To the editor:
Joe Bauman's philosophical musing (Deseret News, June 15) about the engineering and construction capabilities of a spider (a minute greenish-yellow crab with mandibles in front and a black triangle on the rump) was most touching.His limitless admiration for this arachnid's spinning a web (to catch and kill his evening meal) was so poetic. The web spanned about a horizontal foot of space. "How," Joe wondered, "could the spider make a connection across that gap?" Joe continues with his speculation of what humans would have to do if they were building a suspension bridge over a canyon.
Well, Joe, the first thing humans would have to do is prepare an environmental impact statement and then hold endless public hearings so that SUWA, the Sierra Club, you and others of your persuasion could whine, threaten, litigate, protest and otherwise try to prevent construction of the bridge.
Your spider, under none of those constraints, simply climbs to a higher perch in the tree and begins his spinning. Mysterious? Construction of the suspension bridge by human engineers is more complex and demanding and useful. But no mystery.
The mystery is why an idle, listless human being, lying on a petroleum-based mattress, carried in on a manmade backpack board, should be paid to express his awe about a spider web designed to trap and kill for consumption a fellow being.
Those who work for a living producing useful goods and services also appreciate the ability and industry of the spider. But it really isn't much of a mystery. The spider is simply doing what is necessary for his survival. He is fortunate not having environuts telling him he can't do it.
Gordon Parker
East Carbon