Articles about Nigel — like this one at The Guardian — stress his popularity with humans as he seemed to embody loneliness. There were 80 concrete decoy gannets on the New Zealand island of Mana, and for years Nigel was the only live gannet. Nigel had his one decoy love. He groomed "her." He built nests for her for years. This was deemed tragic.
Then 3 other real gannets came to Mana.
But [Nigel] never showed any interest in the real-life birds, said [Department of Conservation ranger Chris Bell], instead remaining “aloof”, chattering to his concrete mate while the real-life birds got on with business in a different part of the colony.Within 3 weeks, Nigel died. Bell found his body in the midst of the concrete birds.
Now, what lesson do we learn? If this were a children's book story, it would be saying something about human beings, but what?
1. True love is what really matters. Nigel loved. He loved when he needed love, and no matter how little love he received in return, he remained loyal to the end.
2. Some individuals commit so hard to a mistake that they'd rather die than admit they are wrong.
3. Some individuals are oriented toward things that you cannot understand. Maybe you should respect their difference rather than deploring their inability to get with the crowd.
4. If you allow yourself to become fixated on something that is not a real fellow creature, you will lose your capacity to see real fellow creatures and you will die in your ignorance. Tragic!
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5. Don't do what gannets do.
Wasn't there similar story about island off Canada last year or so?
It was an inside job.
2. Some individuals commit so hard to a mistake that they’d rather die that admit they are wrong.
LOL!
5. Don't make plans for Nigel
We're only making plans for Nigel
We only want what's best for him
We're only making plans for Nigel
Nigel just needs this helping hand
And if young Nigel says he's happy
He must be happy
He must be happy in his work
If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right
LOL Bob Boyd.
#2 surely does describe Toothless and Chuck and ARM and Inga pretty well, does it not?
Gannets are not people?
Harry F. Harlow, Monkey Love Experiments
http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/studies/HarlowMLE.htm
What's different about her I don't really know
No matter how I try, I just can't make her cry
'Cause you'll never break, never break, never break, never break
This heart of stone, oh no, no, this heart of stone
"2. Some individuals commit so hard to a mistake that they'd rather die that admit they are wrong."
Or just change they're blogger profile. Like to "Unknown."
Hell is other gannets.
He died doing what he loved.
Gannets are great birds for finding big masses of feeding fish. I was fishing in a gannet storm in late December. Awesome stuff.
I thought the lesson might be that birds are so stupid.
Now, what lesson do we learn?
That, just as a monogamous but stupid ("morus") bird was compelled to stay with what he thought was his mate, humans are compelled to anthropomorphize and inappropriately seek out moral lessons.
The heart wants what it wants
Tesla
Both gannets and humans can have destructive habits forced on them, by circumstance. There are limits to free will. There are such things as imprinting and socialization that can twist personalities in unhealthy ways.
In this case the poor bird was made quite insane by its circumstances, loneliness and likely imprinting. He had no way to admit he was wrong, the concept of being wrong being inconceivable. This works for humans too.
Modernity offers an infinity of ways whereby human minds can be twisted. The natural state of humanity, as it evolved in nature, did not provide defenses against these as the changes are far too recent, and they keep on changing far too rapidly for evolution to keep up. There are an awful lot of victims.
It has kind of an "A Rose For Emily" vibe to it.
"Freeman Hunt said...
I thought the lesson might be that birds are so stupid."
There's a reason the ancients called them "Ingas."
Birds don't create governments, so why do we?
In these matters humans can be just as wrong as birds.
They just rationalize it in ways that can impress other humans. Birds don't bother with that.
In the natural state of humanity humans didn't have governments either. They had organization, being social pack animals, but not "governments".
Governments grew out of technology. An attempt to deal with the consequences of technology.
He loved with a love that was more than a love in that kingdom by the sea.
Is Nigel's relationship akin to a commenter's relationship with Althouse?
Are pixels that different from concrete?
There is a world of in-the-flesh people around us, but we gravitate to a figure that only approximates an in-the-flesh being to those on the other side of the screen.
