Mutants (Mutanter)
A lot of the plants that you find on gardens are mutants, like this daffodil that is in our flower bed (picture). In fact, I think garden people are obsessed with mutations... white streaks on green leaves, filled flowers that can't set seed, and black tulips...
I find it fascinating that we humans are so fascinated with the abnormal, as well as the perfect. The things that just have a little flaw seems less attractive than the two opposites, either a creation of perfection or something outstandingly wrong or different. In the islamic culture it is different - in all 'perfect' mosaics and rugs there is a little mistake, just to show that perfection is what God does, not humans. I think the most perfect thing imaginable are things in nature though, like a perfectly blue sky, a spring flower, or a luna moth.
(New Mexico sky)
Abnormal things of beauty are not unusual in nature either, like old bonsai-like twisted pines, a strange rock, or a hippopotamus. I think hippos definitely are a thing of strangeness, not perfection, even if they function perfectly as animals. In fact, most things that are alive need to be close to perfection to survive through millions of years. The beauty is just in the eyes of humanity, anyway, right? Fruitsflies (bananflugor) don't care about beauty, they care about sex and food. Maybe only we humans can afford to think about beauty, all the rest of life is busy just trying to procreate and survive?
What do you think, do dolphins, butterflies, and cicadas have a sense of beauty or a sense of what is abnormal? What do you like that is perfect or abnormal?
[OK, LA, I know, A.B. Normal from the movie Young Frankenstein did not have a perfect brain :) ]
2 comments:
I think that it´s just people who likes abnormality. Look at dogs for example. They come in all kinds just because of man, because we have selected them for their abnormality, if you want to think that way. They all have the same ancenstor, and wolves do not accept variation in their flock, the abnormal ones becomes outcast. So, animals can sense abnormal thing, but not appriciate it...
I think you are right. Abnormal is maybe not attractive to anybody else except humans. By the way, they have showed that the domestic dogs have been developed at least 4 different times from wild dogs - so they have 4 different origins. They are related to wild dogs in Asia and wolves of course. There was a scientific paper about that a few years ago. But I think all cats come from the same ancestor, but I should check on that.
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