Sea Monkeys, Waterbears and Visionaries

I finally did something today that I meant to do weeks or months ago. It was one of those research questions that will pop into my head from time to time, and if I'm at my computer I'll look it up right away. If I'm not near a computer the question can sometimes fall by the wayside, which is what happened in the case of sea monkeys. It took me all this time to remember that I wanted to look it up.

I remember reading comic books as a kid, and being skeptical even then about the possibility of being able to buy life in an envelope. There was a niggling doubt in my mind, however, since the ads never went away. At that age I was questioning everything just I do now. Back then I didn't have the same access to knowledge, though, so I make up for it as best I can.

I wondered, even at such as young age, how it was that the advertiser could still be selling the items if they were a fake. It turns out they weren't, much to my surprise. What didn't surprise me is that the so-called sea monkeys bear little resemblance to the illustration of them that is shown in the advertisements.

In truth, the creatures marketed as sea monkeys are actually a form of brine shrimp. They are interesting in and of themselves, whether or not they look like mer-folk. It was actually nice to know that something promised in childhood wasn't a complete lie. Their remarkable ability to survive being shipped deprived of water is reminiscent of the waterbear.

What, you may ask, is a waterbear? I'll be happy to tell you. Fascinating creatures that can survive, unprotected, in outer space, waterbears are tiny little creatures and rather unique. They're actually called tardigrades, but another common name is moss piglet. They are a type of creature called a polyextremophile. Extremophiles can survive in extremely harsh conditions that would normally destroy other organisms, and a polyextremophile is a creature than is able to survive more than one type of this sort of environment.

Waterbears not only survive the deep, near-absolute-zero temperature of space, but toxic environments and temperatures well above boiling point. They are highly complex creatures, too, rather than a simple microbe or bacteria. How do we know about their survival capabilities? Well, they've been experimented on, of course. Sadly, all reasonable determinations show that they also feel pain. If scientists were torturing a cat to see if it could survive in space, there would be a huge outcry. Yes, cats have fur and are cute and cuddly - or, at least, a lot of us think so. That doesn't negate the fact that pain is pain.

I know sound like an activist. That might have something to do with the fact that I am. However, seeing as I have enough on my plate at the moment, trying to create awareness about domestic animals, I simply can't take on any waterbear activism at the moment. So, relax, you're all safe for the moment, even if the waterbears aren't.

I have a saying that I feel applies here to some extent. To the best of my knowledge I've never heard anyone else say this, but there's really nothing new in the world, so it would surprise me very much if I was, in fact, the first. The expression is this:

Visionaries are always afflicted by naysayers.

The reason this comes to mind after talking about activism, is because my activism has been confronted by naysayers on more than one occasion. It's those folks who tell me over and over that you can't change the world, so stop trying. They tell me my ideas will never work, so don't bother. They tell me I'm getting upset over nothing, so give up. Well, that's what they told Walt Disney, the Wright brothers, and every other visionary that created an advance so mind-boggling that it changed the way we look at the world. This brings to mind yet another expression I like to use, that is possibly borrowed from others.

 It's easier to say something can't be done, than it is to try to do something about it.

This tells me that people are inherently too lazy to bother. They've allowed themselves to feed into the propaganda of what's impossible. The worst part of this is that they inflict this judgment on their children. They share their cynicism under the guise of trying to teach their kids 'life lessons' and all they're really teaching them is to give up, because their opinions 'don't matter', and they especially don't matter if they're expressed by the young.

The reason this is all in my mind has to do with two things I've been reading about in recent weeks. The first is a teenager in Louisiana who is fighting against creationism being taught as science. The second is a 15-year-old who has come up with one of the simplest, cheapest and most effective ways of detecting cancer.

Zach Koppelin, age 17, is apparently smarter than a vast majority of people in Louisiana, since for some reason they've passed legislation there allowing creationism to be taught as actual science. It's not, no matter how you slice it. It's religion, and it interferes with the rights of all of the student on so many levels I don't even know if I can list them all. First, there's the right to an education. Second, there's the right to separation between church and state. Third, there's the right to freedom of religion. Fourth, there's the right to free speech. I'm sure there are others, but those really cap it off enough to underscore the issue.

One big issue with these new laws allowing teachers to teach whatever they choose in their science classrooms, is that they're throwing out the real science books. Yes, the ones that say the earth is older than 6000 years, it revolves around the sun, and it's actually round and not flat. Yup, those horrible books that 'can't possibly' be true. I grow blank of mind when confronted with such sheer and utter stupidity. It's stupefying. It's no wonder the creationists can't spell! They've never been lernt how. Yes, that was an intentional error. I was actually educated in a proper system where logic dictated the reasons for doing things, rather than ridiculous sentiment.

Jack Andraka, the 15-year-old who has developed a test for cancer, is a big slap in the face to those who discount the minds of the young. The great thing about young people is that they haven't been indoctrinated into the culture of impossibility. It's impossible to create a cheap and easy test for cancer? Huh. I guess they didn't tell him that. Or that it was impossible for a 15-year-old to figure out such a complicated issue? I guess he didn't know. He did it.

The thing is, we should be cultivating this inventiveness and passion in our kids. If they display such remarkable qualities they should not be torn to shreds by those who are more jealous and scared than anything else. Thankfully Jack was properly appreciated with a $75,000 science prize, rather than being demonized. How about another Rainism?

Time to stop discounting the youth of the world. They have the advantage of not knowing something is supposed to be impossible.