Fat Spider

This guy was over two inches (5 cm) long. Notice the sets of eyes. Click to enlarge.

One Female's Feat

A recent article in the Guardian described how a computer-savvy woman perfected an artificial intelligence (AI) program to deal with a growing problem on the internet. For some strange reason an increasing number of women are receiving what are called “dick pix.” These are photos emailed to them of a penis—supposedly that of the sender. These pix are often startling, shocking, and most often unwelcome to the women.

I won't try here to guess what's behind this trend. It's as mystifying and bizarre to me as are many practices on today's social media. The anonymity offered by the internet seems to encourage a certain type of person to say and do offensive things that they'd probably restrain from doing, face to face.

This lady decided she'd had enough of dick pix sent her way—she'd opened up her email or Instagram or Facebook account a few times too often, to see a gross photo. She was disgusted at this practice. So she sent out an invitation on the internet for anyone (presumably mostly men) to send her photos of their genitalia. She then used the many kinds of penile pictures she collected to train an AI program to recognize what they were—rather than, say, a handsome eggplant—and to immediately delete them.

In time, her AI program achieved 95% accuracy at expunging dick pix on Instagram. Wouldn't many women agreeably download such an app, which would allow them to turn on their smartphones without cringing? Those few women who enjoyed the prurient pix could simply reject the app and continue their titillating tradition.

This lady's remarkable accomplishment brings two thoughts to my mind: the first is that she refutes the common assumption that most computer geeks are male. She is evidence to the contrary.

The second thought is more a question: If a lone (female) wolf can accomplish this AI feat, what's holding back Facebook, Instagram, and Google from achieving something similar? Their computer geeks are legion and they've repeatedly demonstrated their astounding AI accomplishments. Many people who use these social media—including governmental authorities—have demanded that they do something to counter or check the various internet attacks launched by nefarious characters, with a definite lack of response on the part of the tech giants.

In what appears to be one meaningless response, Facebook has described how it formed a group of people whose job is to monitor online postings, in order to block the more offensive ones. These poor Facebook folks are known to suffer from the trauma of viewing despicable postings, day after day. Is this the best that Facebook can do—distressing and depressing a bunch of loyal employees? Where is their amazing skill at creating software algorithms? How is it that one woman can show them up? Could it be a lack of passion on their part? Their passion—and accomplishments—seem to be more aligned at making money from ads, rather than protecting their users.

Children's Challenge

We are currently witnessing an extraordinary type of activism—both in the US and around the world—on the part of young people. They are forming movements of protest against the numerous injustices of our society: for example, climate emergency, gun violence, anti-immigration sentiment, racism, inequality, and environmental pollution. The youth are fed up with inaction and the complicit behavior of their elders.

They see their future being ravaged by climate crisis and pollution. They see their lives being made dangerous and threatening by gun violence and media hostility. They see little chance of achieving a comfortable lifestyle, as the super-rich horde most all the resources. All of these injustices are being fed by our extremely polarized “adult” culture—especially in the US.

These youths are organizing mass demonstrations across the globe, trying to appeal to the consciences of political leaders to quit dithering, stop being puppets of the super-rich, and begin showing responsibility for the oaths of office that they took.

Besides the public protests, young people are also taking action in the courts of law. Their contention is that these injustices—particularly the climate emergency—are a violation of the rights of the unborn, let alone against them. Youths have filed lawsuits in at least two US states against both state or federal agencies, for their failure to take action on these disasters. In similar fashion, youths in other countries are taking legal action against their governments. This past September young people brought a legal complaint on climate crisis to the UN.

It is interesting that young people are taking the lead in clamoring for change—although not surprising. Youths have led before—in South Africa against apartheid in the mid-20^th century, and in the First Palestinian Intifada against Israeli aggression in the 1980s.

Why is it that unsophisticated and immature young people take to the streets and courts, while their elders remain complacent and compliant? The answer is both involved and multi-faceted, but I suspect three possibilities can explain much of elder inaction: (1) over time the older generation has often gradually come to accept the injustices, as the offenses have, little by little, become almost viewed as the norm; (2) some of elders have struggled in the past to acquire what fragile gains they have acquired, and are fearful of their modest progress being abruptly and capriciously terminated by authorities; and (3) they simply no longer have the energy to take a stand.

Our current, rampantly-damaging human culture needs to be challenged; to be confronted. There are many unhealthy things going on today that are fostered either by a disinclination to look to the future (often due to an overemphasis on today’s bottom line), or are encouraged by fear and polarization. 

Many adults have retreated into their isolated silos or bubbles, afraid to confront the injustices or demand change. Too many adults have bought into a top-down process, hoping to bring change; but that approach has demonstrated itself as either being too sluggish for our current crises, or is usually co-opted by the rich and powerful. There is no time left to dither or delay... a bottom-up revolution is badly needed. Let our youth lead the way!

Earth and Moon

This is a NASA photo of the Moon transiting in front of the Earth, taken from a NASA spacecraft. Click to enlarge.

Wolf Wars—Part 2

OK, so we are waking up to the benefits of a healthy wolf population. Yet many of us can't shake our built-in anti-wolf bias. It seems to be deep within our DNA. How did it get there? I believe a basic reason is that we've been in competition with wolves from long ago. Dogs were smart enough to tame themselves tens of thousands of years ago, when they saw it would be advantageous to partner with us on the hunt. Humans and dogs both profited from the collaboration. The wolf, however, stayed wild. Since it preyed on many of the same game animals that humans did, we became adversaries. It's like two guys wooing the same gal, who thus become arch enemies.

When humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers, over ten thousand years ago, wolves really became hostile for us. As we settled down, we domesticated sheep and cows—transforming them into docile, dumb livestock that idly consumed vegetation. It was as if humans had generously offered easy meals to wolves. Why put effort into chasing down a fleet-footed deer, when a tasty meal just stood there—waiting to be consumed? Those human tribes who tended their flocks especially came to see wolves as an enemy.

And any enemy is a being to fear. Put another way, any critter that we fear tends to become an enemy. We put distance between us and them, which makes it easier to regard them as the “other,” and hence to sanction violence against them. We see this being played out today, as those in power stoke fears of immigrants—encouraging citizens to become frightened of how they might distort our society.

There have been many opportunities in the past to feel fearful of wolves. In medieval times humans clustered in small, rural groups that had cleared a few trees for farming. Surrounding these clusters of small communities were primeval forests, filled with wild creatures who seemed terrifying. Many tales described the dreadful happenings of those who ventured into the woods. All sorts of terrifying beasts lurked out there.

The Middle Ages further filled the heads of people with fears of wolves. We came to imagine that wolves were bad. Horrible events like the Black Plague stoked those fears, as wolves fed on the stacks of corpses. We further magnified our terror, into images of what they might do, if we didn't stop them. The howling of wolves at night brought dread to our soul.

Some of our hatred of wolves stemmed from a kind of transference of our own violence onto them. Religion played its role in this process, as Christians viewed the wilderness as ungodlike. We humans did not have dominion over the wild animals. Dante put the wolf in hell, as a symbol of greed. Unfortunate humans who were labeled as werewolves were burned at the stake, in the Middle Ages.

Thus wolves found themselves as the blackguards in many stories... Little Red Riding Hood being just one example. Aesop's Fables—dating back to the sixth century BCE—cast wolves as evil beings. Plays and songs have long portrayed wolves as lurking, threatening beasts.

Fairy tales were written by adults, to provide entertainment and moral lessons for children. With each passing generation a new wave of offspring were inculcated with the propagandistic dogma that wolves are depraved. The second definition in the American Oxford Dictionary of wolf is “the name used in similes and metaphors to refer to a rapacious, ferocious, or voracious person or thing... a man who habitually seduces women.” Even Sigmund Freud and Erich Fromm weighed in on the sexual and violent images of wolves!

After centuries of framing wolves as vile creatures, some of us are beginning to appreciate their role in a stable ecosystem. It's an uphill battle, however, to change public opinion in their favor. Maybe we need a few movies and fairy tales that cast wolves as the caring social, cooperating, playful creatures they are; who play a vital role in Mother Nature's plan.

Wolf Wars—Part 1

I am currently enrolled in an online course on fairy tales; which is exploring their origins, their sometimes subtle messages, their moral themes, and their deeper psychological revelations about what makes us human and how these viewpoints vary across cultures. The first fairy tale considered in the course is “Little Red Riding Hood.” Most of us who grew up in Western cultures are familiar with the story of this sweet, innocent, naive little girl. She is off on a walk through the dark forest, to take some nourishing provisions to her infirm grandmother, who dwells alone in a cottage in the woods. Along the way, Little Red encounters a wolf, who is up to no good, as is the habitual way of wolves.

There are various versions of Red's tale, due to it being an old story told orally and later written down, over the last several centuries. In some versions the wolf triumphs and delights in a monumental meal of both grandma and the cute little girl. In other versions the wolf is thwarted and dispatched by a passing hunter or wood chopper. In every version of “Little Red Riding Hood” the wolf is cast as the villain. He (and it's always a male) is the nasty beast who threatens the virtuous, sweet little girl and her frail grandmother.

As students in my online class exchange thoughts and reactions about the deeper emotions and feelings of this fairy tale, I began to wonder why they seem to have accepted, without question, the nefarious behavior of the wolf. Why is it that we read these tales of wolves' dreadful conduct and rarely question their veracity? How is it that the wolf is always cast as the evil one, and we willingly accept that depiction? The “big bad wolf” appears in countless stories. They are unquestionably depraved beasts. You can't trust them. The only good wolf is a dead wolf, etc.

It's interesting that the dog—descended from the wolf—is often regarded as “man's best friend,” while the wolf is cast as a perpetual enemy. A predatory male human is often depicted as a wolf, especially when he emits a wolf whistle or attempts to seduce an innocent lass. Werewolves in folklore are people who transform into wolves, especially at full moon, and commit various kinds of mayhem. There are countless movies, plays, and songs that demonize wolves—including other fairy tales such as “The Three Little Pigs.” Wolves don't get much sympathy, when they are perpetually preying on innocent little girls, helpless old ladies, and sweet, small swine.

Thankfully, we modern humans have begun to change the story, as some of us have come to value the role played by wolves in the ecosystem. In those locales where wolves have been largely eradicated, their prey have become overabundant and are damaging the environment. Deer, elk, and other large herbivores have been consuming valuable plants and saplings, causing erosion and allowing weeds and other invasive species to proliferate. In attempts to rebalance nature, wolves have been reintroduced into rural areas where they once ruled. As a result, in Yellowstone National Park, for example, introduced wolves are reducing the number of elk—which is permitting aspen groves to recover and streams to flow clear, as erosion is curtailed.

More on wolves next time...