I can’t imagine that the fall colors have any evolutionary adaptive advantage for the trees that display them. They can’t be there to attract any pollinators or dispel predators; my hypothesis is that all those vibrant reds and yellows are simply the background consciousness of Universe bleeding through. It’s as if the aesthetic impulse of Nature is unable to be suppressed; it just can’t help itself when it comes to making beauty.
In other words, there is no reason why the fall foliage is so fabulous; it just is.
This makes me wonder, though, about all those millennia before human beings were around to appreciate the way the maples blaze and the poplars shimmer; if there weren’t any creatures whose minds perceived the light from the sun off those leaves in the way we do would those colors even exist? Suppose the only animal organisms in the world were ones whose visual processing machinery couldn’t distinguish between different electromagnetic wavelengths in what we refer to as the visible spectrum. Wouldn’t we have to conclude that, in such a world, fiery red maples were not?
This, of course, is not meant to detract in any way from the lovely canopy that has dominated backyards and bike trails these last few weeks; nor does it make the ongoing disappearance of that loveliness any less poignant. On the contrary: the contingent, yet inevitable nature of Nature’s ways inspires me to be even more awestruck by the beauty than I would if it could be shown to have some practical purpose. That all this might just be a superfluous expression of an exuberant Universe heightens my appreciation for it immeasurably.
Fall is the most fleeting of the seasons around here; all it takes is one big wind and rainstorm and the warm-hued palette goes from over our heads to under our feet. While it lasts, though, it may be the loveliest of all, especially if all that beauty is really useless.
In other words, there is no reason why the fall foliage is so fabulous; it just is.
This makes me wonder, though, about all those millennia before human beings were around to appreciate the way the maples blaze and the poplars shimmer; if there weren’t any creatures whose minds perceived the light from the sun off those leaves in the way we do would those colors even exist? Suppose the only animal organisms in the world were ones whose visual processing machinery couldn’t distinguish between different electromagnetic wavelengths in what we refer to as the visible spectrum. Wouldn’t we have to conclude that, in such a world, fiery red maples were not?
This, of course, is not meant to detract in any way from the lovely canopy that has dominated backyards and bike trails these last few weeks; nor does it make the ongoing disappearance of that loveliness any less poignant. On the contrary: the contingent, yet inevitable nature of Nature’s ways inspires me to be even more awestruck by the beauty than I would if it could be shown to have some practical purpose. That all this might just be a superfluous expression of an exuberant Universe heightens my appreciation for it immeasurably.
Fall is the most fleeting of the seasons around here; all it takes is one big wind and rainstorm and the warm-hued palette goes from over our heads to under our feet. While it lasts, though, it may be the loveliest of all, especially if all that beauty is really useless.
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