Repro

My thoughts wander back to the days when we were perusing the book Reproduction and Development. There was this one chapter inside that was talking about long and short night plants.

Basically a long night plant is a plant that requires a relatively long and uninterrupted period of darkness (night) to bloom. The short night plant is the opposite, where a relatively short period is enough for it to bloom.

So, I'm wondering. In this age where light pervades, wouldn't the long night plants be at a disadvantage? A passing car with High Illuminating Display would totally wipe out a whole night's worth of preparation for the blooming of the plant's flowers. In fact, the street lamps might just be enough to produce the same effect. So then what happens to these plants? Do they just die off or will the mutant offspring which shed the need for long, uninterrupted periods of darkness supplant them in the future? Would a feature designed to ensure that these plants only bloom under certain conditions like in daylight or during winter make these plants obsolete?

Looking at this from another angle, light under such circumstances is just another form of stress. And in this age of stress and adrenaline-pumped environment, would people with a need to sleep longer than others be at a serious disadvantage? Would they, due to their inherent nature, be made obsolete?

No wonder panda went for the power sleep approach. 2 hours of sleep to sustain him throughout the rest of the 22 hours of the day. More time to manage investments. More time to pursue interests. More time not wasted in recharging the body.

More.

Just like in the Celcom advertisement. "Who doesn't want more?"

Greedy and ineloquent beings that we are.

Maybe that's how top lists came to be. Like top 10 songs of the month. Or top 500 companies in the world. A list of recommended stuff so that we don't waste time looking through the rest that didn't quite make the mark. No matter that the journey itself could be more interesting than the end of the journey.

So, here's a list, courtesy of thiam. I don't know who the author is, but it doesn't matter now. He/she is not in the top 20 bestselling authors list.

Top 9 reasons I want to be a doctor:
1) I hate sleep. [ouch!]
2) I fail math
3) I like to stay in school for, like, forever!
4) Nobody can read my handwriting
5) Dad has extra money
6) I enjoy my life enough
7) I don't want to live life without stress
8) I want to pay for my sins
9) I don't want to marry before 30

Seems this list automatically excludes me from the medical profession forever =( Man..I don't even possess a single reason that is listed.

Oh well, I could always apply to be the bumming, pampered and lazy husband of a beautiful and rich lady.

Or not. It's not even listed in the top 10 most-wanted jobs in the world.