Episode: 22 Xenogenesis - Dawn: IV: The Training Floor Chapters 5 & 6

Show Notes

In Episode 22, Richard and Michael talk about ants and bees, how bad people are at long-term planning, and how can we imagine new experiences (seeing in infra-red, UV, etc.).

Timestamps

00:00:33 - Intro
00:03:01 - Chapter 5 predictions
00:03:38 - Chapter 5 summary begins
00:04:47 - Oxbow lake formation [1]
00:06:40 - Gabriel having issue with Lilith’s leading
00:08:08 - Obligatory hatin’ on Kahguyaht
00:10:08 - Pitching a tent when it is dark and wet is not fun
00:12:21 - Ants in Poland - Fromica rufa [2]
00:13:27 - Army Ants marching through [3 - 5]
00:15:50 - Ant super-colonies [6]
00:17:05 - Bees [7, 8]
00:18:44 - Termites [9]
00:19:55 - Back to chapter 5
00:21:33 - Visual system (yes, we went off tangent immediately)
00:23:40 - Fishing (back to chapter 5)
00:24:50 - Spear and bowfishing [10, 11]
00:27:43 - Chapter 5 again
00:28:30 - Chapter 5 summary finishes - we discuss what the Oankali did to the humans
00:33:19 - Chapter 6 predictions
00:33:50 - Chapter 6 summary starts
00:37:05 - We discuss again how dumb the humans were
00:42:04 - “It wasn’t planned”
00:45:59 - Neanderthal extinction [12]
00:48:40 - Back to Chapter 6
00:49:49 - First time description of what the aliens feel and experience
00:59:09 - Wedge between Lilith and the rest of humanity
01:05:00 - Chapter 7 predictions
01:08:21 - Justice for Lilith!
01:08:42 - Outro

References

Oxbow lake formation:

• [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGJXxAZPm8M - Video visualising the formation of an oxbow lake - similar to what the room Lilith and the humans are kept in.

Ants:

• [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica_rufa - Wikipedia article on the ants that Michael called Blacksmith ants (although that’s local name for them), their actual name being red wood ants, or latin Fromica rufa.
• [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsfiUR0ZzLw - Army ants marching through and killing everything off.
• [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO3yKYC305g - Army Ants documentary.
• [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_e0CA_nhaE - Army ants Kurzgesagt video.
• [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqECNYmM23A - Kurzgesagt ant super-colony videos.

Bees:

• [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee_life_cycle - Bee life cycle article on Wikipedia.
• [8] https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/special-programs/beekeeping/about-honey-bees.aspx - More about bees.

Termites:

• [9] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/science/termite-nest-ventilation.html - How ventilation is crucial for termite mounds.

Spear and bowfishing:

• [10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearfishing - Wikipedia article on spearfishing.
• [11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfishing - Wikiepdia article on bowfishing - giving the details on how much adjustement is needed.

Neanderthal extinction:

• [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal_extinction - How modern human killed off similar species.

Intro: L’Etoile danse (Pt. 1) by Meydan Outro: Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio

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