What’s My Name in Dolphinize?

What’s My Name in Dolphinize?

As a kid, I always watched Flipper on TV. Flipper was the dolphin version of Lassie. “What’s that, Flipper?” Ranger Ricks said. “Bud has his foot stuck in a coral reef, the tide’s rising, Sandy’s out of gas, and a hurricane is coming. Show me where!” I always suspected that Flipper was saying a lot more than any of us were understanding.

Scientists studying a group of wild bottle—nosed dolphins in Florida made a startling discovery —— the dolphins talk to each other by whistling their own names. They know each other’s names, and can mention by name a dolphin who isn’t present.

Scientists recorded dolphin vocalizations. They removed intonations from the vocalizations, leaving only the syllables. It’d be like recording my voice and removing my accent and vocal characteristics, leaving only the frequency modulation. Basically, my voice would be completely understandable, but wholly unrecognizable.

They played these recorded names on an underwater microphone to see if close relatives reacted. They did. Furthermore, The Wild Dolphin Project has determined that some dolphins have rudimentary language skills.

It’s long been believed that only humans could name objects or creatures. In God’s great wisdom, God has given humans a brain to penetrate the mysteries of this world. We are discovering that ours isn’t the only brain to contain intellectual capacity.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, the longer we live on earth, the more we learn about our neighbors here, the ones we used to call dumb animals. Give us the insight to understand what it means that dolphins whistle names for each other. Help us to accept a shift in our worldview. Amen.

Today’s Thought Is: There is more to this God-created world than we know.

Sources:

Genesis 2:18—20

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/4750471.stm

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_1930136,00.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id="1941916&page=1