If you haven't already heard the story then you're going to think I'm joking. I'm not. I have confirmed the story from several news sources now. Last month, in Norfolk, Virginia a shark became pregnant by herself. Yes. A shark had a virgin birth. It's called parthenogenesis.Apparently it isn't the first recorded instance of this phenomenon. Scientists have determined that sharks can become pregnant in captivity under extreme stress. I like this discovery for a couple of reasons. I like it because it was thought to be impossible. Can you imagine what your eighth grade science teacher would have told you if you stood up and claimed that female sharks can become pregnant without the aid of male sharks? Rube.
Here is the second thing I like about the discovery, and this is where science can be so daggum arrogant. They assume that parthenogenesis only happens "in captivity under extreme conditions". Huh? Have they seen the size of the ocean lately? Is it remotely possible that something happens out there that scientist don't know about?
This is simply the limitation of science. Science is a wonderful tool . . . but it will never be omniscient. Never. All knowledge can't be tested and reproduced. Almost everything taught in scientific textbooks today will someday be revised. It's kind of exciting, really. All I ask, in the meantime, is that science entertain the possibility that they haven't cornered the market on knowledge.
4 comments:
Oh good, a philosophical quandry! So, if a shark becomes pregnant in the middle of the ocean and there are no scientists observing....
I wonder what constitutes extreme circumstances--excessive caffeine, global warming, relationship troubles, piping Rush Limbaugh into the aquarium 24/7....
Aaron, what science should say, instead of "only in extreme conditions" is this: "parthenogenesis has only been obverved in female sharks in captivity under extreme conditions." I am surprised that these engineer-science types would use the word "only" or any such word that limits the realm of discovery. Using "only" smacks of dogmatism, like ... you know ... religion. And we can't have religion can we? Hrumph!
Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson
I should be fair to the scientist. It is, after all, possible that the journalist's spin was more absolute than the scientific language.
However . . . the fact remains that until the past year or so you would have been considered really stupid for believing that a shark could do this.
You are little more than a science heretic. May Tom Cruise forgive you -
Post a Comment