2/26/13
The Owl Comes Into Its Own
(Angier, Natalie)
"The New York Times"
2/25/13
Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/long-cloaked-in-mystery-owls-start-coming-into-full-view.html?ref=science&_r=0
Owls have always been known to be amazing birds, but now people realize it more than ever. They have been thought of as good creatures for many centuries since Greek goddess Athena was linked to owls, and they are still popular now in books, such as Harry Potter, and elsewhere. People have a lot to learn from owls. One of barn owls' many positive attributes is their human like generosity; they share food with those smaller than them. The way they speak is a language in itself. Also, all types of owls have their entire body built in a way that helps them and makes them the best they can be. For example, researchers are finding that plane flight would be more successful if we modeled plane wings after those of the owl. The shape and the openings at the ends between the feathers helps create silent, smooth travel which could be good for airlines and could help use less fuel. Owls also are very successful hunters; with in one year a group of 10 can eat 25,000 rats (nytimes.com). However, the best quality of owls is their hearing. They have very large ears that can hear even the slightest movement of their prey, and the way the head moves and where the ears are located on the head make the system even better. The eyes of the owl are on a certain part of the head because of where the ears are, and the flat face is also to help pick up sound. Owls are amazing creatures, and there is now a lot of research to prove it.
I thought this article was very interesting. This was not the kind of article where bias would be an issue, but I could tell the author was a big admirer of owls, else she would not have written it. I liked this article because it seemed to me that people should be doing things like this more often. I think there is a lot we can learn from other creatures around us, and I don't understand why we don't tap into that resource more. If we could make planes fly better by observing owls, couldn't we make ships sail better by observing a water creature? People like to do things as fast as they can without thinking about the best and most practical way to do it, but if we thought a little more I think society and many things in general would be more successful. However, I have never thought much about owls or how we could learn from them, so I should not chastise others for doing the same as me. After reading this article I think that we should definitely continue to research owls and the ways they can help us.
2/25/13
Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/long-cloaked-in-mystery-owls-start-coming-into-full-view.html?ref=science&_r=0
Owls have always been known to be amazing birds, but now people realize it more than ever. They have been thought of as good creatures for many centuries since Greek goddess Athena was linked to owls, and they are still popular now in books, such as Harry Potter, and elsewhere. People have a lot to learn from owls. One of barn owls' many positive attributes is their human like generosity; they share food with those smaller than them. The way they speak is a language in itself. Also, all types of owls have their entire body built in a way that helps them and makes them the best they can be. For example, researchers are finding that plane flight would be more successful if we modeled plane wings after those of the owl. The shape and the openings at the ends between the feathers helps create silent, smooth travel which could be good for airlines and could help use less fuel. Owls also are very successful hunters; with in one year a group of 10 can eat 25,000 rats (nytimes.com). However, the best quality of owls is their hearing. They have very large ears that can hear even the slightest movement of their prey, and the way the head moves and where the ears are located on the head make the system even better. The eyes of the owl are on a certain part of the head because of where the ears are, and the flat face is also to help pick up sound. Owls are amazing creatures, and there is now a lot of research to prove it.
I thought this article was very interesting. This was not the kind of article where bias would be an issue, but I could tell the author was a big admirer of owls, else she would not have written it. I liked this article because it seemed to me that people should be doing things like this more often. I think there is a lot we can learn from other creatures around us, and I don't understand why we don't tap into that resource more. If we could make planes fly better by observing owls, couldn't we make ships sail better by observing a water creature? People like to do things as fast as they can without thinking about the best and most practical way to do it, but if we thought a little more I think society and many things in general would be more successful. However, I have never thought much about owls or how we could learn from them, so I should not chastise others for doing the same as me. After reading this article I think that we should definitely continue to research owls and the ways they can help us.
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