Why Care About Lady Bug Wings?

— or, Why Care About Science and Exploration? Just wondering.

by Susan G Holland

I’m asking myself why I wrote that piece earlier today about Lady Bug wings.

Why did I bother clicking that link on a sunny Sunday in Seattle — the one that has to do with how bugs fold their wings?

Curiosity.

It killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back, they say.

Most curiosity doesn’t prove anything summarily and for all time — it just gets a little closer to a deeper question.

Why were we equipped with curiosity in the first place?

Was it because survival depended on invention?

Or was it just to keep us alert and growing?

A little of both I reckon.

Did you know that there are bugs that eat themselves to metamorphose? Really! Read Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek!

Did you know that the giant’s share of an adult’s knowledge was learned when the person was a young child?

Do you think that “idle amusement” is an authentic vehicle for learning/creativity? I do.

Cheers to all on a sunny Sunday.

Susan