The parable
incorrectly conflates two perspectives on the notion of someone’s throwing
washed-up starfish back into the sea.
The first perspective
is personal, the one doing the throwing.
The second perspective
is universal, the person correctly advising that starfish are always being
washed ashore all over the world.
The first person is
responding to personal feelings and likely could not do otherwise than he or
she is doing. But we well know that this person could spend an entire vacation,
day and night, throwing starfish back into the sea: he or she might feel good
doing so, but in fact would make no difference at all to the total population
of starfish.
The second person is
giving a universal perspective, or, to put it more scientifically, we may say
the statistical truth about the world’s population of starfish. We know this is
so because science has demonstrated in species after species - turtles, fish,
birds, or insects - that nature produces huge numbers precisely so that at
least some portion will survive. It is absolutely guaranteed that many or most
individuals in such populations will not survive, the rate of survival at any
given time depending on vicissitudes of climate and other factors.
Still, the individual
with humanitarian instincts will want to throw the starfish back, but we should
note that this only serves to satisfy his or her emotions: it changes nothing.
The second perspective
is the factual one: because we are dealing with very large numbers, tiny
additions or subtractions are the equivalent of growing or losing a few hairs
on your head.
Such a parable is a
poor one for any intellectual or educational institution to employ. If you
check it briefly on the Internet, you’ll see the kind of people cited are those
who read books like Jonathon Living
Seagull or The Prophet.
The attitude of the
person throwing back the starfish is that shared by the religious zealot or
evangelist, demonstrating a drive to convert the whole world’s population – a
feat that has never happened and indeed is quite impossible with many millions
being born and dying every year.
