人人都信的动物谬误

人人都信的动物谬误

我们大多数人对动物的理解要么来源于长辈们的传授，要么来源于书籍、动画或电影，要么来源于自己的观察和想象力……然而这些来源也有不可靠的时候，某些有关动物的说法我们深信不疑，可它们其实不过是一传十十传百、以讹传讹的谬论。 此时，某地有位大人在旁征博引，拈来一条实际上是从旧漫画或其他不靠谱的渠道得来的动物“趣闻”。这就是为什么虽然蝙蝠其实看得见，但诸如“瞎如蝙蝠”之类的说法却经久流传的原因。总而言之，动物这一群体尤易遭到人们荒谬可笑的错误解读。

1. Cut an Earthworm in Half, You Get Two Worms

You''''re in the back yard and you find an earthworm. You cut it in half, and look at that! Both halves are still alive! Then some helpful grownup comes along and says, "You know, eventually both ends will heal and grow back, and you''''ll have two worms!" To a kid, the logic is sound: If lizards and such4) can regenerate5) new tails they''''ve lost, and worms are nothing but tail-shaped things, they can probably regenerate thEir whole bodies.

The Problem ...

The whole thing is a lie.

Try this. Buy yourself a cow. Now sever6) the cow straight down the middle. How many cows do you now have? Did each half grow a new half cow? Didn''''t think so.

If you think we''''re being silly by picking such a completely different animal, fine. Try it with a fly, or a cockroach7), because earthworms are as biologically complex as any insect. They, too, have heads and tails and entire systems for eating and metabolizing8) food. They have brains, and hearts, the whole bit.

So the idea that if you cut the head off the ass end of the worm will just grow a new head is just as insane9) as thinking a cow or a dog can do it.

So How''''d It Get Started? 2. Camels Store Water in Their Humps

The very first time you were shown a drawing of a camel in kindergarten, you were told two things: They have humps and they live in the desert because they can go a long time without drinking.

The teacher or parent probably also put two and two together14) and said that the very reason the camels can go on those long trips through an oven-hot desert is that they store water in those humps. The idea made its way into old-time science books, and to this day has been purported15) by "experts" like Bear Grylls who claim to have gotten water via a camel''''s humps. So it must come as a surprise when they find out that camel humps don''''t actually do any such thing.

The Problem ...

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In reality, camels don''''t store water in thEir humps; they store fat. Fat works much better than water in the desert, because it provides camels with the energy they need to keep up their metabolism16) and keep moving.

Some of you are saying, "Well, duh17), they store water in the fat!" and it''''s true that when camels metabolize all that fat in their humps, they actually yield18) some water. But the yielded water is lost in the body, and the camel never gets to use it for nourishment.

But don''''t camels need water so they don''''t dehydrate19)? Well, yes, of course. But camels work differently from people. Camels can cool down, and stay cool, much longer than we can. They also have special cells that don''''t allow blood pressure to drop when body volume drops. All of it adds up to a creature that can go a long time without dehydrating.

So How''''d It Get Started?

The origin of this myth is probably twofold. Ancient Roman philosopher/naturalist Pliny the Elder is recorded as having hypothesized that a camel has two stomachs: one made to hold water, and another to hold food. The community at large20) accepted this as fact, and assumed that those two stomachs must be in the two humps.

There are also stories which say that traveling Muslim armies would split open a camel''''s belly and drink its water. Well, that''''s likely because food and water divide into two separate sections of the camel''''s stomach before digestion, allowing one to get a hold of the portion of the stomach filled only with water.

3. Bulls Are Enraged by the Color Red

The Problem ...

Not exactly. As anyone who works with bulls will tell you, full-on24) bulls can''''t tell the difference between colors. In reality, bulls get enraged by the flapping motion of the cloth, which, in retrospect25), would piss off anyone, human or animal, that''''s been starved and thrown into a ring.

So How''''d It Get Started?

The myth probably comes from another simple misunderstanding. The matador show is divided into three portions: in the first two, the matador utilizes a yellow cape. The purpose of these stages is to basically frustrate26) the bull long enough until the show reaches its third stage. In this stage, the matador brings out the signature red cape and enrages the bull into attacking. At this point, the bull is mad enough that the cape could be purple, blue or rainbow with sparkles on it; the bull couldn''''t care less. He just wants a matador sandwich.

1. 一条蚯蚓一切为二后会长成两条蚯蚓

你在家里的后院发现了一条蚯蚓，将其切成两段，然后定睛一看：两段蚯蚓仍然都活着！这时，某位乐于施教的大人走过来对你说：“知道吗？这两段蚯蚓最终都会自愈并长回原样，就会有两条蚯蚓了！”对于一个孩子来说，这一逻辑合情合理：如果蜥蜴之类的动物尾巴断掉后能长出新尾巴，而蚯蚓又都是尾状体的动物，那蚯蚓被切断后或许就可以再生出一个完整的身体来。

问题是……

此事纯属谎言。

不妨试试这个。你去买头牛回来，然后将牛拦腰斩断。现在你得到了几头牛？每半头牛长成一头新牛了吗？我可不这样认为。

如果你觉得我们选择一个与蚯蚓大相径庭的动物来做试验有失偏颇，那好，拿苍蝇或者蟑螂来做这个实验，因为蚯蚓的生物构造和任何昆虫一样复杂。蚯蚓也有头有尾，有完整的食物消化和代谢系统，有大脑，有心脏，一应俱全。

