Freefall

Heh...

1. Sam draws hilarious but inaccurate conclusion from observation of human culture.
2. Everyone laughs.

Correction: Sam draws hilarious but inaccurate conclusion from... a bad pun. With point 2, I agree.

Edited by petersohn on Dec 21st 2018 at 12:50:25 PM

Also, as a truism, if you want to tell a joke that works regardless of language and culture, use a duck.

How does it work regardless of language?

Linguists have been studying this, in fact. There are a few factors, related to the fact that the various words for ducks tend to be Inherently Funny Words regardless of language (to the extent that English even borrowed at least one - canard - for use even outside of its own native word), the fact that most languages either by accident or design (probably related to the fact that it's a basic global concept) have also used the same word for other concepts to allow for a multitude of duck-based puns (like, well, Morally Ambiguous Ducktorate), and probably from the inherent incongruity of the fact that it can fly but it prefers to swim when possible (due to its preferred diet) even while making its nest on land. Slightly related to the last point, it's also the animal that fits the sweet spot of "incongruous lifestyle," "common (particularly on a global scale)," and "not known for being a violent asshole (looking at you, geese and swans)."

Plus they waddle. Gotta laugh at anything that waddles.

In the words of Tom Scott from the very first Citation Needed, "A duck: inherently funny animal"

The form of your destroyer is a duck.◊

To be fair to Sam,◊ this isn't the first time butterflies have been found to be carnivorous.

Carnivorous caterpillars are more common in Asia, though. That said, for that particular species... damn, Sam is tasty. Well, if you can get past that ammonia thing.

And I wonder whether ammonia is an inherently distasteful thing... even within humans, a lot of our disgust reactions, such as to the smell of urea, are learned.

I think the negative reaction to ammonia is at least partly instinctual. Many nitrogenous compounds are deleterious to many animals in comparatively low concentrations (most famously, any of the cyanide family of compounds). The degree to which a given organism may react poorly to it varies on a lot of different factors (some species handle nitrogenous compounds better, individual tolerance within members of a species, and yes, how much is learned behavior), but there is a core instinctual negative reaction to ammonia in several species.

In fact, just because a thing is learned, doesnt imply that it isnt also instinctual. Research indicates that people learn to be afraid of spiders and snakes faster than they learn to be afraid of generally innocent things.

The joys of sharing in a pre-Information Age society.◊

Sam is learning basic accounting◊. The world shudders.

Responsibility sneaking up on Sam.◊

Necessity is the better part of keeping your stuff, or something like that.

Sam is considering transhumanism in his plans◊...

(Remembers the reaction to Sam outside of his suit)

Uh... given what humans think of what you actually look like, I think transhumanism would make it easier, not harder, for sqids to see that the two species are Not So Different.

Earth as death world◊.

There's a whole genre of internet fiction about that. I think The Jenkinsverse is my favorite.

So Earth is basically the planetary equivalent of Australia to Sqids, then?

In some stories, Earth is the Space Australia of the entire galaxy, not just Sqid.

Well, Sam may be a little paranoid after that incident with the cows. That said, I don't think it was ever established just how dangerous any of Earth's microbes are to Sam - just how resistant is he to the various diseases floating around Jean?

Granted, he may be more worried about widescale ecological issues (which is remarkably forward-thinking of him), but still, I'm not sure just how much he has to legitimately worry about. Of course, the obvious counterpoint to that is "neither is he, and better to be safe than sorry."