[Avodah] moon and sun

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

I wrote:

> Yes, of course intelligent beings obey the laws of gravity.
> But our motions aren't always predictable. It is the very
> UNpredictability of our motion that demonstrates intelligence.

R' Zev Sero asked:

> Hmm, so if were were stranded in space with a plentiful supply
> of air, food, water, entertainment, etc., enough to live for
> some time, but no jet pack or other means of propulsion, we'd
> suddenly lose our intelligence?!
> Is a person paralysed in bed somehow less intelligent than one
> who walks around?

You didn't notice my use of the word "demonstrates" !!!

A person who is immobile can certainly be very intelligence. But he is not *demonstrating* any intelligence. If he does not speak, and does not move, and does not communicate by telepathy or any other means, how can someone determine that this person is intelligent?

It is only when the astronaut fires his rocket, or when the paralyzed person blinks in morse code, that we notice that the pattern has been broken, and that there is an intelligence at work.

I wrote:

> Trees also remain in one predictable place forever. But "chai
> nosay es atzmo" - only someone in the animal kingdom (or above)
> can pick himself up and move elsewhere.

and RSZ asked:

> And yet a turkey is not noticeably more intelligent than a tree.
> So self-directed motion is not a test of intelligence.

You never noticed a turkey looking at something, and then look elsewhere? It will stand there gobbling away, and then walk a few feet and gobble some more. The most a tree will do is to turn its leaves towards the sun, and move those leaves over the course of the day, keeping them directed towards the sun. Totally predictable.

I'll grant you that compared to humans, turkeys are pretty stupid. But compared to trees, well, they're absolute geniuses!!!

Akiva Miller


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