Herbert Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” after reading Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory on natural selection. Darwin phrased it as "Survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations." Sometimes I despair that modern society is interfering in an attempt to discredit Darwin’s theory.
Two days ago a letter from the USA was delivered to a house in Perth whose occupants consisted of 11 overseas ‘backpackers’. The letter wasn’t addressed to any of them, but the nine occupants currently in the house decided to open it (an offence to open someone else's mail). Inside they found a small package with a bolt of lightning symbol on the front of a sticker. After removing the sticker they discovered a small piece of aluminium foil containing a white powder. So they divided the powder into nine equal portions and snorted it. The two absent occupants returned to the house a short time later to discovered the nine either unconscious or semi-conscious twitching, convulsing and hallucinating. They promptly call the emergency services. A third of the available ambulances in the city were used to take the nine to various hospitals. Six were released the following day and were photographed by the local media laughing and joking; two remain in intensive care and one is in an induced coma.
Obviously they learned nothing from the event. I’d like to think they will receive a bill for all the avoidable expenses. Their medical insurance would probably be void…… But then they probably don’t have medical insurance. Surely we need to start think whether we should be interfering in the process of natural selection?
Writing of strange life forms. Jan took a photo of me and a former classmate when he visited yesterday.
I should mention both of us had been supping on sparkling non-alcoholic apple juice but somehow Jan managed to craft a photo in the best possible light!
It was good of Doug to visit us during his trip to Perth. We last met when he visited us on Waiouru whilst moored in Rugby.
Whilst I’m on the subject of Darwin and natural selection. Yesterday evening I went for a walk through part of the nearby conservation park and came upon Skippy who had paid the price for a poor decision.
Somehow Skippy got herself on the wrong side of the fence and paid the ultimate price. That’s one genetic line which will proceed no further. There were good views to the east as the sun slowly started to set.
And finally an interesting house bordering the conservation park.
Each corner of the house is exactly the same which means all four sides are exact replicas. I suspect it’s four houses in one built for an extended family.
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