A question of spiders and the meaning of life?

Question

I'll preface this question by saying that I've noticed some of you (probably mostly those from the Kindergarten Continent - what is it Rumsfeld was described as by one of our top generals - "intellectually bankrupt" - well I think it would be more accurate to say that that term is generic for most of the states) find it difficult to understand in my questions what one theme has to do with another.

As a general rule, I like to take the larger more comprehensive view on situations in life and realise that in some shape or form everything seems to be interelated - but how - why are we here?

Recently my wife commented on a spider that likes to weave its web connecting it between one of our rubbish wheely bins & her car. It doesn't seem to learn that when she drives her car away from her parking spot all that beautifully complex engineering that it probably spent half the night constructing will be destroyed, because sure enough there is a brand new web there-

Answer 1

Sorry Sweetie, but me thinks you have pondered this WAY too long---time to move on to some other reality

Answer 2

TRY 'A QUESTION OF SNAKES AND THE MEANING OF LIFE'.

I THINK YOU'LL FIND MANY MORE ILLUMINATING ANSWERS THERE:

The Brilliant, Adam and Eve Prover:

Book, TWO BIRDS ... ONE STONE!!, by genius Kinesiologist, Denis Towers, [Xulonpress.com], 2007??

Upon a 9 year study, the author writes this work, which scientifically illustrates that Man and the snake are diametric opposites - both, 'functionally-anatomicall... and behaviourally.

It is a Master-work among the books that have been written!

An absolute MUST for believers and for Creationists.

If you want that elusive SCIENTIFIC proof of Adam and Eve and God, this is it!!!

Highly Unique among books.

Who has read it??

Answer 3

I'll let Robert Frost do the talkin':

Design

found a dimpled spider, fat and white,

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth

Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth--

Assorted characters of death and blight

Mixed ready to begin the morning right,

Like the ingredients of a witches' broth--

A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,

And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,

The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?

What brought the kindred spider to that height,

Then steered the white moth thither in the night?

What but design of darkness to appall?--

If design govern in a thing so small.

Answer 4

If I'm not mistaken spiders tear down and rebuild their webs everyday...This spider seems to have found a way to have half the job done for it...Maybe it's smarter than you think, or maybe you're just dumber than you think...

Answer 5

We have evolved into a species of such intelligence that we can save ourselves from extinction, yet we are so intelligent that we will be the cause of our own demise

No other creature on Earth has this level of intelligence, not even the the little spider that engineers the perfect web

Answer 6

Here is my theory.  The spider, though it may seem insignificant itellectually with its tiny brain (which is actually more of just a tiny neuropathic cell network than brain matter), spins her web and performs her duty so magnificently, that her choice of web location may seem like a living contradiction of her abilities.  I looked at the situation the same way until I realized this important fact.  The spider was created to do exactly what she does.  Spin webs in highly insect populated areas, keep the insect population in balance and then die.  She is doing her job with COMPLETE focus and is unaware of the fact that her web will be destroyed tomorrow.  To you the web is an amazing thing.  For her, it is just a house.  It is her 9-5 job.    This brings me to my main point.  Each creature plainly performs its duty perfectly.  Man is the only creature that is out of balance.  This is because GOD gave US a choice.  We were put on this earth for one purpose and one purpose alone (like the spider).  Our purpose is to love and honor God.  Because we ALL fail to perform our purpose completely, life is out of balance.  What would happen if the spider refused to spin her web?  Unbalance?  The problem is that people continue to refuse God's existence and choose to live their own lives as they see fit.  They refuse to live in God's will and like the spiders who refuse to spin there webs we are infested with insects and flys, or in our case, crime and sin, and murder and chaos.  So in some aspects we are like the spider who spins her web in a doomed location if we are not performing our purpose driven life.  We are capable of wonderful things, but lack the insight to remove the blinder from our eyes.

Answer 7

Why don't you take political ideas to politics where they belong.  Spiders usually display more insight.

Answer 8

The answer to  the meaning of life question in your case is simple, your supposed to watch and admire spiders.

but do not lose heart there is more to your life, you re supposed to insult others who try to make sense of your questions.

I'm here to let you know, you are doing a good job.

Answer 9

I am glad to hear the update, of the spider moving on to another location.  That is if it was the same spider (more than likely.)  I wonder about this with my dog, who used to play with his ball right next to the bed, then have it roll under where he couldn't reach it.  It took leaving it there for one week and not giving him a new one to finally teach him.  

I think that we (as creatures) get focused on meeting our needs, either urges or instincts, that we forget we are not "big" enough to see the whole picture.  We may have to get torn down or lost to learn the best way to do things.  The spider moved to a new location to try catching food again, and my dog relocated his play time to another area to avoid being snared.  Of course, we can't do this for all situations, but if we keep running into problems, we may need to find drastic solutions to resolve them.  Thinking "outside" of ourselves (edit: current situation), and Persistence, are very important in the face of conflict.

EDIT:  A thumbs down eh.....look at the ancient history of Easter Island....similar in ways to the spider building something that spectacular in terms of engineering, only to fail itself in picking the wrong location (that is IF it didn't rebuild like the theory is now).  Humans have done this, only to have cornered themselves into destroying their population because measures were not taken that may have not been foreseen.  Maybe we have some evolutionary advantage over the spider, but in the end, will it save us?  I hope our greatest minds can find a way to move a meteor or asteroid from directly hitting us, but how many times can we realistically do this?  It makes one wonder, why build a town directly under a volcano?  Does this make us any more superior than the spider, or any other animal? And as I do personally believe in God, and he has a hand in the greater scheme, it is irrelevant to this particular question:  look at the amounts of people globally who CHOOSE to settle in naturally volatile areas, and eroding coastlines, regardless of religious belief (or lack thereof)!

EDIT:  WHO THE HECK IS THE MCS? Morons of Christian Science?  I don't go with a newbie, Hollywood trend "belief."  I didn't answer this to be insulted like that!  If you weren't referring to our lives and "why are we here" in analogy or comparison to a spider, and how it reflects in our culture and view of our world....then why did you post it in ANTHROPOLOGY in the first place?

Answer 10

You think way too much, you use too many words. Ignore the spider, let the spider do spider business. Just liking his web is as far as you have to go, let the spider worry about futility. Taking care of you and yours is top priority. A comprehensive view of life is cool but you can't let it distract you.  Try watching the spider doing spider business, Might help you see that your business is like his--gotta do what needs to be done without distraction.

Answer 11

Nature is indifferent. We presume to judge the process of which we are merely part of the flow. It is like taking Einstein's perfect observer to Magic Mountain and asking for a 10 word summation.

It is what it is because it can, and there are many niches unfilled.