The Pakistani Spectator

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Bears are unpredictable. Why we hold this against the family of Ursa is difficult to understand considering that man is the most unpredictable of all creatures and if you doubt this all you have to do is read the daily news for a few days.

Danger, as perceived by most of us; be that danger real or imagined, might stimulate one or a combination of responses.

Some few folks seemingly paralyzed with fear, simply stand and let the train knock them out of their boots while others run away from or even toward the source of danger. Those last two are usually called the fight or flight syndrome. Whichever it might be, the response in most cases is unpredictable.

We are accustomed to hearing the comment that, “Animals are unpredictable!” and yet it is so very often that the unpredictability of life controls us even in our so called ‘civilized’ world. And if you still doubt that fact why else do we spend trillions of dollars for accident insurance every year?

Yes, you just might say that man is the most unpredictable of creatures.

This perception is nurtured by what we understand as ‘patterns of behavior’. We understand that when we meet someone on the street one of us will yield way, allowing the other person to pass. Perhaps we will glance at that person and nod, or even smile. This is conditioned behavior and it is usually predictable.

A bear, walking through the forest, meets another bear on the same trail. They pass, and like you or I they might glance at each other and continue on.

In both cases, with humans and bears, conflict is avoided because the parties involved are living by certain rules, standards if you will and without those standards, in human society as well as in bear society, chaos would rule.

As an example let us consider that you are driving down the highway and you accidentally cut another car off. The other driver, angry, escalates and rams the rear end of your brand new 2000GAZZHOG causing you to lose control and you end up in the ditch. This is a result of unpredictable behavior and it is so common we have even coined a name for the phenomenon, ‘Road rage.’

There is probably no more unpredictable creature on earth than man. Due to societal conditions under which we live we do not know for sure how we will respond when faced with a myriad of hypothetical situations.

Understanding this very unpredictability and the rules that we live by we should be able to be more reasoning, with man and with nature.