tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Dec 07 18:06:53 1996
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Re: yuch
- From: "eric d. zay" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: yuch
- Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1996 21:10:42 -0500
The analogy of similar plant and animal species in Europe and America does
not completely hold up here. There is a universe of difference between two
continents which share the same biosphere, and two planets (Earth and
Kronos) separated by light years. It is true that convergent evolution
sometimes creates similar forms, but It seems that Star Trek writers rely
on this far to much. We hear to much about Alvarian dung beetles, cave
sloths, and hook spiders. Species of animals that evolved on different
worlds, for the most part, should be fundamentally different from each
other. In his recent book <The Demon Haunted World> Carl Sagan criticizes
Star Trek for this, saying that <Star Trek does not come to terms with
evolution.> Although he has some good things to say about it also. I
would like to see more imagination on the part of the writers.
SuSvaj
----------
> From: Susan Farmer <[email protected]>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: yuch
> Date: Saturday, December 07, 1996 7:56 PM
>
> >X-Comment: TO UNSUBSCRIBE: email "unsub tlhingan-hol" to
[email protected]
> >
> >An even more curious state of affairs is why the klingons have a word
for
> >cockroach <vetlh>. Roaches are Earth bugs also. But then perhaps they
> >hitched a ride to Kronos hiding in the crates of imported chocolate.
> >
> >----------
> >> > > how should i say praying mantis
> >> > Like this: "praying mantis." Unless there is a variety of praying
> >mantis in
> >> > the Klingon Empire (I always thought they were indigenous to Earth),
> >the
> >> > Klingons won't have a word for it.
> >>
> >> I've always wondered why there is a Klingon word for chocolate (yuch).
Is
> >> it real Terran chocolate (maybe the Klingons import it?) or is it just
> >the
> >> nearest Klingon equivalent? Of course, this is a really stupid
question,
> >> so no-one has to reply.
> >>
> >> 'olIva'
> >>
>
> In many ways this is the same argument that Historical Biology had for
years.
> The Americas are a different continent, they must have *completely*
different
> critters over there than they do "here" (aka Mother Europe). But lo and
> behold, not only did we have the same genera of plants and animals, if
> I'm not badly mistaken, we even have some of the same species that they
> have elsewhere (discounting H.sapiens, of course! :-) ). Biologically
> Klingons may be classissified as H.klingonii or some such, or they
> could be Klingonii sapiens -- we do seem to be designed pretty much from
> the same general blueprint. Parallel Evolution is a big thing -- and if
> the universe were seeded by an Older Sentient race, there is no reason
> why *other* species couldn't have evolved in parallel just like bi-pedal
> hominoids did. As a biologist, I don't have *any* problem with the fact
> that there are cockroachs on QonoS, (or chocolate, or Trillium, or
> Preying Mantids. They're probably not the same species we have here, but
> I suspect that they would be emminently recognizable by any competent
> biologist.
>
> IMHO, YMMV, and sorry I couldn't post in tlhIngan. There doesn't seem
> top be words for most of these concepts.
>
> tevram, tIHaDwI' (yes, I know it's not a legal word ...)
> [email protected]
>