On Reflection.

A few years ago, there was a lot of discussion in the media about whether life (as we know it, Jim) was possible on different types of planet to our dear earth; at the time, a “New Scientist” reader had an allegory published about a muddy puddle who pondered how wonderful it was to have found a hole in the ground that was exactly the right shape and size to accommodate him (or perhaps it was a her). As a schoolboy, the thought occurred to me that there was probably no incontrovertible rule that life needed liquid water as it’s prime constituent, or oxygen and carbon to produce energy but I hadn’t the metaphor to go with it. Neither did I have the knowledge to realise that life has created the environment that is essential to our life; the availability of oxygen was created by the early life forms and is maintained by the modern vegetation which also has a significant effect on the climate and rainfall that we enjoy(?) in Scotland – and, for that matter, almost everywhere else on our planet.
 
So - I present my reflections on a very muddy puddle.