In article , Stephen Howard
writes
On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 19:39:33 +0100, Kay
wrote:

What about Venus fly trap, which ignores a prod with a pencil, but
reacts to a live and buzzing fly?

That it can discriminate is perhaps down to a array of finely honed
sensors. I'd bet it wouldn't do so well with, say, an artist's
brush...unless it reacts to a range of frequencies that might be set
up by the beating of an insect's wing?

No it's a very simply arrangement - it has several hairs, rather like
cats' whiskers, and more than one of them has to be touched in sequence
to trigger the response.

OK, you may say that is mechanical, but then so are all our senses when
you look at them closely enough.

True...in the sense that there's a reaction to a stimulus, but having
an emotional response is an entirely different kettle of fish ( and
thereby hangs yet another debate ).

Regards ( currently consoling a depressed courgette ),




--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"