Re: what's in a name?

[jamolnar@juno.com]

On Sun, 24 Aug 1997 14:26:25 +0100 "Jarno Peschier" <jpeschie@cs.ruu.nl>
writes:
>On 23 Aug 97 at 23:46, jamolnar@juno.com wrote:
>
>> Possibly true, but the difference is we are aware of possible
>> threats to human existence.  The dinosaurs weren't aware, and even
>> if they were, they probably couldn't have done anything about it!
>
>I don't want to spoil you're optimism, but what makes you think that 
>we are any different and that we will be able to do something about 
>these threats ? Individual humans might be aware, but I'm still not 
>so sure about the whole human race. We'll just have to wait and 
>see...

We may not be able to do anything about it, I agree.  But the fact that
we are aware of our mortality just makes for a different situation than
the dinosaurs had.  We may be able to change things by leaving the planet
and establishing colonies elsewhere, for example.  I'm just saying that
dinosaurs couldn't do anything at all, and we have a chance [albeit a
small one, perhaps] of doing something, just by being aware.

Judy Molnar
Education Associate, Virginia Living Museum
vlmed@juno.com
jamolnar@juno.com
All questions are valid; all answers are tentative.