I absolutely love the platypus and what it represents.
It seems often that in education (of any level, of any area of study), students are taught some basic rules and forms. Then, as an exercise, they are given a challenge to those rules and forms. It's an application of the Socratic method, teach the underlying concepts, then challenge them with a thoughtful group discussion, and dissect the thought processes used. Too often, the "solution" is too obvious for someone well versed in the material. The platypus defies that tradition. It defies the classifications of taxonomy even for the experts. Sure we can pretty readily say it's an abnormal mammal now, so it's not a perfect counter-example, but it's the best I've seen, because it still has unexplained evolutionary background.
There's a joke or a link buried somewhere in here. Plato was Socrates's student. Somehow the humble platypus is the plucked chicken presented to Plato. A indescribable shadow on a cave wall. I don't know what it is. But it's The Architect's joke on all of us. And I love it.
As for the article - just a good overview of why it fits that unframework so well.
It seems often that in education (of any level, of any area of study), students are taught some basic rules and forms. Then, as an exercise, they are given a challenge to those rules and forms. It's an application of the Socratic method, teach the underlying concepts, then challenge them with a thoughtful group discussion, and dissect the thought processes used. Too often, the "solution" is too obvious for someone well versed in the material. The platypus defies that tradition. It defies the classifications of taxonomy even for the experts. Sure we can pretty readily say it's an abnormal mammal now, so it's not a perfect counter-example, but it's the best I've seen, because it still has unexplained evolutionary background.
There's a joke or a link buried somewhere in here. Plato was Socrates's student. Somehow the humble platypus is the plucked chicken presented to Plato. A indescribable shadow on a cave wall. I don't know what it is. But it's The Architect's joke on all of us. And I love it.
As for the article - just a good overview of why it fits that unframework so well.