Will Althouse have any more awareness of when we die than us laying prostrate like Nigel at the foot of our own metaphorical concrete bird?
Because we all die alone, our pixels left behind us like the drab concrete of some 50s Soviet housing block that stands in disrepair, gray, with broken windows never to be repaired.
Enjoy the day.
- james james
Bravo james james!
Galaxie 500 - Plastic Bird.
And when I left your place
Gave me your plastic bird
You won it at the festival
Well I broke both legs off
And then I smashed its nose
And left it on First Avenue
- james james
No-brainer. The concrete birds didn't nag.
"Will Althouse have any more awareness of when we die than us laying prostrate like Nigel at the foot of our own metaphorical concrete bird?"
Assuming a gannet mates with one other gannet, then Meade is my one bird.
James james is right, of course.
But nearly all of us are quite old, past childbearing, and irrelevant as far as natural processes.
There are, however, those billions of kids staring at screens all day. That matters.
As we progress to the Perfect Society the Past will no longer matter.
There will be no need of a Future.
There will only be the Perfected Present.
In the Perfected Present there will be no need for context or metaphor.
In the Perfected Present the concrete bird will mean nothing to anyone.
- james james
Birds don't create governments, so why do we?
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
That still looks like a good enough list of reasons to me.
All of the above.
Ann: You're always so insightful. Thank you for sharing, educating and enlightening! God Bless You good woman.
I'll take #3. Story of my life.
"The Concrete Bird" was the anticipated follow-up to Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House." The Beatles had considered "A Doll's House" as the title for what became "The Beatles (The White Album)" but this had to be rejected when the British band Family released 'Music In a Doll's House,' in July 1968. Similarly, had Ibsen ever written "The Concrete Bird" there is some likelihood that what we have come to know as "Abbey Road" may have been titled "The Concrete Bird." Thus, we see why its obvious that George Harrison's "Circles" had to be left off The White Album.
byway: "There are limits to free will. There are such things as imprinting and socialization that can twist personalities in unhealthy ways." This. Especially as applied to the male sexual response, which seems to be linked to the addiction nodes of the brainl. Scary how many young men in our culture are being imprinted with sexual patterns that can lead to a life of loneliness and even criminality.
This is easy: The concrete bird was quieter.
[Unknown kinda beat me to it].
Nigel committed suicide after accusations of sexual misconduct.
Gannet loyalty is right up there with Blackfriars Bobby loyalty. Maybe it was a Scots Gannet?
Oops, that was Greyfriars Bobby loyalty.
Sad and senseless because there was nothing concrete. It was just a flap really.
What did we learn? Nigel was an idiot.
So far this is the best post and comment thread of February, Althouse recognizes Nigel as a metaphorical gift to all
Hazard
Have you ever felt like love's just like concrete
Poured out and left to harden, to be walked all over
Sometimes you can leave your handprints in love
Watch out, don't get stuck
Oh, this dubious life.
It's laid out in front of us.
Nigel was gullible.
Robother: could you provide some details on those patterns you see young men being imprinted with that you believe lead to lives of loneliness and criminality?
Trump is your stone bird. There’s still time to realize he’s not for real.
1) Maybe the new birds were already in a relationship
2) Maybe they 'smelled wrong'.
3) Maybe they were gay.
4) Maybe he was beyond mating age and it was irrelevant.
5) Maybe they had already told him, in gannet, that he was too ugly, lame, weird to POSSIBLY mate with any of them...which is why he went for Rockette in the first place.
Lot of projection here. Women disparaging men who might be interested in sex dolls...but are unwilling to date/mate with them.
Mirrors can be useful things.
Bird brain.
She was his perfect mate.
She didn't talk back. (She wasn't a harpy)
Never butted in
Never nagged
Never scolded
Never looked at another
Non judgmental
And was always appreciative of everything he did
And he might have done very little.
Does this mean I can’t have a robot 22 year old Gene Tierney?
Inga, I've had such doubts about Trump myself (I was once half convinced that he was a kind of stalking horse for Queen Cacklepants); but if Trump as we know him turns out to be a mere simulacrum as you suggest, what do you think the reality would be? Would he be more statist or more libertarian? If the former, wouldn't "liberals" (i. e., "tax-happy, coercion-addicted, power-tripping government sniffers and State bumpers") like him better? Just wondering.
