# Turtles and Humans Have Much in Common **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764 "2008-06-30T13:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![coberst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/1 "2008-06-30T13:23:18Z")
Turtles and Humans Have Much in Common I had once concluded it to be natural that when confronted by a new idea humans tended to do a turtle; withdraw into their shell until the coast was clear. After some time posting in cyberspace I have modified my view somewhat. I think that we tend to display two types of turtle responses to our encounter with new ideas. The terrapin withdraws quickly into its shell and the snapping turtle hisses, spits, and snaps when such an encounter happens. I suspect that cyberspace has allowed many people to display a more vulgar attitude than they would in face-to-face encounters. I think that age is a factor in this equation. The young tend to be snappers and the older tend to be terrapins. I think that our teachers and professors have imprinted on the minds of their pupils that there is a legitimacy aspect to knowledge. That knowledge introduced by the teacher is legit and the rest should be avoided when possible. Instead of graduates eager to learn and to earn we have constructed an educational system that qualifies citizens for a life of mindless production and consumption. Instead of turtles we need cats as a model for schooling. A cat travels through the forest alert and curious to all that is in her range of perception. Instead of withdrawing into a shell the cat stealthily examines everything in its path. After a quick examination the cat very well may dart away for cover. The cat is, I think, more likely to survive in a dynamic and dangerous world than is the turtle. Everyone is ignorant of 99.9999…% of the knowledge in the world. Understanding this fact I think is the first step toward setting each one of us free from any embarrassment we might feel about our ignorance. We should use our ignorance as a catalyst for discovering the joy of learning to understand what ever portion of the world’s knowledge that interests us. **We were born smart enough but we weren’t born intellectually sophisticated enough to handle this high tech world we have invented.** What is the difference between “being smart” and “being sophisticated”? I would say that we can use the handyman and his tool box as a good analogy for comprehending this difference. The number and quality of the instruments in a handyman’s tool box is a _measure of his smartness_ and his experience using those tools is a _measure of his sophistication_. If a handyman has only a hammer then every job is a job that will get hammered on. If that handyman has a great tool box but has experience only with a hammer then that handyman will look for things that can be hammered into place. \*\*What’s in your tool box that you can use efficiently? Do you know how to become more intellectually sophisticated? Become a self-actualizing self-learner.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/2 "2008-06-30T16:40:48Z")
Interesting and amusing, but I think you are a bit over-cynical. Great numbers of people may fit your theses, but if you contemplate all the new wonders being discovered in many fields of science and technology, you must conclude there are still a lot of cats out there. And in the arts, there are many innovators producing wonderful work, and constantly looking for new means of expression. There are millions of people constantly educating themselves and searching for greater understanding of the universe, the human mind, the working of society, etc. If you can estimate the number of post-graduate students in the world, you may be able to envision how many are living outside of the turtle life. When I get discouraged with the human race, I contemplate all the beautiful music that has been composed, the myriad of artists playing this music. Also the works of writers, philosophers, artists, philanthropists, and others makes one realize there still are a lot of people out there making the world better. Maybe a very small percentage, but still a large number. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/3 "2008-06-30T17:02:59Z")
He’s b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck! ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/4 "2008-06-30T17:14:35Z")
Those that depend on being taught strictly through academia or a teacher/mentor system are doomed to limited knowledge and experience. In this day and age, outside of school and college, it’s almost imperative for everyone to become a self-learner to thrive in their careers and life in general. It’s best to do this incrementally and in stride as you grow in life. There are a huge percent of people I encounter that do not self-learn. They become ever more out of touch with the times and technology. They become stagnant, then fall too far behind to ever hope to catch up. Then, they start to depend on others that take the initiative to self-learn, just to get by. Some, almost wear it as a badge of pride. I hear “I’m computer illiterate!” a lot. Kind of sad to me, and these become a burden to those that have a passing knowledge of basic computing. I don’t mind giving people a fish every now and then, but learn to fish if you have to eat. Absorb, seek and grow – don’t ever stop. _Ever._ ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/5 "2008-06-30T17:27:52Z")
Well, you know what they say, it’s turtles all the way down. (what? SOMEBODY had to say it.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/6 "2008-06-30T20:07:11Z")
We’re also both cute and carry salmonella. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/7 "2008-06-30T20:17:01Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/8 "2008-06-30T20:21:05Z")
I go all terrapin when I’ve just come out of the cold water. [sub]What? It’s shrinkage![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/9 "2008-06-30T21:37:17Z")
Once gene splicing becomes common, I figure the turtle will be one of our mostly highly sought after sources of material to splice into the human genome. Basically they have a gene, or series of genes, which [arrests the aging process](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/science/12turt.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5090&en=2bf77a3245365fbd&ex=1323579600&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss). > [@](#): > > Last March, a giant tortoise named Adwaita said to be as old as 250 years died in a Calcutta zoo, having been taken to India by British sailors, records suggest, during the reign of King George II. In June, newspapers around the world noted the passing of Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise that died in the Australia Zoo at age 176 — 171 years after Charles Darwin is said, perhaps apocryphally, to have plucked her from her equatorial home. > > Behind such biblical longevity is the turtle’s stubborn refusal to senesce — to grow old. Don’t be fooled by the wrinkles, the halting gait and the rheumy gaze. Researchers lately have been astonished to discover that in contrast to nearly every other animal studied, a turtle’s organs do not gradually break down or become less efficient over time. > > Dr. Christopher J. Raxworthy, the associate curator of herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History, says the liver, lungs and kidneys of a centenarian turtle are virtually indistinguishable from those of its teenage counterpart, a Ponce de Leonic quality that has inspired investigators to begin examining the turtle genome for novel longevity genes. > > “Turtles don’t really die of old age,” Dr. Raxworthy said. In fact, if turtles didn’t get eaten, crushed by an automobile or fall prey to a disease, he said, they might just live indefinitely. So, let’s protect the turtles! Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/10 "2008-07-03T03:38:41Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] He’s b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck! [/QUOTE] And all over; he’s apparently posted this little essay word for word on forums all over the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-and-humans-have-much-in-common/454764/11 "2008-07-03T04:05:05Z")
I’ve observed this newborn snapper turtle for a week now, in my work garden. He’s got a sweet little life in the stream, and a good retreat into a sanctuary under a rock wall. Good place for a baby turtle. I’ve had a good experience with Snappers from Wildlife Rehab work, and have learned that they can learn to be handled , and not snap, when under rehab conditions. Iwas curious to learn if snappy, from babies, had that aggressive behavior. So, with an apt baby at hand, prodded and pried, and, haveta say, this baby snapping turtle did not display aggressive behavior, it just wanted to get under cover. So, I picked it up, and , still, it didn’t snap and bite, just wanted to get away from Big Ass me. Not sure when the bite of Snapping turtles kicks in, but, I did’t see it as a snap ass given here. I get what the OP is saying, but wish that really good attention was paid before making anthropomorphic comparisons.