Althouse: "If humans were not so impressed by size alone... they would consider an ant more wonderful than a rhinoceros."

March 27, 2014

"If humans were not so impressed by size alone... they would consider an ant more wonderful than a rhinoceros."

"The insects are in control and we’re not...."

31 comments:

rhhardin said...: Now 62 and set to retire in March,

It's better to wait until 70 to apply for social security, unless you're likely to die quickly.

That maximizes the size of your monthly check, which will continue for the rest of your life.

The idea isn't to take the most you can from the government, but to maximize the insurance aspect, against you outliving your savings.; 3/27/14, 8:59 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Humans are impressed by the size of the rhino because the rhino can imprint a human in the ground whereas an ant can't.; 3/27/14, 9:00 AM
Lyssa said...: “One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.”; 3/27/14, 9:03 AM
MadisonMan said...: I was also surprised at his young age and retirement.

My Dad says he retired too early -- they ran out of places they wanted to visit before they ran out of the ability to travel. OTOH, Dad's job was high-stress and he wasn't happy. His savings haven't run out yet, 25 years later (Wow, I just realized that -- that's a long time!), but the state of PA has been paying him a nice pension, and it's not taxed.; 3/27/14, 9:05 AM
Scott M said...: The sheer number of ants in a single colony is, in itself, impressive to humans because of it's size. People have gone ga-ga recently over the molten aluminum ant farm things particularly because of their size.

The ant doesn't escape human's proclivity towards appreciating size.; 3/27/14, 9:09 AM
Wince said...: Bug’s Penis Makes Loudest Animal Sound

To make this colossal acoustic din, the male water boatman rubs his penis (or “genitalia appendage”) against the ridged surface of his abdomen, like a wooden spoon against a washboard. Size doesn’t matter for this tiny marine animal, though, as the whole area measures about 50 micrometers across — roughly the width of a human hair.; 3/27/14, 9:27 AM
Robert Cook said...: I don't know that insects are overlooked because we are "impressed with size" so much as because their small size renders insect activity and population density largely invisible to us.; 3/27/14, 9:41 AM
Scott said...: Are ants truly overlooked?; 3/27/14, 9:45 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "It's better to wait until 70 to apply for social security, unless you're likely to die quickly."

If you're 62 and dying slowly, you could very well die before age 70.

Don't you mean dying soon?; 3/27/14, 9:47 AM
rhhardin said...: That's when you see if you can switch instructors for the course.; 3/27/14, 9:54 AM
Bob Boyd said...: If powdered ant horn could give a Chinaman a hard-on ants might be endangered too.; 3/27/14, 9:55 AM
traditionalguy said...: Ants are our #1 enemy. The only good ant is a dead ant. Termites are ants.

Did you ever notice that no teams use ant Mascots or Ants as a Team names.; 3/27/14, 9:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Comedy Stage Open Mic Night Comic says:

Don't mind me if I am scratching a little, we had a bit of an ant infestation at the house: evidently to them I am a rather large glazed donut (laughter). Of course, my parents blamed me and my questionable house-keeping skills in the basement. Well, by saying my parents blamed me, I mean the exterminator said the problem started in the basement, so he's evidently taking their side (laughter)...

Now, I knew there was a problem, I'm not totally clueless: when you pull a Q-Tip from your ear in the morning and an ant comes wriggling out on it, there are problems (laughter). Still, I thought we'd learn to coexist: they like sugar, I like sugar, we should be able to make this work out (laughter)...

I'm an adult, mostly (laughter): I understand that they are pests, but extermination seems rather harsh to me: I'm not sure I want to be a party to wholesale ant apocalypse (laughter). How can I not feel guilty? I mean, let's face it -- between me and the ants, they were the only ones in the basement getting any work done (laughter). Thank you, you've been great...; 3/27/14, 9:56 AM
Wilbur said...: Up and at 'em,, Atom Ant!!!; 3/27/14, 10:06 AM
Quaestor said...: "The insects are in control and we’re not...."

