Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith)
Subject: [Green] On Biology (Para-admin post)
Message-ID: <Aug28.231334.27253@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1993 23:13:34 GMT
References: <1993Aug28.155543.4455@ucbeh.san.uc.edu>

Doctor Hermwise stood adressing his History of Science class at the university.
The small class (made up mostly of grad students) seemed fairly attentive,
this was a good class, they did their homework well.

"Today we will adress the history of one of the few departments here smaller
than ours, we will go through the history of biology.  Who can tell me when
Biology started?"  
  "During the reign of Hubert the Crafty of Kirender." One of the students
answered.  "The mage Worlwisz decided to specialize in familiars and monsters."
  "But even then people knew about most of the common animals and several of
the principles that governed them.  The Endomagic theory of dragons, for
example."  (Endomagic theory of dragons (EMD): the theory that dragons and
draconids incorporate magic into their breath-weapons, flying abilities,
etc, rather than relying on mundane means.  A very basic theory, sort of
like the theory of Gravitation is to modern physics)  The doctor retorted.
  "Then how about with the Heathens?" another student suggested, going for 
points.  "They would have known most of those things, or figured them out."
  "But they never approached things in a systemmic manner, and several of their
beliefs were downright unscientific, like flies being born from meat.  The
answer is that it's impossible to pick a definite time for the beginning of
this science.  So we have to settle for describing where it came from, who
knows that?  The Mages, who wished to know about familiars and monsters, the
exotic animals, or the Farmers, who wished to know about sheep and goats and
corn, the mundane items?"
  "Both." The bright student said, "It wasn't until the two were unified,
Magic with it's procedures all worked out and Agrarians with all the data
that Biology as a science began to take off."
  "What about the Druids?" Another bright student asked.
  "Good question." Hermwise said, "But Druids are priests, not scientists."
  "Sometime the line *is* crossed." a divinity student remarked.
  "True, but in this case," This time the speaker was a sociology student,
"The two groups segregate voluntarily.  They even call each other names.
Sociologists actually see it fairly often, we call it the sect effect, 'cause
we most often see it with competing sects of the same God."
  "So if the Bios came from druids, they wouldn't hate them?"  The other bright
student concluded.  "Hmmm.  I could see that."
  "Or the druids wouldn't hate the bios." The Doctor concluded, "Or at least
hate each other differently.  Anyway, the first try was right, it came from
Both Magic and Agriculture.  We think It was in force earlier in Cathay and
the Twelve Kingdoms, but can't be sure.  Now, who can tell me the history."
They launched into a long discussion of theories and people, which not even
they found interesting.  Finally they came to the end of the discussion:

"The State of Biology today?"  Even the bright student could be put on
the spot, if you were dillegent enough.  "You mean..."
  "The subdisciplines, list them."
  "Okay.  There's Anatomy and Physiology, these guys made the most use of
the microscopes, and have the hottest theory going today.  *everybody* wants
to work with Cell Theory.  They also have a good lobby going for control
of the UNS"  (UNS: Unified Naming System.  the scource for the largest number
of fistfights in biology.  There are about twelve of them)  "There's the
Cultivationists, the descendants of the agrarians.  There's the Mago-
ecologists, with their subdiscipline the Mago-systemisists, these are
the descendants of the mages, and there's the Pure Ecologists, Who currently
proposed most of the UNS's."
  "Which is the biggest?"
  "Anatomy and Physiology."