On Giraffes

I was wandering around on the internet, following some rabbit trail because there was nothing else to do, when I stumbled upon a photograph of giraffes. This brought to memory a conversation I had with a student concerning the theory that giraffes don't actually exist. That's right, they don't exist. This student, who will of course remain nameless, also believes the 9/11 attacks were planned and carried out by agents of the United States government, but I digress. The idea is that they were actually created by someone to fool people, for what purpose and to what end I do not know. "Why would they need such a neck," he/she asks, "and have you ever actually seen one?" "No," I say, "but I've seen pictures." "Ah, but pictures can be altered, so you've never actually seen one." "No," I say," but I know people that have seen them." "They must be in on the plot." The conversation goes on and on until I finally end it with, "Any former respect I had for your intelligence has evaporated under the hot African sun beneath which the noble giraffe roams." Okay, so I didn't say that, but wouldn't it have been funny if I did? I'm sure I said something snarky and condescending, just not quite as intellectual sounding.

The conversation reminded me of my first week of ToK in high school. Is there a dragon in the box? How do you know? From whom did you hear it? Do you trust that source? I wonder if the modern high school (or even some college) student asks themselves these questions when studying or researching. Anyway, I don't know how I got on this topic. School/work and education are not all that I think about. Really, it's not.

On a completely different note (sarcasm), I heard a joke about how teachers can't go for 24 hours without talking about their students. I'm convinced that it's true.