I thought grown ups knew what they were talking about, and particular grown ups, like scientists, doctors and teachers, knew even more. I thought they dealt in facts and that when they said ‘this is how the world works’ they were right. Most of my life has been based on these facts. And yet, what if we don’t really know anything about how the world works. What if some of our basic assumptions are just plain wrong? And if some are, then maybe many other assumptions are wrong too. How might this affect the way we live in our world and the way we choose to respond to life?

I saw a youtube video the other day about a scientist working with rats. This scientist was one of a group studying rats response to playing with each other, which developed in to researching their response to human touch. They picked up some unusual noises beyond our hearing with special bat sound detecting machines and have come to the conclusion that rats laugh when tickled. In fact the rats develop a taste for being tickled and follow the scientists hands around their cage as if asking for more.

This reminded me of Sharkman, a documentary about South African Mike Rutzens year long quest to discover the art of shark hypnosis. This weird hypnosis is called tonic immobility and Mike was determined to find out more about this state to see if it can be induced intentionally with big sharks like Great Whites. Amongst some astonishing underwater film footage you see something you would simply never dream up even after watching Finding Nemo on Ecstasy. As Mike hand feeds reef sharks he strokes their snouts and all of a sudden one slips in to this strange immobile state, swooning with his nose cradled in Mike’s crutch. The shark, wide awake all the time, can snap out of this trance in a heart beat. Next, Mike tests the shark to see if it prefers to go after food or his human touch. To see a shark choose the gentle touch of Mikes hand is not only deeply moving but opens up a can full of questions.

I don’t believe Nature ever creates something useless, even though we may often think differently. So my first question is this: Why has Nature created the shark snout to be so incredibly sensitive to the caress of a human hand, so sensitive it goes in to a vulnerable trance like state?

We’ve only recently discovered that rats may laugh and enjoy being tickled, and that sharks respond in an extraordinary way to human touch – what other assumptions could be challenged if we took the time to explore?

Further questions leap out of the can: What if the life forms on this planet are really designed to interact and connect? What if even a lion killing a zebra for food is a sacred agreement? What if we don’t need to be frightened by the things we’ve been taught to be frightened by?