How important is "stillness"? I mean this literally.?

Question

Just today I wondered how we would have evolved if life began on a planet with a constant and strong wind. Would we have evolved to be able to move at the same speed as the wind (e.g., develop bird like bones, flaps, feathers, balloon arms, etc.). With a strong and steady enough wind perhaps it would be feasible.

But my main concern is why. In other words, would we have evolved simply to give us more mobility (gather or catch more food) or would we also appreciate the temporary calmness or stillness that moving at the same speed as the wind would give us. How universally important is stillness to us?

Putting it another way, suppose you were living on top of Mt. Washington, NH. where the wind is always blowing. Would you appreciate a calm day or would it be too unnerving?

Answer 1

Well, our sense of normal would be based on what is normal - unavoidable. A self-aware shark would find it quite strange to be still, having been swimming forward since birth. Strange, disconcerting, possibly "unholy".



Main question: You may want to ask an albatross.



Not on point, but I once saw a man sitting still. He was a someone with a known mental illness history we had been called to take to the hospital. When I entered the room he was sitting still. I mean sitting perfectly still. I thought I had seen people sit still in everyday life, but now realized I had not. What was even more remarkable was that it was clear that he was dangerously angry, and on the verge of exploding. I knew this in a few moments, without him speaking. It was actually frightening to be in the room with him - sitting still. And I've been around more emotionally disturbed patients than I can count. (We talked to him, explained he had to go to the hospital - he had enough control to come with us, knew he didn't want to go "the hard way". )



Edit: That last part doesn't look right. By "the hard way" I don't mean we paramedics talk tough to patients, threaten we will restrain them. No, he knew the reality was if he didn't come with us, the cops would have to restrain him, them bring him with us. We get to be the good guys, ask them to help avoid that sutuation.



So...sitting still can be interesting.

Answer 2

I actually don't think being unique is very important. The only way I try to be unique is by taking an old plot, then maneuvering it around so that it doesn't follow cliches of that genre. Which is difficult, considering many of my stories include vampires. Usually when I write, I simply write something I want to read. There aren't too many books about Grim Reapers out there, and definitely not ones about the son of Death. So I'm writing it. I'm hoping that Reapers will be the next big thing after mine is published :P As for reading a unique story over a familiar one? I want a nice mix. For instance: I love Urban Fantasy, but these days every UF is a copy of one another. They are all exactly alike. Now I love certain aspects of it. Kicka-s-s women, vampires, a new world with a supernatural twist...but I want something that can stand out while also following the same basic formula. Eventually I want to write the book that stands out....once I figure out how. BQ: I've started several. A Game of Thrones, The Thief, A Crack in the Sky, and Dead Witch Walking....they're all not the best I've ever read. Although The Thief's ending was pretty damn good, but I can't recommend it because the rest of the book was very boring to me. I'm still going to say the Seven Realms series, even though I finished it somewhere around November. That series just haunts me. The first book is The Demon King, and the second is The Exiled Queen. I actually love these books so much I would rate them up there with Harry Potter.

Answer 3

Your first paragraph is a marvelous novel idea in the totality of my repository of them. I will have to remember this.

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To answer your questions, I think if you're caught in the wind for too long it does become unnerving which goes to show that are bodies did not evolve to stand continuous battering by high velocity air temperature/pressure shifts (wind).



Stillness and vibrancy or potential and kinetic energies are complimentary and implicit.



How important is stillness?

When it comes to the wind, its important because still wind means decrease of damage from erosion, and structural faults.

Answer 4

As in everyday life still waters run deep. On a daily basis we days we experience the days of calmness and days of the wind. Whereas when we experience days of turmoil in our personal lives we do not enjoy that day in calmness. Yet we do not give up because the wind that blew that day may not increase the strenghth of it's breath without your consent the next. That can be changed to calmness again with the guidance taught to us by "Our Father who art in Heaven." Treat others as you want to be treated. Then you will notice those are the people surrounding you. Reflect in the eyes of "Our Father" and you can protect yourself with the armor of God. Then you will achieve the rewards of stillness as well as calmness

Answer 5

Life is a contrast where opposites exists ,therefor meaningful as well. Silence is meaningful only after a complete noise.We can know the wind blowing on Mt.Washington if we ever have seen a calm day,otherwise how anyone can define wind.

Answer 6

The silence can be deafening at first but we get used to it.



Love and blessings Don

Answer 7

if i lived in a place with strong winds i would have to get myself some super glue for my wig.