So what are the ants doing about Global Warming?; 3/27/14, 10:08 AM
William said...: I live in NYC. I remember the days before Combat. There's no upside to cockroaches, and now they're gone. In many ways, life has gotten better during our era.....Except now bedbugs are making a revival, so maybe it's a wash.; 3/27/14, 10:13 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: MM- The feds tax pensions though PA does not.; 3/27/14, 10:13 AM
Unknown said...: Traditionalguy: Fort Wayne Mad Ants is a minor league basketball team. While the name is from General Mad Anthony Wayne (namesake for Fort Wayne also), the mascot is indeed an ant.; 3/27/14, 10:27 AM
Larry J said...: AJ Lynch said...

MM- The feds tax pensions though PA does not.

I've noticed that several states exempt government pensions from their income tax. Why should people who were employed by the government (notice I didn't say "worked for the government") get a tax break while those of us who have had to save for our retirement don't? If you're going to exempt their retirement income, why not also exempt ours?; 3/27/14, 10:27 AM
chuck said...: The bugs are going to win.

No wonder he wants to retire early ;); 3/27/14, 10:28 AM
MadisonMan said...: Why should people who were employed by the government (notice I didn't say "worked for the government") get a tax break while those of us who have had to save for our retirement don't? If you're going to exempt their retirement income, why not also exempt ours?

The easy answer is that many state pensions are given to the state legislators who write the tax laws.

There are lots of thing I would tax if I were Emperor of PA. For example, employees of PSU get 3/4 off tuition for their dependents. That gift is not taxed. Are college football players' (soon to be unionized) scholarships taxed? They should be, same as with everyone else who gets a scholarship. You're getting free money. Why shouldn't the Government get some of it too?

I'm obviously declaring war on the middle class.; 3/27/14, 11:20 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: We seem to elect a lot of people who, if we measured them by thir positive achievements while in office, come up awfully small.; 3/27/14, 11:35 AM
SteveR said...: “The insects are in control and we’re not,”

Actually its bacteria.; 3/27/14, 11:36 AM
Unknown said...: "More wonderful"? I dunno, I've never used that as a qualitative measure when thinking about animals. "What do you think about Servals?" "Well, certainly more wonderful than Bobcats, less wonderful thank Snow Leopards."

In a few decades we'll create genetically engineered weaponized ants. Why drop nukes when we can launch a ballistic missile containing ants? Or bees?; 3/27/14, 11:59 AM
Larry J said...: MadisonMan said

They should be, same as with everyone else who gets a scholarship. You're getting free money. Why shouldn't the Government get some of it too?

Now you open up Pell Grants and other grants to taxation, too. After all, they're "free money" that doesn't have to be repaid.; 3/27/14, 1:25 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Mad Man:

You have a good point. I think we should, at a minimum, start giving a 1099 to anyone who gets govt benefits. At the outset, it would not need to be taxable but at least we could start seeing how much we are giving away by state, town, zip code, etc and we could add these amts to the family income statistics to get a clearer picture of family purchasing power vs current poverty rates.; 3/27/14, 2:40 PM
David said...: Insects are in control and we are not.

Needs a "Insects are Like Women" tag.; 3/27/14, 2:44 PM
David said...: I thought I was going to die quickly at 62. In fact the odds were pretty good that I would. So I started social security payments. They have not stopped yet, and the Medicare is even more important. Without Medicare to pay for the drugs, I would be dead, or broke, or both.

I try never to complain about "entitlements."; 3/27/14, 2:49 PM
David said...: Scott M said...
The sheer number of ants in a single colony is, in itself, impressive to humans because of it's size. People have gone ga-ga recently over the molten aluminum ant farm things particularly because of their size.

Consider the ant's perspective on the molten ant farm thing, and then consider whether ants are vengeful.; 3/27/14, 2:51 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: I don't include Medicare nor social security as entitlements.; 3/27/14, 4:34 PM
iowan2 said...: Social security, Medi care, unemployment insurance are not entitlements. All are paid into. The pool of premium money is used by politicians to buy votes. It is your money, the politicians just get to tell you when and how you get it back.....or don't. Politicians will soon prevent you from getting your money until your 71. How many weeks can you access the money you put into unemployment insurance? That's up to politicians promises so you vote for them, rather than the other guy.; 3/28/14, 7:11 AM