To Know a Fly

Vincent Dethier

Literal Comprehension:

'To Know A Fly' is an essay based on 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 result. The experiment always begins with 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 carefully carried out experiment and the next the randomly conducted
experiment. Once a gentleman by cutting off 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 either 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. A 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
experiment in two ways. One is the lack of proper experimental control with cause and effect.
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 the fly takes its proboscis in and out. He found out that a thirsty fly
lowers different quantity of sugared water. It hides its proboscis. This fact shows that a fly can take taste
from its feet. It also shows that a fly is much more sensitive than human beings in taking taste. If
different typed of sugar water is 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 experiment 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 fly informs the reader that nature has given every creature with
own distinct qualities. In this, it is useless to regard human as superior creature in the world.
Critical Thinking:

The text presents the ideas on scientific experiment and its importance. Naturally, one must be
conscious and careful but in every experiment such excessive consciousness doesn't work. Since many
scientific discoveries are taking 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 the
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 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.