因此，如果认为将蚯蚓的头部切掉那它的尾端就能长出一颗新头，这样的想法就好比认为牛或狗的头砍掉后能再生一样荒谬至极。

那么，这一说法从何而来？

这一谬误可能源自一个小小的误解。和大多数昆虫一样，蚯蚓确实有再生能力，只是没有我们想象的那样高级。所以，要是你把蚯蚓尾巴的一部分切除，它可能会再长出一条短小的“替补”尾巴。把蚯蚓切成两半后，蚯蚓仍会一直动，但这只是因为最后的神经信号传过时，蚯蚓的两半身体因疼痛扭动所致。我们早已观察到，鸡被砍掉头后就是这样的。不管是鸡还是蚯蚓，失去头部的那一半身体最终都死掉了。

2. 骆驼用驼峰蓄水

当你上幼儿园、老师第一次向你展示骆驼的图片时，就告诉过你两点：骆驼有驼峰；骆驼可以长时间不喝水，因而能够在沙漠中生存。

老师或家长或许还根据这两点作出判断，告诉你说，骆驼能在像火炉一样炎热的沙漠里长途跋涉就是因为它们的驼峰里装着水。这种观点在过去的科普书里有所记载，直到现在还有像贝尔·格里尔斯这样的“专家”声称在骆驼的驼峰里找到了水。因此，要是他们知道驼峰实际上并不具备储水功能时一定会备感惊讶。

问题是……

实际上，骆驼的驼峰里储存的并不是水，而是脂肪。在沙漠中，脂肪比水更有用，因为它能为骆驼提供新陈代谢和不断行进所需的能量。

你们有人会说：“哦，我知道了，骆驼将水储存在脂肪中！”骆驼在代谢驼峰里的那些脂肪时确实会产生一些水，但这些水在体内损耗消失，骆驼永远都无法拿这部分水来做养分。

但是，难道骆驼就不需要水来防止脱水吗？当然需要。但骆驼与人不同，骆驼能自行降低体温，并且能比人类保持更长时间的低温状态。它们也有特殊的细胞，能够防止身体消瘦后血压下降。正是这些造就出一个能长久跋涉还不脱水的物种。

那么，这一说法从何而来？

这一谬误的产生可追溯到两个方面。有记载说，古罗马哲学家兼博物学家老普林尼曾提出骆驼有两个胃的假说：一个用来装水，一个用来装食物。公众大多认为这个假说就是事实，并认为骆驼的这两个胃必定位于两个驼峰里。

还有传言说，穆斯林军队在行军途中会破开骆驼的肚子取水喝。是的，这是因为食物和水在未消化前分别装在骆驼胃中两个不同的地方，这样人们就能从骆驼胃中装水的那个地方分得一些水。

3．红色能激怒公牛

我们很多人对西班牙文化仅有的一点了解就是西班牙人聚集在斗牛场，然后一个穿着滑稽的人故意在一头发怒的公牛面前挥舞一块大红布，以惹得它怒上加怒。你也曾在某个时间看到，可能是在某部动画片里，一头公牛的注意力完全被红色吸引了。这有道理——斗牛，归结起来就是公牛追着红披风跑，而斗牛士站立在一旁。显而易见，公牛是把红披风当成了敌人。

问题是……

事实并非完全如此。任何和公牛打过交道的人都会告诉你，急性子的公牛无法分辨颜色。实际上，公牛是被甩摆的披风激怒的。仔细想来，不管是动物还是人，在饥肠辘辘还被扔进斗牛场的情形下，看到那样甩摆的布条都会发怒吧。 那么，这一说法从何而来？

这一谬误可能又因一个小小的误解而起。斗牛表演分为三个阶段：在前两个阶段，斗牛士用的是黄色披风。这两个阶段的目的主要是不停地激怒公牛，直到斗牛表演进行到第三个阶段。在这一阶段，斗牛士亮出那个标志性的红色披风，激怒公牛发起攻击。到这时，公牛已经怒不可遏，甭管披风是紫是蓝还是缤纷的彩色，一概无视——它想要的就是一块用斗牛士做成的三明治。WwW.LWlM.com

1. blind as a bat: <口>完全看不见东西的

2. persist [p??s?st] vi. 持续；存留

3. vulnerable [?v?ln?r?bl] adj. 易受影响的

4. and such: ……之类

5. regenerate [r??d?en?re?t] vt. 再生，重新生长出，生长出新的以取代(受损或损失的器官、组织)

6. sever [?sev?(r)] vt. 切断，割断；把……割下

7. cockroach [?k?kr??t?] n. 【昆】蟑螂

8. metabolize [m??t?b?la?z] vt. (使)新陈代谢

9. insane [?n?se?n] adj. 蠢极的；荒唐的

10. stunted [?st?nt?d] adj. 矮(或小)的

11. wriggle [?r?ɡl] vi. 扭动，蠕动；蜿蜒行进

12. shoot through: 突然撤离

13. decapitate [d??k?p?te?t] vt. 杀……的头；除去……的顶端

14. put two and two together: <口>根据现有的事实推断，综合起来判断

15. purport [p??p??t] vt. 声称

16. metabolism [m??t?b?l?z?m] n. 【生理】代谢(作用)，新陈代谢(作用)

17. duh [d??] int. = doh [d??] int. <口> <谑> [用于意识到自己做错事或说错话]哦

18. yield [ji?ld] vt. 产生，带来

19. dehydrate [di??ha?dre?t] vi. 脱水，失水

20. at large: 大多数；整个

21. piss off: 使厌烦；使恼火；使失望。Pissed-off为复合形容词。

22. mesmerize [?mezm?ra?z] vt. 迷惑；完全迷住

23. matador [?m?t?d??(r)] n. 斗牛士

24. full-on: 完全的；彻底的，绝对的

25. in retrospect: 回想起来，事后看来

26. frustrate [fr??stre?t] vt. 使恼怒而又不知所措