This is for the University of South Carolina's Honors Program so I'd really appreciate any help I can get! No such thing as too harsh. I drafted this up really late at night so the end gets kind of generic, but I plan on adding in a couple extra paragraphs when I'm not so tired.
Prompt: Generally people are only familiar with a small fraction of the world's processes and phenomena, whether natural or manmade. Identify one that you believe people should understand better and explain why.
When I was 11 years old my aunt gave me an ant farm for Christmas. It was simple: plastic green frame, white sand, a generic farm scene displayed in the background. I spent endless hours observing the tiny workers as they determinedly excavated tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. It wasn't long before the entire panel of sand became a network of abstractly latticed shafts leading to chambers with designated purposes, much like a pint-sized mansion. There was a dining room, a pantry, various bedrooms, even a morgue. I carried the mini metropolis all around the house, terrified I would miss out on an exciting battle over the last breadcrumb or a funeral for one of the fallen.
I was mesmerized, fascinated, by these seemingly trivial insects that I had so often before trampled to a pulp on the sidewalk. Ants are virtually supernatural. For one, they exhibit unbelievable strength. I witnessed individuals transporting morsels more than twice their size. To put this into perspective, imagine a human being able to carry a refrigerator up a flight of stairs with relative ease. Some species of ants can spit acid. Trap ants can shut their jaws at a whopping 140 miles per hour and with a force 300 times its own weight. Wingless ants can glide through the air. As I continued my research, I only verified why films about giant insect invasions are appropriated placed in the horror category.
Perhaps more incredible than their abilities is the similarities between ants and humans. I observed them playfully romping with one another, communicating via antennae, fighting, and, as always, diligently working. They had feelings. I saw ants pouting in the corner. I saw ants defending the injured. More than once, I kept vigil at a funeral gathering for one of the fallen. One ant would carry the deceased to its final resting place, closely trailed by the rest of the colony. They would crowd into the room, wait for a period, then trail out one by one, as if paying their final respects.
Humans can learn a thing or two from ants. Take the bible verse Proverbs 6:6-11, for example:
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
We, as humans, are inherently lazy. We're "sluggards." The reason we have so many ingenious inventions is because we seek the path of least exertion. Ants, on the other hand, are innately industrious. Place an obstacle in their way and they will trek over it without hesitation, while humans will plop down, whip out their iPhone, and call the fire department to have it hoisted out of the way. Maybe if we practiced the ants' less time consuming and more sensible method, we'd be a bit further along (and possibly less overweight).
Ants can also teach us to be self-motivated. Individuals function as part of a larger system, but the system runs only because the ants are looking out for themselves. The only reason their actions are not considered entirely selfish is that they are quick to run back and inform the rest of the colony of their findings. Human self-motivation, when not suffocated by laziness, is often smothered by greed. When a human finds a plentiful supply of new resources, say petroleum, for example, they would either hoard it for themselves or attempt to make a profit from it by selling it off. Ants are reasonable enough to realize that a) they would die before using up that much of one resource by themselves and b) auctioning it off isn't going to help much either. Granted, ants do not have an economy or supply and demand, but humans could take after our peewee pals and give a little for the greater good.
Here's where I'd put in some more paragraphs about what lessons they can teach us. I plan on talking about perserverance and teamwork so if you have any ideas that'd be great!
Sitting and watching ants in an ant farm may sound a lot like watching paint dry, but tacky paint doesn't teach us lessons about how to function better as a society. So next time you see a queue of ants filing out of your pantry, ditch the traps, grab a magnifying glass, and prepare your mind to be blown. I know this conclusion isn't so great either but I just kind of stuck it on so I would at least have one to show. I like the sentences I have now but plan on adding more body
Thank you all in advance for your help!! This site never fails to surprise me with how good the advice is.
Prompt: Generally people are only familiar with a small fraction of the world's processes and phenomena, whether natural or manmade. Identify one that you believe people should understand better and explain why.
When I was 11 years old my aunt gave me an ant farm for Christmas. It was simple: plastic green frame, white sand, a generic farm scene displayed in the background. I spent endless hours observing the tiny workers as they determinedly excavated tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. It wasn't long before the entire panel of sand became a network of abstractly latticed shafts leading to chambers with designated purposes, much like a pint-sized mansion. There was a dining room, a pantry, various bedrooms, even a morgue. I carried the mini metropolis all around the house, terrified I would miss out on an exciting battle over the last breadcrumb or a funeral for one of the fallen.
I was mesmerized, fascinated, by these seemingly trivial insects that I had so often before trampled to a pulp on the sidewalk. Ants are virtually supernatural. For one, they exhibit unbelievable strength. I witnessed individuals transporting morsels more than twice their size. To put this into perspective, imagine a human being able to carry a refrigerator up a flight of stairs with relative ease. Some species of ants can spit acid. Trap ants can shut their jaws at a whopping 140 miles per hour and with a force 300 times its own weight. Wingless ants can glide through the air. As I continued my research, I only verified why films about giant insect invasions are appropriated placed in the horror category.
Perhaps more incredible than their abilities is the similarities between ants and humans. I observed them playfully romping with one another, communicating via antennae, fighting, and, as always, diligently working. They had feelings. I saw ants pouting in the corner. I saw ants defending the injured. More than once, I kept vigil at a funeral gathering for one of the fallen. One ant would carry the deceased to its final resting place, closely trailed by the rest of the colony. They would crowd into the room, wait for a period, then trail out one by one, as if paying their final respects.
Humans can learn a thing or two from ants. Take the bible verse Proverbs 6:6-11, for example:
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
We, as humans, are inherently lazy. We're "sluggards." The reason we have so many ingenious inventions is because we seek the path of least exertion. Ants, on the other hand, are innately industrious. Place an obstacle in their way and they will trek over it without hesitation, while humans will plop down, whip out their iPhone, and call the fire department to have it hoisted out of the way. Maybe if we practiced the ants' less time consuming and more sensible method, we'd be a bit further along (and possibly less overweight).
Ants can also teach us to be self-motivated. Individuals function as part of a larger system, but the system runs only because the ants are looking out for themselves. The only reason their actions are not considered entirely selfish is that they are quick to run back and inform the rest of the colony of their findings. Human self-motivation, when not suffocated by laziness, is often smothered by greed. When a human finds a plentiful supply of new resources, say petroleum, for example, they would either hoard it for themselves or attempt to make a profit from it by selling it off. Ants are reasonable enough to realize that a) they would die before using up that much of one resource by themselves and b) auctioning it off isn't going to help much either. Granted, ants do not have an economy or supply and demand, but humans could take after our peewee pals and give a little for the greater good.
Here's where I'd put in some more paragraphs about what lessons they can teach us. I plan on talking about perserverance and teamwork so if you have any ideas that'd be great!
Sitting and watching ants in an ant farm may sound a lot like watching paint dry, but tacky paint doesn't teach us lessons about how to function better as a society. So next time you see a queue of ants filing out of your pantry, ditch the traps, grab a magnifying glass, and prepare your mind to be blown. I know this conclusion isn't so great either but I just kind of stuck it on so I would at least have one to show. I like the sentences I have now but plan on adding more body
Thank you all in advance for your help!! This site never fails to surprise me with how good the advice is.