability to choose between
whether I will read two, three, or four bedtime stories tonight to my
four-year-old son or, for that matter, whether to get a root beer
instead of a Coke? Do I really have to have a meme for every little
decision? Is it OK if I tell my memes to go jump in the lake? 
--clarkc, via the Straight Dope Message Board

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Cecil replies:

There, there. Uncle Cecil recognizes that his column, while certainly
nailing the meme question, had the unfortunate side effect of
rhetorically reducing his readers to zombies, leaving parties such as
yourself in a nervous and uncertain state. So let me assure you: You
have consciousness, and by the time I'm done you'll have free will, too.
(I'll take a pass on whether you've got a soul.) There's just one thing
I can't budge on, but in today's postliterate society it's something
most folks won't miss: You haven't got a mind.

Before you stomp off in a huff . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040312.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I'm curious as to how certain flocks of birds seem to turn en masse
simultaneously. All of them. In unison. I guess I've witnessed this for
years, but only recently started really noticing and subsequently
wondering. What the #?! The whole dadgummed bunch of them - hundreds - 
just hang a Louie or pull back on the stick at precisely the same time.
I've been too mesmerized doing the "flock gawk" that I can't even say
what kind of birds they were; they could have been goony birds for all I
know. R.S.V.P., as my employer is getting irritated with my avian aerial
obsession. --Curtis Montgomery, Stoneboro, Pennsylvania

SDSTAFF Colibri replies:

The highly coordinated movements of flocks of birds or schools of fish
are among the most fascinating phenomena to be found in nature. The
group seems to turn and maneuver as a single unit, changing direction
almost instantaneously, leading some researchers to hypothesize that
electromagnetic communication or even "thought transference" must be
involved. In reality this behavior results from far less mysterious
causes. Such movements are a prime example of emergent behavior: the
behavior is not a property of any individual bird, but rather emerges as
a property of the group itself. There is no leader, no overall control;
instead the flock's movements are determined by the moment-by-moment
decisions of individual birds, following simple rules in response to
interactions with their neighbors in the flock.

First, I should mention why animals aggregate in flocks, herds, and
schools in the first place. 

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mflockswoop.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 13/07/1973

Dear Cecil: 

What is the origin of the custom of drinking tequila after licking salt
off your hand and afterwards biting into a slice of fresh lime? What
does the salt do, anyway? Is it true that tequila is made from the same
plant as mescaline? --Linda T., Los Angeles

Dear Linda:

Get ready for this. Mescaline is made from what the plant botanists call
Lophophora williamsii. Tequila is made from several species of the genus
Agave. The term "mescal" is used as an informal name for both types of
plant, even though they are of different genera. 

So, while you could say that both tequila and mescaline are manufactured
from the mescal plant, you couldn't say they are manufactured from the
same plant. To add to the confusion . . .

For more, see:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_348.html

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