The Metropolitan Biodiversity Primer - Introduction #3
As many of you probably know, every major city consists of layers.
Like an onion.
And like an aged onion - they are covered dust, they smell, and they are often covered with webs of all sorts that effectively give them shape, integrity, continuity and flow.
Unlike onions though - cities don't work very well, when chopped to pieces, and no - you can't add them to your soup.
But let's get to the point. Modern cities are complex, multi-layered structures. If you ever plan to functon effectively in an environment as unwelcoming as that, you need to have a basic understanding of how it works and who are you very likely to interact with once you're there. And for that you need to have a comprehensive guide which will walk you through all the dos and don'ts, pros and cons, tips & tricks. You will be able to find all that, and - believe me - much, much more, just right here - in the Metropolitan Biodiversity Primer. Later on I will elaborate on what the Primer is in itself, and perhaps I will try to explain and teach you how to apply all the priceless information that it consists of, but for now - let's take a glimpse at what the Primer is about.
Now, go back to the first sentence of this Introduction, read it aloud, try to understand the message it conveys, and read on:
The very upper layer is usually the world of the on-the-roof swimming pools, 400 sq. m. luxurious condos with helipads, and driving ranges for the senior (actually so senior that you could probably call them senile) executives whose big fat leather armchairs are just one floor below.
Then, if we happen to fall from grace, we might have a chance to experience the mid-upper layers, which - again - consist of some luxurious condos, offices with windows for the senior (but not-yet-senile) execs, plus a handful of occasional restaurants, sightseeing terraces etc., usually with telescopes for the ubiquitous tourists.
Under the mid-upper layer there is of course the mid-mid layer - not much intelligent life ever observed there - which consists mainly of whatever you want, and its very sheer purpose is to give cover to the ground floors beneath.
These, in turn, thrive with commerce and entertainment, and to some species are by far the most important of all earthly habitats.
The abundant flora and fauna of the ground floors makes up for what is usually referred to as the human civilization, which basically means that whatever you may find there, it is supposed to be civilised - one way or another.
Not-so-unexpectedly this opinion is often exaggerated.
But the omnipresent life knows no boundaries, respects noone's limitations, obeys nobody, and spreads frantically. It spreads upwards, outwards and... yes.
It also spreads downwards.
As most of you probably know, according to Darwin's theory of evolution, the abundance of species observed today on Earth is a result of eons of natural selection, ages of adaptation and centuries of sex. Over the years this simple triad of processes has given us such unique marvels of biology as the mighty spielbergsauria, the homicidal hitchcock birds or the suicidal lemmings. Moreover, according to Darwin, and contrary to the common sense of the citizens of Utah, the human being is itself a rather goodlooking and fairly reasonable byprocess of the aforementioned phenomena.
What many of you - evolutionists, and none of you - creationists, might have forgot about, is the basic principle of evolution: it is an on-going process, and even though many species disappear from the surface of our beautiful Planet every day, hundreds of new ones appear to claim their place.
In order to prove it to you, I will try to describe (in detail, if necessary) a handful of examples of the homo sapiens sapiens subspecies that have recently come into existence in various places of the globe. As indicated before, the primary habitats of these fascinating creatures are located deep under ground, hidden from greedy eyes of zoologists as well as from the sunlight, yet - in the middle of one's everyday routine...
The Metropolitan Biodiversity Primer is meant to be your ultimate guide to the intricacies and peculiarities of a big, modern city. In the upcoming chapters of the MBP we will take a closer look at at a handful of interesting species, such as:
Like an onion.
And like an aged onion - they are covered dust, they smell, and they are often covered with webs of all sorts that effectively give them shape, integrity, continuity and flow.
Unlike onions though - cities don't work very well, when chopped to pieces, and no - you can't add them to your soup.
But let's get to the point. Modern cities are complex, multi-layered structures. If you ever plan to functon effectively in an environment as unwelcoming as that, you need to have a basic understanding of how it works and who are you very likely to interact with once you're there. And for that you need to have a comprehensive guide which will walk you through all the dos and don'ts, pros and cons, tips & tricks. You will be able to find all that, and - believe me - much, much more, just right here - in the Metropolitan Biodiversity Primer. Later on I will elaborate on what the Primer is in itself, and perhaps I will try to explain and teach you how to apply all the priceless information that it consists of, but for now - let's take a glimpse at what the Primer is about.
Now, go back to the first sentence of this Introduction, read it aloud, try to understand the message it conveys, and read on:
The very upper layer is usually the world of the on-the-roof swimming pools, 400 sq. m. luxurious condos with helipads, and driving ranges for the senior (actually so senior that you could probably call them senile) executives whose big fat leather armchairs are just one floor below.
Then, if we happen to fall from grace, we might have a chance to experience the mid-upper layers, which - again - consist of some luxurious condos, offices with windows for the senior (but not-yet-senile) execs, plus a handful of occasional restaurants, sightseeing terraces etc., usually with telescopes for the ubiquitous tourists.
Under the mid-upper layer there is of course the mid-mid layer - not much intelligent life ever observed there - which consists mainly of whatever you want, and its very sheer purpose is to give cover to the ground floors beneath.
These, in turn, thrive with commerce and entertainment, and to some species are by far the most important of all earthly habitats.
The abundant flora and fauna of the ground floors makes up for what is usually referred to as the human civilization, which basically means that whatever you may find there, it is supposed to be civilised - one way or another.
Not-so-unexpectedly this opinion is often exaggerated.
But the omnipresent life knows no boundaries, respects noone's limitations, obeys nobody, and spreads frantically. It spreads upwards, outwards and... yes.
It also spreads downwards.
As most of you probably know, according to Darwin's theory of evolution, the abundance of species observed today on Earth is a result of eons of natural selection, ages of adaptation and centuries of sex. Over the years this simple triad of processes has given us such unique marvels of biology as the mighty spielbergsauria, the homicidal hitchcock birds or the suicidal lemmings. Moreover, according to Darwin, and contrary to the common sense of the citizens of Utah, the human being is itself a rather goodlooking and fairly reasonable byprocess of the aforementioned phenomena.
What many of you - evolutionists, and none of you - creationists, might have forgot about, is the basic principle of evolution: it is an on-going process, and even though many species disappear from the surface of our beautiful Planet every day, hundreds of new ones appear to claim their place.
In order to prove it to you, I will try to describe (in detail, if necessary) a handful of examples of the homo sapiens sapiens subspecies that have recently come into existence in various places of the globe. As indicated before, the primary habitats of these fascinating creatures are located deep under ground, hidden from greedy eyes of zoologists as well as from the sunlight, yet - in the middle of one's everyday routine...
The Metropolitan Biodiversity Primer is meant to be your ultimate guide to the intricacies and peculiarities of a big, modern city. In the upcoming chapters of the MBP we will take a closer look at at a handful of interesting species, such as:
- shape-shifters
- quarterbacks
- slip-sleepers
- elvises and shakiras
Ah, and returning to the onion thing: the big cities make you cry a lot if you move too close...
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
posted by ivanhoe1982 @ Sunday, August 07, 2005
1 comments
1 Comments:
your philosophical blog, mr ivanhoe, entertains but also exercises the mind of those who read it; i am in awe... and one other thing...life's to short for crying... ps przyjemnosci w dublinie
Post a Comment
<< Home