I was listening to Radio Lab on National Public Radio again today. What a fascinating show! This time they were talking about new theories regarding a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly. I highly recommend that you listen to the 16 minute story, which is called “Goo and You”, and can be found here.
Basically, when a caterpillar forms the chrysalis, its body, internal organs and all, dissolves into this goo. And somehow, no one knows quite how, out of that goo a butterfly is formed. It’s really amazing when you think about it.
What struck me most about this discussion is the concept that when a caterpillar transforms, it takes parts of itself from the past. They describe a study in which a caterpillar is trained to avoid a certain smell by being given an electric shock every time he smells it. Then he transforms into a butterfly, and somehow, from that goo, the butterfly still manages to keep the aversion to that smell! How does memory emerge from goo?
But even more interesting is that if you dissect a caterpillar, you will find thin, almost transparent elements of the butterfly it will become rolled up inside its body. Inside the chrysalis, these rolled up elements unfurl and line the casing as the caterpillar dissolves. Which means the caterpillar carries elements of its future self within it.
That got me thinking about the elements of my past that I have carried forward that impact my life today. And it also gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, I do have the wings within me that will someday allow me to fly. I just have to make my way out of all this goo.
[Image credit: hassoomi.deviantart.com]
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