January 12, 2009

• CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT LOBSTERS

  I saw this Saturday:

  NYC eatery grants freedom to lobster centenarian

  By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer Verena Dobnik, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jan 10, 2:05 am ET

  AP – In this photo released by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, ‘George,’ a live 20 pound …

  NEW YORK – A 140-year-old lobster once destined for a dinner plate received the gift of life Friday from a Park Avenue seafood restaurant.

  George, the 20-pound supercentenarian crustacean, was freed by City Crab and Seafood in New York City.

  “We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace,” said Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

  PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said the group asked City Crab to return George to the Atlantic Ocean after a diner saw him at the restaurant, where steamed Maine lobster sells for $27 per pound. George had been caught off Newfoundland, Canada and lived in the tank for about 10 days before his release.

  Some scientists estimate lobsters can live to be more than 100 years old. PETA and the restaurant guessed George’s age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature’s weight.

  He was to be released Saturday near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden

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  And I wondered…

  1)  Would W snag him for lunch?
  2)  Is this “guessing age by weight” theory infallible?
  3)  What if he’s 20 and just eats something juiced with steroids every once in a while?
  4)  If this theory were applied to humans, wouldn’t Barry Bonds be over 1,500 years old?

  It amazes me how easily most people accept some printed opinion as fact without questioning it.  Like when someone writes, “The fossil dates to 15 million years ago when…”   So they think.  Doesn’t make it true.  Carbon dating is not always precise, and most rules/guides have exceptions.  I hope this lobster is 140, but I’d rather “news reporters” went back to the old standard of distinguishing opinions from facts, especially when the facts are not supported by any data, instead of stating opinions as if they are unquestioned facts.  Does that make me jaded or just committed to the truth?

  When it comes to information, we are largely a spoon-fed society, and spoon-fed societies grow up to be pretty much whatever the feeders want.  Seems to me that critical thinking is largely a lost art.

  • 1:34 am
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