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Published on: November 6, 2019
Many ways for sensory systems to stumble and fail in the Anthropocene
1Editor-in-Chief,Journal of Biosciences,Centre for Ecological Sciences,Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012,India.
None:
Driving a car up a steep incline and the radiator overheats; the water is sizzling and bubbling; one had to stop and at the risk of severe scalding, loosen the stopper of the radiator, and release the steam. One always carried water to cool off the radiator. This is what we had to do with overheated cars 50 years ago. Today, radiators do not boil and bubble, and cars go up steep inclines with ease. Technology has solved the problem. In yesteryears, urgent messages could be transmitted via telegrams to people who did not have phones. Telegrams were received at post offices, where they were printed and home-delivered. Today, the telegram is obsolete, and the mobile phone has become a sensory appendage, an essential means of receiving and sending all kinds of messages, in most parts of the world.
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