Big Think

Platapus

We have endured a history of division in the name of artificial categories.  The world does not consist of binaries (Judith Butler's sexual binaries) and black and white concrete pieces of information.  People have very distinctive ways of organizing their activities. Categories are socially constructed, and in terms of social activity this is very easy to understand and digest; the way we organize ourselves. A good example is geographic division, i.e. countries, municipalities. Although infrequently arbitrary, borders are imaginary lines created by people, as well as real fences and walls created in the name of an invisible line. I will get to the platypus soon.   Next is the understanding that race is imaginary. Ethnicity consists of shared beliefs and practices, often by a group distinguished by their supposed race, and is very real. But when examining what distinguishes one race from another it becomes clear that people have arbitrarily segregated people based on visual cues, language, and geographic isolation, among other things. Most of this division is cultural, but race is still treated as though it is a genetic division. There is no race gene, only a variety of common traits passed between generations, and a person does not need to posses all or any of the traits stereotypical of their race in order to be considered a member; this is also an artificial division.  People arbitrarily and artificially divide and segregate their world in order to better understand it; in order to classify and organize it. This makes the plethora of information with which people are constantly confronted more manageable.  The platypus is nature's joke. Categorically (to myself- someone with a very limited knowledge of biology) it is almost impossible make fit. Until explorers returned with the carcass of a duck-billed platypus, they were largely believed to be myth or hoax. It is the only living representative of its family. Along with a few other species, it is among the only mammals to lay eggs rather than give birth to live young. The platypus is venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed and otter-footed. They growl. The bill and jaw on the platypus more closely resembles that of a duck than any mammal, but is a sensory organ with mouth underneath. The platypus walks like a reptile, with legs to the sides rather than underneath. It uses electrorecption to detect muscle contractions in the water for prey.  The platypus serves as a good-natured reminder that even divisions in nature are a human attempt to construct categories and make things fit. I have no doubt in the wisdom of the construction of these categories, but the platypus stands in to remind us not to take our creations to seriously.   There is no shame in categorizing in order to understand, but it is crucial that we remember that it is all imaginary. To encourage hate, to fight and to treat a human-made category with more respect one would treat a human is extremely discouraging.  Without having done a very articulate job of explaining myself, I think about the role of the platypus in my outlook quite frequently, and think it relates to a great many more things than I have managed to mention. The platypus reminds me to interpret the world with humour, but most importantly, to remember that it is in fact an interpretation. … Read More

February 6, 2008   |