I wasn't being ENTIRELY silly in my post about four legs and balance
(although recent postings have pushed me to hilarity). In one of my
biology classes, my professor did spend a lecture talking rather
seriously about symmetry in animals and plants and the relationship to
balance. Mystics look at math and symmetry and see all sorts of meaning
beyond reason, but I must admit it makes sense to think about balance.
Unbalanced plants might droop to one side thereby not getting enough
sunlight and possibly drenching themselves in a puddle. And of course
an injured mammal can survive with one leg gone, but it is not the ideal
situation for mating or for catching prey. The starfish is quite a bit
different as it has a flattened body - thereby gaining its balance by
dispersing mass.
Lucy
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Aug 18 2001 - 21:17:49 EDT