Planet of the Apes Paradigm

Humans want to see patterns. We want to connect the dots whether it's part of a coloring book or in life. We solve problems because of this and we see gods because of this (sometimes both at once).

Paradigms are ways that we categorize and frame things, communally. I'm not telling you anything you don't know. The idea of paradigm shifts in hard science has been around since Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and has been applied to life more generally since then.

OK. Big deal. (I mean it is a big deal, but I rarely write about actual big deals. Hmm... I wanna have an adventure with someone that I give the codename Big Deal to. Or maybe I will make up adventures. He/she sounds pretty awesome.)

The reason I bring all of this up is because I was lying in bed the other night, thinking about stuff. Work stuff and life stuff and infected cuticle stuff (wait until you read the blog on that last one... it's gonna be almost as brilliant as this one (you think I kid; just you wait)) and then I thought about my cats. And then I thought about the Planet of the Apes.

Planet of the Apes is not the greatest film ever. Yes, it was nominated for two Academy Awards. Yes, it spawned four sequels and a remake and a TV series. Yes, it had a great ending one of the greatest Hestonisms ever (this is a spoiler, in case you've managed never to see the movie and ever plan to):

It may not be the greatest film, but it made a huge impact on me as a kid and I still think about it occasionally... the social message and the intra-species kissing and the mute chicks.

Anyway. I was lying in bed thinking about stuff and it occurred to me that my cats parallel the Planet of the Apes! There were three classes (species?) of apes in the movie (not including humans, I suppose), each of whom had a particular role in society. Compare and contrast to my cats, please.

Potter = Gorilla

Gorillas are the militant arm in Planet of the Apes. They are short-tempered and have bad posture, but they have the guns so can take power when needed.

Potter's all black. He's the most physical and outgoing and not the smartest. He often takes charge in spite of being least qualified.

Truman = Orangutan

Orangutans are the priest-politicians of the Ape-dominated future. They are orange and sort of fluffy.

Truman is orange and fluffy and not built for any sort of physical exertion. He is a ponderous thinker and probably would be willing to suppress evidence that humans used dolls before early Ape civilization emerged.

Houdini = Chimpanzee

Chimps are the scientists and appear to be the quick-thinkers. They were the first type of ape to evolve above their station as servants of humans (thanks to a speaking, time-traveling Chimp). In spite of their intellectual capacity, they are bullied by Gorillas and seem to be the lowest rung in Planet of the Apes society (other than humans).

Houdini is the eldest of the cats and appears to be the most intelligent. He had his teeth removed several years ago and, as a result, is unable to resist Potter's bullying tactics.

Geeky? Yes. (Terrible Photoshop? Absolutely. But, really, would you want to spend more than 10 minutes on those pics?) But since I've made the connection between Planet of the Apes and my cats--the Planet of the Apes Paradigm, if you will--I have been reinvigorated. My energy level is higher and my rash has cleared up and I've gone back to feeding the cats.

Sometimes it's all in the way we look at things, right?