[ExI] types of cars and ethics

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Eugen Leitl
Subject: [ExI] types of cars and ethics


(take this as an anecdote, not a scientific study)

http://gizmodo.com/5927083/roadkill-experiment-shows-that-six-percent-of-drivers-are-sadistic-animal-killers

Roadkill Experiment Shows That Six Percent of Drivers Are Sadistic Animal Killers
...

• He alternatively placed a rubber animal—and a leaf as a control object—on the shoulder of a road: a turtle, a snake, or a spider.

• He watched one thousand cars pass by and annotated the drivers' reaction.

...

There are three different experiments here, actually at least three.  We humans have a natural revulsion for spiders and insects.  I had it at one time, but as a child I wondered why, since only ants, bees and wasps sting, and then only when provoked.  So I began really examining insects, under the microscope if possible, and pretty soon I had no more revulsion for insects than normal people have for squirrels and birds.  I urge people to really look closely at bugs.  They are far more interesting and diverse than mammals, and they are the easiest wildlife to observe because of being so common.

Spiders bite, but only when practically invited.  Tarantulas are not aggressive and are not poisonous, but will inflict a painful mechanical bite if you attack them first.  So why don't we have this aversion to horseshoe crabs?  We don't care if they swim all around us at the beach, but if you pick up one and look at it, they are huge spiders with a big shell over them.  If they didn't have that shell, swimmers would out freak.  Instinct?  If you want something fun and freaky, go witness a tarantula migration.

Running over turtles: I don't understand that one.  Pass.  Shame on that driver.

Snakes: most people cannot identify from a moving car the harmfulness or otherwise of a snake.  They may flatten the slithery bastard just because they think they are protecting the children and the clueless.  But even if they don't, snakes devour mice and other furry beasts, so the car driver might be crushing the reptile in order to save the mammals.

Back to the turtles for a minute.  Any egregious bastard who would intentionally flatten a turtle, oy.  I propose we set up a camera down the road from the rubber turtle and snap photos of the drivers who intentionally kill those harmless beasts, then post them on a web page.

spike