To Know a Fly: Summary and Critical Analysis

-Vincent Dethier

Literal Comprehension

'To Know A Fly' is an essay based on a scientific experiment. It has presented the view that every scientific experiment is to be carried out consciously and carefully because any experiment carried randomly may not give appropriate and acceptable results. The experiment always begins with an act of faith over reality, cause and effect relationship, discovery by reason, our senses. It continues with an observation and a question. The scientist in fact alters the condition, observes a result and draws a conclusion.

Therefore a man willing to conduct an experiment needs to be careful and conscious enough in this concern, since the most commonly committed scientific sin is the lack of proper experimental control.

The text presents one example of a carefully carried out experiment and the next the randomly conducted experiment. Once a gentleman by cutting off the flea's hind legs draws a conclusion that it hears from the hind legs since it couldn't jump despite his order and he had already tried by amputating other parts of it. Similarly, the next man concluded from his experiment that the intoxicating quality lies in glass, not in water and even not in other alcoholic substances like bourbon, rum, scotch, rye, and gin and so on since all these substances were mixed with water. This kind of confusing correlation with cause and effect gives rise to fallacy and scientific sin.

Finally, the text presents the extraordinary capacity of fly to test and identify the sweetness in substance. This is the most fruitful experiment conducted through shrewd observation. It extends out its proboscis and tastes the food item to ensure that it is sweet or not. It is too much sensitive. It tastes the food through the feet.

A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. Experiment depends on the act of faith. Proper observation and probably questions about the result should be thought of before the experiment. A Scientist does any experiment in the same ways for success. But scientists also make mistakes in their experiments in two ways. One is the lack of proper experimental control with cause and effect. The experiment should not be random. It should not be like the experiment done by the man to find out the ears of a flea or like an earthquake survivor who said that the building collapse because he pulled down the window shade.

To know about a fly, a man-made quite meaningful experiment. He wanted to find out its sensitiveness. He also wanted to find out when they fly takes their proboscis in and out. He found out that a thirsty fly lowers the different quantities of sugared water. It hides its proboscis. This fact shows that a fly can take a taste from its feet. It also shows that a fly is much more sensitive than human beings in taking a taste. If different types of sugar water are placed in different saucers. The fly gives more priority to the tastiest water. Thus, we can get exact information from a properly conducted experiment.

Interpretation

As a piece of scientific writing, the text is trying to present the importance of experiments and alerts that one must be careful and conscious to carry out the experiment. Otherwise, it harms more than it helps. Similarly, presenting an experiment on the fly informs the reader that nature has given every creature with own distinct qualities. In this, it is useless to regard humans as the superior creature in the world.

Critical Thinking

The text presents the ideas on scientific experiments and their importance. Naturally, one must be conscious and careful but in every experiment, such excessive consciousness doesn't work. Since many scientific discoveries are taken suddenly and in random experiments. No scientist works being fixed on his invention. Whatever the discoveries take place, it is sudden and strange.

Assimilation

As I went through the story, it really impressed me. I used to think that experiment is just to get a conclusion and they are easy. Everything is there and to experiment is to mix the things and observe them carefully. But now I know that to perform an experiment needs a lot of care and knowledge. More than that, after reading it, I came to know and accept the fact that nature has equally empowered its creatures with distinct qualities.