As the creature emerged from the chrysalis, the documentary narrator, himself a prominent scientist in the field, announced that the previously observed grub was now revealing its true identity – the adult form of a wasp.
But is that true? After all, some scientists argue that an adult is really just an egg’s way of making another egg.
And, as it turns out, many insects have egg, grub, or pupa stages that last much longer than their adult stages. And that’s not all: some adult insects are so obviously insignificant a part of their own life cycle that they even completely lack mouth parts or digestive systems – their purpose is simply to procreate, restarting the process. They retain enough energy from the grub stage to do that, and then they die; usually within hours, some within 30 minutes, of emerging into adulthood.
There are insects that exist for years in the egg stage alone. Others, known for their charmingly benign vegetarianism as adults, are actually voracious carnivores as grubs, devouring other insects and grubs – and even small fish and animals.
So, the question isn’t merely which comes first, but which is the actual organism – which stage, if any single one, is the point of it all? Why and how?
And what’s more, the question for us, of course, isn’t really about the dynamics of insect life cycles, but rather about the life cycles of the dynamics where we work. And it really is worth thinking carefully about, before we act on the wrong facts, or invest too much in misplaced assumptions.
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Today’s tip: Speaking of getting it all wrong, but continuing to pour good money after bad anyway, please see this piece from PsyBlog about why groups may not be the best format after all for processing information and making decisions.
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