Josiah’s Johnson

If you were an animal, which animal would you want to be? Think about it.

Now, think about that animal. Is it a predator, or is it prey, or both? Is it part of a community, or is it solitary? Do its groups/packs have a hierarchical or egalitarian nature, in general? Is it quick or slow? Strong or frail? Intelligent?

If you have to give it characteristics, what characteristics would strike you first? Would individual characteristics or social characteristics be primarily described? Are those first things that pop into your mind the most interesting ones to you in general? Are you most interested in man as a social animal or as a complex individual?

My new roommate and I had a very long discussion tonight about animals. Specifically, what it would take to model an animal kingdom algorithmically. Interactions between species would have to be based on complex enough rules that the various species maintained a relative equilibrium, given a certain amount of predation vs. scarcity of food balancing. If I am a wolf, I would base my decision to attack a herd of deer based on my hunger, my current strength, my fellow hunting companions, etc… risk vs. reward.

It’d be interesting to be able to watch the big picture of an animal kingdom microcosm and watch as these types of principles play out among the animal species. Because I understand the majority of the math behind it. God only knows I’ve done enough with population growth, modeling with the equation P=P₀e^rt and its ilk; I could imagine an algorithm that takes in an animals hunger, proximity to food sources, and current vitality, and tells you whether or not that animal would want to hunt down its next meal.

I’d love to just watch all that play out.

It wasn’t my idea though, so I’ll have to give credit where credit is due. It was all Max.

I think I’d like to be a tiger. With a den. And some nice stripes.

And speaking of the animal kingdom, here’s something you don’t hear about every day. Contrary to what any fundamentalist will tell you, homosexuality is exhibited in nature.