This is wonderful! Plus now I have something nice and concise to point to when warning a non-biologist friend about inviting a parasitologist to dinner
Interestingly enough, my younger daughter brought up very similar sentiments when I started talking about *Dicrocoelium dendriticum* over dinner yesterday :)
Of course I had to look that up... which unfortunately reminded me that a friend died from an undiagnosed (here in Canada) liver fluke he had picked up years before in the tropics... which is another reason your article is a good warmup before directing anyone into the wonderful world of human parasites.
It may be a bit far afield, but I'm led to think of one social equivalent of a parasite, the 'career politician'. There was once a time that politicians performed a semiskilled service job and then step aside, but they've evolved (perhaps initially in the U.S., now widespread elsewhere) to hold on to their 'public servant' roles indefinitely and monetize them to the greatest extent possible. Of course they give the appearance of offering some value (mostly to business interests and wealthy constituents), but it's pretty clear they 'eat at the table of another' with no compunction for any harm done to their citizen hosts.
In everyday experience, animals often cause humans to fundamentally alter behavior. Called 'pets', but it is They that control and even dominate the caregiving person's life. Victims will strenuously protest that the pet is subservient, but carefully examined, behavior reveals clear and effective control actions. They carefully monitor the human and give rewards or punishment based on interactions. Incredibly, animal actions are processed into 'Love'.
How would you describe things like crop plants? It has been suggested that plants like wheat and rice have essentially “tamed” humans and made them look after their welfare by planting them, watering and giving them fertiliser, and eliminating competition. And an extreme version - tobacco. Here you have a plant that has successfully modified the behaviour of humans so that people become addicted and will happily go outside in the rain to consume it. If an employer tried to force people to stand outside in the cold several times a day, there would be discontent in the workplace! It strikes me that this is similar to the way parasites modify the behaviour of their hosts.
I think we can easily get very confused with this sort of 'paradoxical' thinking. When we get to modern evolutionary biologists, we'll explore whether this makes sense (and whether, in fact, cats or even chickens actually rule the world :)
This is wonderful! Plus now I have something nice and concise to point to when warning a non-biologist friend about inviting a parasitologist to dinner
Interestingly enough, my younger daughter brought up very similar sentiments when I started talking about *Dicrocoelium dendriticum* over dinner yesterday :)
Of course I had to look that up... which unfortunately reminded me that a friend died from an undiagnosed (here in Canada) liver fluke he had picked up years before in the tropics... which is another reason your article is a good warmup before directing anyone into the wonderful world of human parasites.
It may be a bit far afield, but I'm led to think of one social equivalent of a parasite, the 'career politician'. There was once a time that politicians performed a semiskilled service job and then step aside, but they've evolved (perhaps initially in the U.S., now widespread elsewhere) to hold on to their 'public servant' roles indefinitely and monetize them to the greatest extent possible. Of course they give the appearance of offering some value (mostly to business interests and wealthy constituents), but it's pretty clear they 'eat at the table of another' with no compunction for any harm done to their citizen hosts.
In everyday experience, animals often cause humans to fundamentally alter behavior. Called 'pets', but it is They that control and even dominate the caregiving person's life. Victims will strenuously protest that the pet is subservient, but carefully examined, behavior reveals clear and effective control actions. They carefully monitor the human and give rewards or punishment based on interactions. Incredibly, animal actions are processed into 'Love'.
Gotta admit this one churned my stomach (especially the photos)!
So which type of parasite is Trump?
Tricky. I think you'll have to ask an exobiologist :)
He certainly doesn't seem to be of this world!
How would you describe things like crop plants? It has been suggested that plants like wheat and rice have essentially “tamed” humans and made them look after their welfare by planting them, watering and giving them fertiliser, and eliminating competition. And an extreme version - tobacco. Here you have a plant that has successfully modified the behaviour of humans so that people become addicted and will happily go outside in the rain to consume it. If an employer tried to force people to stand outside in the cold several times a day, there would be discontent in the workplace! It strikes me that this is similar to the way parasites modify the behaviour of their hosts.
I think we can easily get very confused with this sort of 'paradoxical' thinking. When we get to modern evolutionary biologists, we'll explore whether this makes sense (and whether, in fact, cats or even chickens actually rule the world :)
Excellent summary!