Ocean Quote by Hal Whitehead

“When I'm out in the ocean and I watch a seabird, I think, "Oh, I probably I know what that seabird is doing" - and I don't study seabirds. And the same for the turtles and on and on. But with the whales, a lot of the time, I have no idea what they're doing, and they're the ones I study.” quote by Hal Whitehead — Download Open image

“When I'm out in the ocean and I watch a seabird, I think, "Oh, I probably I know what that seabird is doing" - and I don't study seabirds. And the same for the turtles and on and on. But with the whales, a lot of the time, I have no idea what they're doing, and they're the ones I study.”

Hal Whitehead

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.5 out of 5 (9 ratings)

More by Hal Whitehead

Studying the behavior of large whales has been likened to astronomy. The observer glimpses his subjects, often at long range; he cannot do experiments,…

Hal Whitehead

Image

But one thing that seems pretty clear when we look at human religion is that it's highly tied in with human culture. So if,…

Hal Whitehead

Image

We believe we're seeing, in other animals, a process, or an attribute, that isn't fundamentally different from what we see in humans, so it…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Whales are cultural animals, and we're cultural animals, so although we shouldn't expect whales to do what we do, it doesn't seem unreasonable to…

Hal Whitehead

Image

What I mean by it, and roughly what most biologists who talk about culture mean by it, is either behavior itself, or information that…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Culture is not usually one of the criterion for personhood, but it has been argued that culture is sort of a medium for a…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Conversation with animals could happen, but I think it would be easier for it to happen with creatures we share a bit more with…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Religion's pretty pervasive in humans. And why it's pervasive in humans is debated a lot. There are indications of things that look like religion…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Humans are particularly interesting; our culture is incredible, there's no doubt about that. In many respects, no other species matches ours. But in quite…

Hal Whitehead

Image

The real controversy comes with anthropologists - not all, but some - who see themselves as studying culture, and they then see culture from…

Hal Whitehead

Image

I was very lucky. I was just finishing my PhD at Cambridge in 1981. This opportunity came up because whaling was drawing to an…

Hal Whitehead

Image

I don't like to be dismissive of whales speaking possibilities. There is a pretty New Age-y, poorly thought set of ideas about this going…

Hal Whitehead

Image

Explore all 21 Hal Whitehead quotes

More Ocean quotes

I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…

Paulo Coelho

Image

Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.

Adam Zagajewski

Image

With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…

Paramahansa Yogananda

Image

Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…

Timothy Leary

Image

When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…

Nicole Krauss

Image

Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…

John Bytheway

Image

The improved American highway system isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped…

Daniel J. Boorstin