Humans trying to help his species ruined the life of an individual bird.
HMM
glenn said...
"Does this mean I can’t have a robot 22 year old Gene Tierney?"
You'll have to settle for a concrete blonde.
"I thought the lesson might be that birds are so stupid."
Actually, many birds are very smart, and social. I feel sad for Nigel.
Clump of metal and sand.
"Actually, many birds are very smart, and social."
Smart compared to what?
The lesson is that most people are superstitious, ignorant and frightened of the real world, therefore anthropomorphize everything to seek comfort across the vast loneliness of their short, confused lives.
Crows are smart. They use tools, harass people, celebrate the sunset, fly around chasing their sex partners, eat dead squirrels.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/crows-may-be-as-intelligent-as-apes-scientists-say-20150624-ghw6zy.html
Howard, I think crows have been shown to be more intelligent than chimpanzees.
She was his perfect mate.
She didn't talk back. (She wasn't a harpy)
Never butted in
Never nagged
Never scolded
Never looked at another
Non judgmental
And was always appreciative of everything he did
And he might have done very little.
Not so great in the sack, though...
i had cement for her / merrily / we became each / other humped to tumbling / garble when / a / minute / pulled the sluice / cement
e.e.cummings
Child porn and bondage and torture porn can associate sexual gratification with a need to inflict pain or domination. Even constant internet porn, as the only or easiest sexual outlet can encourage a life of self-absorption, not seeing any point to the risks and demands of dating and courtship.
Thanks, robother. Never into child porn, or in any way associating sex and pain (beyond the occasional spanking, if she's into it). MILF porn is the best porn.
What was Nigels' background? Was he deserted by his parents, abused by other gannets, forced out of a colony of gannets? Was his only security found in the midst of the accepting and silent concrete gannets?
"Child porn and bondage and torture porn can associate sexual gratification with a need to inflict pain or domination."
My guess is the interest in sexual gratification using children or from inflicting pain precedes the interest in viewing such material. Which is to say, I don't think porn creates sex criminals, I think sex criminals who use porn are drawn to porn that depicts that which they're already turned on by.
"Nigel committed suicide after accusations of sexual misconduct."
You joke, but the feminists never joke.
"It's not going too far to actually use this as an example of rape culture. This concrete bird did not owe Nigel her (or his) affection.
My guess is the interest in sexual gratification using children or from inflicting pain precedes the interest in viewing such material. Which is to say, I don't think porn creates sex criminals, I think sex criminals who use porn are drawn to porn that depicts that which they're already turned on by.
You don't think porn adds fuel to the fire?
For the first and probably last time ever, I am inclined to agree with Cookie.
Hikikomori
There are many equivalents in western societies, of asocial people, or rather people who are unwilling or unable to interact socially IRL. Its become demographically significant in Japan, but I suspect it would show up here, too, if it is looked for in the same way.
There are many explanations for hikikomori, but one thats missed is the massive availability of entertainment media, providing an ersatz social experience, like those concrete birds.
Big Mike; you missed the joke a bit.
The reality of these observations of nature is they are most often not science but rather art. What they tell us is whatever we want to make of them. In this case, a bird associating with concrete birds becomes an equivalent of humans associating with robots. That observation was made by an individual watching the same screen as me, but seeing a different movie.
What I see is nobody assisting this crackpot bird and its desire to associate with the inanimate. The other birds give him the freedom to do so, but they also that provide social welfare, tax the behavior, and demand other birds engage in the one bird's fantasy that the concrete birds are his real family. All those things are a construct of modern western governments.
There are many explanations for hikikomori, but one thats missed is the massive availability of entertainment media, providing an ersatz social experience, like those concrete birds.
True, buwaya. Some of us would rather read a book than socialize--at least most of the time. While it would seem more edifying than watching television, it is still a solitary pleasure.
And the Darwin award winner is : Nigel
BTW;they could have destroyed the decoys when he came back the first time
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